How long does it take to install a car window

How Long Does It Take to Replace a Windscreen?

Replacing a windscreen is amongst the most important things you can do to ensure your safety. It may seem a rather pedestrian way to spend your time, but getting a damaged windscreen seen to is what is going to prevent you from becoming a full-time pedestrian yourself. Who knows, you may not even have to replace your windscreen; depending on the damage, it may be fixable, which will save you time and money. So how long does it take to replace a windscreen? It depends; there are a few things to figure out first. But don’t worry, it won’t take too long, we can tell you that much.

Does Your Windscreen Even Need to Be Replaced?

Unless you have a whopper of a crack in your windscreen, you may be able to save yourself a few dollars. There are various types of cracks and chips to look out for, which will be the deciding factor on whether your windscreen needs to be replaced at all. A professional windscreen repair shop will assess the situation in a jiffy.

Different types of windscreen cracks and chips:

• Half-moon – the impact looks like a half-moon; it is not circular.
• Pit or a divot – when there is a piece of glass that is missing from the windscreen.
• Bulls-eye – this type of damage is circular and caused by larger rocks hitting your windscreen.
• Star chip – forms when a chip spreads and forms a star.
• Combination break – when there is more than one point of impact with different types of damage.
• Stress crack – forms when there are sudden increases and decreases in temperature, causing the glass to expand and contract quickly.
• Long crack – a crack which is more than 14cm long.
• Edge crack – forms on the edge of the windscreen.

The Time Required to Replace or Repair Your Windscreen

Once your trusted windscreen professional has decided on the best course of action, you will get a better idea of how long it takes to replace or fix your windscreen. Usually, unless the damage has spread over a large area or spreads quickly, you can forgo a complete windscreen replacement. It will typically take 30 to 60 minutes to repair your windscreen after the damage has been assessed, depending on the damage. The process usually involves cleaning the crack thoroughly, filling it and curing it using a UV light.

If your windscreen needs to be replaced, there are various other factors involved. Once your windscreen has been assessed, the time taken to replace your windscreen will vary from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the make and model of your car and whether you have additional features such as sensors which will need to be calibrated. From there, the glue will take roughly an hour to dry before you can drive your car. All in all, you can count on a maximum of two and a half hours to replace your windscreen and allow the glue to dry.

To better estimate how long it will take to repair your windscreen, call ahead and make an appointment at your nearest Instant Windscreen shop. Tell the sales assistant more about your car, and they will give you a better estimate. Once we have your vehicle, you are free to wait around and have a cup of coffee or leave it with us while you Uber home and take a load off until the glue is fully cured.