If you have windshield chips, you may wonder which types can be fixed. Good question. The answer is relatively simple, and it even includes a small variety of cracks. Before we just answer the question, however, let’s talk about what fixing a chip means.
When a windshield chips, you have broken the integrity of the glass; a windshield is meant to withstand a lot of force—the curve is bent as it is to deflect rocks and because an arch is the strongest shape in nature. It helps hold the frame of your vehicle together to protect you in the event of an accident.
So, a chip or a crack is a weak spot in the overall strength of your car. You can’t just hope it holds.
Instead, you fix it with a resin that hardens to approximately the same strength as the glass itself, and the resin is pumped into the chip or small crack so it fills every possible nook and cranny, leaving nothing open to weaken the protection the windshield offers.
If you understand all that, you understand why certain chips and cracks cannot be fixed, and others can.
If your chips are smaller than a quarter—better still if they are smaller than a dime—and if they are not directly in your line of vision or within an inch of the edge of the glass, they can be fixed.
If the crack is less than four inches long and is also not in the line of sight or within an inch of the edge of the glass, it can likely be fixed.
The exceptions to these guidelines have to do with the age of your windshield; as they get older, natural and constant pitting occurs, and if that is severe, you need to get the windshield replace rather than worrying about fixing it.