Newly Replaced Windshield Maintenance Tips

A windshield is the guard of your car. The role played by your windshield in car in driver safety is unrivalled. It also acts as a supporting structure to your car’s roof, maintaining your vehicle’s structural integrity.

It is not uncommon for the windshield in cars to develop chips and cracks because of sudden impact. If your windshield develops a break, get it either repaired or replaced immediately to avoid long-term damage to your car and to avoid compromising your safety. If you have opted for windshield replacement, here are some basic after-care rules you should know -

How to Care for Your Newly Replaced Windshield?

You just got your windshield in car replaced and are excited to drive your car back home. Wait a minute and review a few aftercare tips for your newly replaced windshield to ensure that you do not end up damaging it again due to neglect. 

Don’t Drive Your Car Immediately After

Replacement mostly uses urethane as an adhesive to repair chipped windshields or affix new ones onto your car. Urethanes require a little while to cure. The curing duration of the adhesive is dependent on several factors like humidity, quality, and temperature, which can be as high as 24 hours in some cases. However, as a general rule, you must steer away from driving your car for at least one hour after the process of windshield replacement. This will ensure that the adhesive dries appropriately and does not leave gaps between the glass and the frame.

Leave the Tape On

Some repair facilities use tape while affixing a new windshield in car. As a car owner, you might be tempted to remove the tape to restore the attractiveness of your vehicle. However, you must refrain from taking off the windshield tape for at least 24 hours to ensure that dirt, debris, or other foreign particles do not get stuck to the adhesive. Such particles tend to weaken the windshield glass-to-frame connection, thereby nullifying the efforts of fixing or replacing the windshield.

Stay Away From Car Washes

Car washes often use high-pressure jets, and motor pumps to clean the dirt and debris off the vehicle. If the sealant or the adhesive used to replace your windshield has not dried correctly, these jets will destroy their strength, and you will be left with an incorrectly set windshield. If the car wash facility uses some cleaning liquid or detergent, it might be abrasive to urethane and silicone-based adhesives and sealants. Always refrain from washing your car at least 24 hours following a windshield replacement. Even if you are tempted to have your car washed, get it done at home with mild soaps or detergents and soft sprays of water. Remember that you do not need to keep your new windshield in car away from water. Instead, keep it away from impact or pressure created by strong water jets.

Be Careful with Your Driving

Do not be rash with your driving, especially immediately after windshield replacement. Avoid driving your vehicles on especially uneven terrain to prevent your windshield in car from jarring and shaking. You should also refrain from slamming your car door or banging on the roof of your vehicle in a rush. Doing so creates sudden immense pressure within the vehicle, which may cause the windshield to pop out. Before exiting your vehicle, keep the window a bit gaped to allow the pressure to escape as you close your car door on exiting.

Leave the Window Opened

If you live in a region with particularly hot temperatures, the pressure might build inside your car as a result of the heat. If you leave your car parked for long hours under similar heat, your newly installed windshield might pop out or disassociate as a result of high pressure. Always leave your window gaped before parking your car if you have gotten your windshield replaced recently.

How to Detect an Incorrectly Installed Windshield?

Even after taking precautions, it might be possible for your windshield in car to be installed incorrectly. An irregularly fixed windshield is dangerous and must be put back correctly. Here are a few signs of improperly installed windshields -

• Visible Gaps between the Windshield Glass and Frame
• Whooshing sound or rattling noises while driving the car
• Irregular patterns and visual discrepancies on the Windshield

If you notice any of these signs, head to your windshield replacement provider immediately and get your windshield in car checked.

How AIS Windshield Experts Help

At AIS Windshield Experts, we understand that you might not always be equipped with aftercare tips for your newly replaced windshield. Our experts, therefore, educate you on safety features and essential practices to follow for recently installed windshields. Moreover, we provide a one-year warranty on all our products and services. We will attend to any post-installation damage without causing you the hassle.

Our technicians always use world-class replacement products and adhesives and observe the highest safety standards while installing a new or fixing a chipped windscreen. As a result of our tie-ups with various insurance providers across the country, we provide quick and hassle-free cashless windshield replacement services. We follow a Repair-First Policy, i.e., we will only suggest replacement in cases where repair is impossible. Head to our service centres or call us to avail of a doorstep windscreen replacement facility.