Rock chips
Windshield chip repair
A rock chip filled with clear resin before it has the chance to become a crack.
Chapter 01
The chip that is only waiting
A rock thrown up on the interstate leaves one of a few marks. A bullseye is a round crater with a dark centre. A star break has legs running out from the point of impact. A combination is both at once. Each one is a small hole in the outer layer of the glass, and each is waiting for a reason to spread.
The reasons are everyday ones: a hot dash on a summer afternoon, a cold windshield hit with defroster heat, a pothole, a door shut hard. Dirt and moisture also settle into the break and cloud it, which makes a clean repair harder the longer the chip sits.
Curved windshield glass at low sun with a tree reflected on the pane
Resin in the break
Chip repair is a short, careful job. The installer looks at the break to see whether it can be saved, picks out loose glass, and sets a small tool over the point of impact. The tool pulls the air out of the break, then pushes clear resin into every leg of the damage. The resin is cured with a UV light, and the surface is scraped flush.
Repair has limits. A chip near the edge of the glass, one that sits in the driver's line of sight, or a crack that has already grown long is usually a case for a new windshield instead. If you are not sure which side of that line your damage is on, describe it to the shop at 111 Jailhouse Alley in Byron on (478) 956-0111 and ask. Mobile service is on their sign too.
Chapter 03
After the repair, and when to call again
A repaired chip does not always vanish. A faint mark can stay where the break was, and what the resin does is stop the damage and keep it from running. A clean fill that has gone clear is the sign it was caught early.
Until you can get in, a strip of clear tape over the chip keeps dirt and water out of it. Avoid slamming doors and avoid blasting the defroster on a cold glass. If the chip sprouts a new leg before the repair, or a repaired spot starts to spread again, call again and have it looked at.
Jamie Champagne, Google review, 2024: "I had a rock hit my windshield on the interstate and didn't even know where to begin. Glassworks did exceptional work!!!"