Friday 8 January 2016

Steps To Proper Windshield Replacement

By Donald Watson


Driving your car with a broken windscreen can be dangerous and may cause road accidents. It is the reason why car owners in Jacksonville FL are advised to do timely windshield replacement when the glass gets damaged. It does not matter whether you have ever replaced it previously. Replacing them with new ones make you get to the road again as soon as possible.

The glass pane that you intend to install can be bought from a dealer. It can also be got from a yard belonging to a wrecker in the city. If it is from a wrecker, ensure that you thoroughly scrutinize it for any cracks and chips before you finally offer money. You should cushion it so as to avoid any damages while the good is on transit.

The next in your replacement procedure should be to remove the plastic surround side and the top moldings correctly. While you are doing this, do not pry the clips that hold them on. It is because these clips are specific to your car and its molding. This saves you time but in case the clips are not available, you will need to glue the moldings on to the car.

Next in your replacement procedure should be to cut the urethane from the outside between the glass and the pinch weld using a cold knife. This process takes between fifteen minutes to one hour depending on the experience and the tools that are using. The urethane is simply the flexible film that allows the windscreen to move without breaking when stress is applied to it during driving.

Before placing the replacement windscreen, prepare a pinch weld first. It involves brushing away visible dirt and then using plain water to wash away any remaining dirt. After doing so, use razor blade to cut the old urethane in the frame of the windscreen on the car to about 3mm. The rusty areas that remain exposed should be primed.

When making glass ready using the primer, make sure the primer you are using is specifically made to adhere to the specific urethane you will apply. The primer is meant to open up the molecules of the frit band. A frit band is the continuous black thread running around the edge of the glass. Here, glass is basically being prepared to accept the molecules of the urethane. After preparing the glass, attach the molding to it. After doing that, attach the urethane.

Using an electric caulking gun, apply the urethane to the glass. The electric gun ensure a consistent bead thereby avoiding leakages. It is good to know that the old urethane is the best thing that the new urethane will properly adhere to. This old urethane should be free from dirt, oil or other contaminants. You should ensure that the wind will not recontaminate the pinch weld before the adhesive urethane is applied.

You should then carefully place the windscreen to your car. If you are not using the mounting block, make sure that you wear a pair of latex gloves. They will ensure you do not touch the glass with your bare hands as doing this will contaminate the activated glass and will reduce the adhesiveness of the activator.




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