Almost all windscreen damage can be attributed to stones or pebbles – dislodged from tyres of vehicles in front of you, grass cutters’ machines or simply falling off trucks carrying gravel. They hit your windscreen surface at great speed and the impact breaks the glass surface at the point of impact. Unfortunately, they may cause internal fracture of the glass, in which case a break is caused. This is manifested in many forms and the common ones are listed below.
The most common break one will see is the Star. Shaped like one, it can come with two or more legs radiating from a central pit or hole, the latter representing the point of impact.
Another common break is the Bulls Eye. It looks exactly like a bubble of air in the glass, under the pit. Round shaped in most cases, it might take the shape of a half moon in some.
Combination breaks take their name from a combination of the Bulls Eye and Star. It has the characteristics and features of both these breaks.
A more scary break than the rest, the Crack is a linear break that opens up on the glass surface. A windscreen crack tends to run with the slightest of pressure or temperature change and usually originates from a break at the windscreen edge.
Breaks can come in more complicated forms, taking shape in a multitude of designs. They may require extreme effort in repairing and hence take a longer time to do. Due to the complexity of the damage, such breaks are generally termed Complex breaks.
A web like break that can cover half your windscreen, this break is typically caused by a rounded surface striking the glass surface with impact. It may be caused by a child's head, a golf ball, a baseball bat or a crash helmet. Repair is not recommended in such cases, due to the extent of the damage. They represent less than 1% of the typical damage we see on windscreens.
Windscreen chips are the most common form of damage one can find on a windscreen. A chip results when a piece of glass is removed upon impact with a stone or pebble, with no internal fracture or break in the glass. Only surface repair is required in such a case. If left unrepaired, such chips will cause wiper blade damage |