😋 How to take care of newly replaced windscreen

This is the third article on a series of articles about 🚀 Windscreen Insurance Coverage & Price List (2023), 🚀 Claiming & Replacing broken Windscreens, and now on 🚀 Taking care of newly repaired/replaced windscreens.

By now you must have already replaced broken windscreen on your car. It is important for you to know how to take care of the newly replaced windscreen so that it can last long, and protect you against the weather adequately. After all, you might have spent a few thousand ringgits to get it replaced, thus its imperative to protect your investment well. As an example, a Proton X70 windscreen will cost RM1500 to get replaced.

Follow the tips here to protect and take care of your new windscreen.

• The first two hours of replacing windscreen
• The first 48 hours of replacing windscreen
• Signs that the installation of windscreen is not done correctly

The first 2 hours is the most critical time to protect the new windscreen

1. First 2 hours of replacement: Try not to drive the car immediately or take a long drive. Windscreen replacement uses a type of glue/adhesive to bind the glass to the car. The glue prevents the windscreen from moving/dislocated when driving, and acts as a weatherproof seal against water from entering the cabin. Driving the car with wet glue is not advisable.
2. It is important to provide the glue time to harden and binds windscreen to the car well. Thus, we highly recommend you not to drive the car immediately when the installation is done. Good  technician/specialists will often remind you about this. Just sit back, have some coffee in a cafe nearby while waiting for the adhesive/glue to harden.
3. When getting the car after replacement of windscreen, be careful of any broken glasses, shards or sharp objects that might be left over from the installation. Again, a good technician/specialist will make sure that the cabin and compartments are clean before handing over the vehicle to you. It wont do you harm to do a quick check as leftover shards can be dangerous to you and family.

For the next 48 hours, follow the tips below to ensure prolonged use of the new windscreen

1. Do not drive the car in the rain as it will weaken the windscreen glue and forces you to use wipers. Vibrations from the wiper and rain water falling create a force that weakens the glue.
2. Leave the window slightly open to equalize pressure inside and outside the cabin. Unequal pressure can affect the quality of adhesive binding to the vehicle frame. You should do this for the first 24 hours at the very least to make sure that equal pressure creates a perfect bind and prevent leaks from appearing.
3. It is best to close vehicle door with window slightly open. Similar to the tip above, the act of closing door with fully closed windows exerts high air pressure that can pop open air channel in the adhesive. This air channel can be source of leak with the adhesive has dried up.
4. Keep areas near the windscreen clear of any items, inside and outside the cabin. Having items backed up against the windscreen can affect quality of the drying adhesive as the items can exert disproportionate forces while driving. Items as simple as a tissue box can prevent the adhesive from drying up uniformly if the box is set against the windscreen.
5. There will be tapes on the windscreen. DO NOT REMOVE them. These tapes are used to fix the windscreen to car, and making sure the glass does not move. It will be an eyesore, but please leave the tapes for just 2-3 days.
6. Naturally, do not wash your car in the first few days using car washes or high pressure power washers. Washing your car using power washers can dislocate the still-wet glue and prevent optimal drying of the glue. If the car is soo dirty and you cannot wait 2 more days to wash, opt to wash the car by hand and never use power washer directly onto the windscreen.
7. Drive safely and carefully. Be gentle when driving and avoid sudden accelerations such as high speed, or drastic sudden braking as this may exert forces on the windscreen and dislocating its position.
8. Go slow, very slow over speed bumps and uneven roads. Driving over speed bumps / uneven roads can causing shifting of the windscreen adhesive. Thus, if you drive the vehicle over speed bumps / uneven roads frequently after the windscreen is installed, it is likely that the windscreen is not setting right.