Auto Glass Repair

Henry Ford and laminated glass

After a series of lawsuits involving the damages inflicted upon drivers by the front windshield glass when it shattered, Mr. Henry Ford began to apply a new technology initially founded in France. For about ten years starting in 1919 he began installing laminated glass for use as the windshield in all of his cars. This would popularize laminate glass and make it a standard which would eventually become law.

The problem with the regular plate glass previously used is that it would shatter into large dangerous shards. With laminated glass, the glass would not break as easily. If the glass did break, it would not break apart into jagged, dangerous shards but would crack and hold together. This is because laminated glass is actually two layers of glass surrounding a vinyl inner layer. When a rock strikes the glass, the force is absorbed and spread throughout the three layers. The vinyl also acts to keep the glass together if it does shatter.

By the 1950s even the side and back windows were no longer using plate glass. Although laminated glass was not the replacement, tempered glass was. Through repeatedly heating and cooling the glass, tempered glass shatters into harmless pebble sized pieces of glass. Though not as durable or strong as laminated glass, tempered glass was certainly an improvement upon plate glass.

Laminated glass becomes even more important in safety

The next major development in the history of auto glass came in the 1970s. It was during this decade that a major energy crisis hit causing many of the big-bodied older style car designs to give way to the lighter, sleeker styles that continue in the cars today. Because the frames were made of lighter materials and the ceilings were made lower to be more aerodynamic, the standards were raised and the front windshield would have to play a much bigger part of the structural integrity of a car.

In fact, between 40% to 70% of a car’s structural integrity in the event of a rollover now comes from the front windshield in connection to the frame. Additionally, the front windshield is required to stay attached to the frame in crashes at speeds up to 30 miles per hour as per the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards. Even the airbags rely upon the windshield since it acts as a backstop upon deployment. For all of these reasons, it is good that the adhesive previously used to attach the front windshield to the frame, butyl, was replaced with PBV, polyvinyl butyral, which is about fifty times stronger than butyl.

Glass repair is born

In 1972 a company called Novus invented glass repair. Novus developed a technique where an acrylic type of resin that bonds with glass was injected into cracks and chips. Using UV light to chemically bond the glass with the resin allows the integrity of the glass to remain intact and prevent the need to replace the entire windshield. The fact that laminated glass, which was at this point required by law to be used for the windshields installed in cars, made glass repair viable.

Glass repair becomes profitable

1977 was an important year for the popularization and profitability of glass repair. It was this year that Ed Banks convinced the very first insurance company to waive the deductible and pay for glass repair. By showing that it was a quality process that would not cause a future liability and that it was dramatically cheaper in cost, insurance companies began buying into the process. This of course led to more money for those providing glass repair services which led to the industry becoming more prevalent.

Auto glass repair has had quite a history. Thanks to Henry Ford and an energy crisis in the 70s, laminated glass became a part of every vehicle manufactured to the public. This made it much less likely that the glass would crack at all. Then Novus took advantage of the nature of laminated glass and created a technique whereby repair became a safe alternative. Since laminated glass was so prevalent, the environment for auto window repair was prime and with insurance companies acting as the final catalyst, auto glass repair started to grow into the industry it is now. Today, when a rock or other object strikes the front window of your car it might not be necessary to replace the entire windshield.

Even though glass making as a trade has existed for centuries, the windshield repair officially started during the 1970s and has developed into a very profitable business.