The Three Ways Auto Glass Shatters And Why

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Most people assume that because of all the glass in a car, the glass shatters an expected way. It does not. In fact, there are three ways auto glass shatters, and each has its own reasons for doing so.

The "Lots of Tiny Bits" Shatter

Rear windshields always shatter into tiny bits. This is because almost all rear windshields are made from tempered glass. Tempered glass is heated to a really high temperature and then quickly cooled. This process ma be repeated a number of times, but the result is the same. Crack it, and the whole rear windshield shatters into tiny bits.

The "Shards of Spider Webs" Shatter

This is the pattern in glass most people associate with broken auto glass. It starts as a chip or a crack, but can quickly turn into a spider web pattern. If anything else hits your windshield before you can take it in to an auto glass repair shop, it shatters into shards and jagged blades of glass. This is because your front windshield is made of laminated glass, which means it is two sheets of glass that sandwich a coated sheet of polyvinyl butyral.When your front windshield cracks, it has to split through the PVB in the middle and the two or more thin sheets of glass on either side, creating the shatter patterns you see.

The "Everything Goes" Shatter

This shatter pattern is common with all of your passenger windows. When a burglar smashes your passenger windows to gain access to your vehicle and steal whatever is inside, the window smashes into shards and bits. This is because the passenger windows are frequently the weakest of auto glass, and with good reason.

You do not want to be ejected out the front windshield, which is why this is the strongest glass. The rear windshield is supposed to provide some protection from rear impact. Passenger windows are supposed to be shattered in the event that you are trapped in a car and are in immense danger if you cannot shatter the window and crawl out. Hence, the passenger windows are made the weakest so that those trapped inside can escape. This is why this glass is made as weak as it is, and why it shatters into bits and shards randomly.

Repairing Broken Auto Glass

Clearly,  you need three different kinds of auto glass on your vehicle. Depending on what breaks and shatters, your auto glass technician will install the correct type for each type of windshield or window. This ensures your continued safety when you resume driving the vehicle.

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18 July 2017

Everything I've Learned About Glass

Thanks for visiting my website. I am Benjamin Mora. I absolutely love the woods, so I made sure to look very hard for a home that would give me a perfect view of a jaw-dropping landscape. I finally found the perfect house, but after I settled in, I felt that I wasn't getting the most out of my view. The problem wasn't the view itself, but the windows. After doing some research, I found ways that I could improve my view and finally have the perfect scenery I dreamed of. After a lot of hard work, I was able to sit and enjoy my coffee in front of a window that allowed me to see everything. I've decided to write about everything I've learned about glass on this website.