I noticed I have a little knick on my windshield . Like the ones u get from hitting rocks and stuff. Is it easy to fix myself? How much should I expect to pay to have it professionaly repaired? Are there any good/reasonable priced places that will fix it/come to your work to fix it? I work in Hayward. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Jon

 

Check out http://www.safelite.com/
I think I paid $27 to fix a small chip. It's worth fixing it. I let a chip stay on my Z's windshield for several months and it suddenly became a large crack about 12" long. Then I had to replace the whole thing.

 

if it's a small crack, you can drill the end of the crack tip. The small hole created by the drill will reduce the stress concentration created by the crack and should stop the crack from growing...this is FREE, but you'll have a small drill mark on your windshield

 

peter... you want me to drill my windshield?

 

It makes sence.... like "stop drilling" a crack in sheet metal....

I wouldnt do it myself... get a shop with someone who knows what they are doing!

 

I've helped my dad do it on his Tacoma truck windshield-he still has the same windhsiled and it's been over 3 years w/ the drileld holes. When drilling, just go through the top layer of glass, don't go too far. I'd try somethign close to a 5/64" diameter drill bit.
-the reason why cracks propogate is that there is a stress concentration at the crack tip, by changing the crack tip to a notch (ciruclar hole), the stress concentration is spread out over the circumfrance of the drilled hole and as long as the stress on the windshield isn't too high, the crack should not grow. (if your windhield experiences a large stress, like from a car accident, you might end up with 3 more cracks all starting from the drilled hole)

 

I still would not trust myself to do it!!!

 

I had one rock chip fixed (windshield) and getting a new one fixed tomorrow. Actually cost me nothing, my insurance paid for the first one and they're paying for this one too. Told me, they waive the co-payment because it's cheaper to fix it then putting in a new one. Ant they have a shop that does an excellent job, even comes to my house to do it. Check with your insurance company and see what they tell you first. I have State Farm, they're good when it comes to that.

 

I had a chip and bought a repair kit at Aotuzone for $4 and it was straight forward and easy. It was the first time I tried this but had no problems

 

Just got my chip fixed today. Second one now. Both free. If had to pay, it would have cost $50.00 total.

 

I just fix it myself, its so simple. I buy the repair kits at Kragen or Autozone and they work great.

 

I'm with Bruce and Ray. I've used the repair kits on numerous small rock chips and never had a problem with them getting any bigger.