We all hate that moment, driving along the highway at the speed limit. It only takes a few seconds. There’s the moment when a stray pebble or debris soars through the air and hits your windshield. 

A telltale crack makes you wince. You have to pull over and check the damage, hoping you got a windshield chip instead of a long, cracked layer of glass.

Why Auto Glass Cracks Are Serious

Windshield cracks are not fun, to put it bluntly. Not only do they mess with the car’s aesthetics, but also the cracks are a potential hazard. A crack can spread and hinder your driving by reducing your vision.

A damaged windshield can lead to more collisions, and in some states, you can even get fined for driving around with one. It can also mess with the airbag in case of a collision, which increases the risk of injury to the driver or the passengers. Whether chipped or cracked, you would rather solve the problem. Sooner rather than later

Does this mean you should get a windshield repair kit and fix it on your own? No. We cannot in good conscience recommend that step. 

For one, longer cracks can spread as we mentioned if not treated and run the risk of letting moisture and heat into your car. Failing to repair them properly means that you haven’t solved the problem and in fact have made the piece of glass worse.

Windshield cracks tend not to disappear. Professional shops, however, can prevent them from spreading and in some cases save you from an entire replacement. Auto insurance tends to cover glass repair so you should always seek help from a professional. Our crew at Team Acme here in Henderson, Nevada is always ready to help people in the greater Las Vegas area learn how the windshield crack repair process works.

The Repair Shop Process

How do professional auto shops repair windshield cracks? They first take a look at the damage, to ascertain how to start the repair or if they need to do a windshield replacement. A crack in the driver wiper area is harder to repair, and we recommend getting that replaced. In either case, you know that the auto shop will decide if they can mend your cracked windshield.

With windshield crack repair, the professionals first cover your hood and car seats so that stray glass doesn’t damage your paint job or passengers; they will remove any stickers if possible and rearview mirrors attached to the glass. Then they vacuum the crack and remove any stray debris. The professionals apply a thick resin to the crack, cure it with a UV lamp, and polish off any excess. Your car will be ready to drive immediately.

How To Fix A Long Cracked Windshield

To some degree, even the longest cracks can be repaired using the same methodology you’d use to repair any other piece of broken window glass. Eventually, however, things are going to get bad enough that you’ll need to have the piece of glass completely replaced. When this happens, our professionals will go in and work around the exact dimensions you share with us.

If you provide us with the type of window glass you need, then we’ll make sure to have a piece professionally crafted to fit. We don’t use substandard or out-of-spec pieces of glass to do windshield crack repair on the cheap, which means you can trust that the work is going to last for a long period of time.

When a windshield has to be completely removed, it’s important to replace it with a high-quality piece of automotive glass that’s cut to the same exact specifications as the original windshield. Team Acme only uses pieces that either meet or exceed the original OEM specs, so you can feel confident about the repair.

Longer cuts that still haven’t developed a spider pattern could potentially get filled, but it’s important that they’re brought into a professional quickly. It’s also important to not cause any additional damage to it. There are a few simple rules that motorists can follow to make sure that the cracks in their windshields don’t start to spread out of control.

How To Stop A Crack In Glass Window From Spreading

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is not to poke or prod the afflicted area. This probably sounds self-evident, but it’s sort of second nature for a lot of people to try and mess with a problematic part of their cars. If you start to do this, then you could end up adding mechanical force to the glass itself. In doing so, you could actually be forcing the crack to grow that much faster.

Several temporary fixes exist as well, but these should never be looked at as a permanent way of dealing with the problem. Anyone who reads automotive blogs regularly might want to try filling a crack with clear nail polish. 

Alternatively, they might end up trying to fill it with super glue. At times, filling the crack with a bit of clear adhesive or even covering it over with tape. While these might work for a brief period of time, they’re not going to prevent the crack from growing for very long.

As soon as you notice something like this starting to happen, make sure that you make an appointment to pay us a visit in our convenient Henderson, Nevada location as soon as possible. In a serious pinch, our crews can come out to many places in and around the greater Las Vegas area to fix a cracked windshield.

Learn More About Vehicle Stress Cracks From Team Acme

Team Acme prioritizes road safety and ensures you can keep driving. You can also always feel free to contact us online in order to learn more about windshield crack repair in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Contact us today to get your windows tinted, or to learn about car basics. Team Acme is very happy to help you out and will educate you on when to repair or replace while ensuring that your windows are tinted and keeping you safe. Our team does the work locally here in Henderson, so you can be sure that you’ll get the treatment that’s quite close to home.