Tips To Prepare Your Broken Car Window In Advance Of Professional Auto Glass Repair
Maybe a large truck passed you with speed and kicked up a large rock that cracked one of your car's side windows. Perhaps a neighborhood kid hit a baseball in the wrong direction and one of your car's side windows is now completely shattered. However the damage happened, it's clear you are now in need of professional auto glass repair. But you may need to do your own temporary repair job yourself if you want to be able to drive the vehicle to the repair shop safely. Here are some tips to keep in mind if you have a cracked, shattered, or otherwise damaged side window on your car.
Remove Any Remaining Shards
If the glass is damaged enough that pieces of it break off entirely, you may have some remaining jagged shards left in the window frame. It's unsafe for you, your passengers, and even other people on the road or the nearby sidewalk to try and drive a car in this condition. If a side window shatters on you, the first thing you need to do is completely remove any remaining glass from the frame.
Wipe It Down
Once the jagged glass is all removed, you will be left with the rubber frame that the glass was once set inside of. It's possible for this rubber to pick up some dust or debris over the years, and that's especially true if it no longer has any glass inside the frame. You want the rubber frame to be as clean as possible so that your adhesive will stick to it properly as you continue to repair the problem.
Tape It Up
Duct tape works in a pinch, but you may also be able to get professional-grade window tape at a local auto shop. You want to put the tape on the bottom of the frame and move it up to the top of the frame or perhaps the roof of the car. (Make sure the adhesive you use will not damage your paint job if you choose to tape all the way up to the roof.) Start from one side and carefully put strips into place so that the entire window frame is covered. This will keep at least some wind from getting into the car while you are out on the road.
If you have a shattered side window on your vehicle, remove any remaining glass, clean the frame, and tape it up as best you can. Then contact a local auto glass repair shop to get a new window installed properly.