Protect Your Auto Glass From Further Damage While Awaiting Repair

Your car's windows, including the rear window and windshield, are made from tempered glass. The windshield is tempered safety glass, which means it has layers of film between the tempered glass layers to help prevent the glass from shattering. However, all of that glass is still susceptible to chipping and cracking. If you have a chip in your auto glass, there are a few things you can do to prevent it from spreading into a crack while you wait for your auto glass repair technician.

Clean The Area

Before you can do anything to protect the chip from spreading, you will need a clean surface to work with. Since auto glass tends to accumulate dirt and debris from the road and the environment around you, cleaning the area is an important first step. 

Use regular glass cleaner and paper towels to clean the area, but don't put too much pressure on it. Just rub it lightly with the paper towels until it's clean. That way, you get rid of any dirt, debris, or even loose glass shards that may be present in the chip.

Seal The Chip

The next thing you should do is to seal the chip to help protect it from getting worse. The seal may not completely prevent spreading cracks, but it can certainly help reduce the risk. Liquid super glue is the best solution for sealing the glass. Brush the superglue in a thin, even layer over the chip. Let the glue dry thoroughly before you use the car again. Don't worry about the glue coating interfering with the glass repair job, because your auto glass repair technician will clean the area thoroughly, removing the glue layer, before they do the repair.

Protect The Glass From Extremes

Finally, you need to be attentive to the effects of temperature extremes on auto glass that is already vulnerable due to chips or cracks. If the weather is particularly cold and you set your heat controls to blow hot air at the window while you're driving, the contrast in temperatures can cause your glass to crack, spreading cracks from the chip. The same applies if you direct air conditioning at your window on exceedingly hot days. Make sure that you keep your car in a moderated, even temperature area while you're waiting for the repair.

Temperature isn't the only extreme that you need to be attentive to. You also need to worry about extreme terrain. Poorly maintained roads can be jarring to your car. When your auto glass is already weakened by a chip, you need to be cautious about this type of terrain. Rough roads can be enough to jostle the glass and cause that chip to spread into cracks.

For more advice about taking care of damaged auto glass before it can be fully repaired, talk to an auto glass repair company in your area.