Things To Know About Kansas City Auto Glass

Living in Kansas City, Missouri you will eventually be using a Kansas City auto glass shop. Being the largest city in Missouri, it encompasses 318 square miles. It also has one of our nation's second longest beltways. Broken or damaged windshields or car windows are due to flying debris when driving on freeways.

Although the automobile industry has made great advancements in auto glass there are circumstances beyond our control that still cause damage to the glass. A laminated safety glass was invented for windshield in 1927. The process of making this type of glass was to sandwich a thin layer of flexible clear plastic film between two pieces of glass. This film is called polyvinyl butyral or PVB. It is a resin whose compounds enable it to be strong binding and flexible.

Laminated glass does not shatter like regular glass. Therefore, occupants in a vehicle are better protected from the elements of the road and when they are in a car accident. The plastic layer holds the glass together. Instead of the glass shattering into sharp shards the windshield stays together as one piece.

It is possible to get varying thicknesses of the resin for your windshield. The thicker the inter-layer the stronger the windshield will be. Car buyers are not normally looking for this type of feature when they go car shopping. But now that you know it can make a difference in an accident you might start considering it as an option on your next purchase. Another advantage of laminated glass is that it blocks 97 percent of ultraviolet rays. Special features with laminated windshields include the defrosting capability and antennas.

While the windshield on your car is made of laminated safety glass the side and back windows are made of tempered glass. It is made by going through a process of high heat and then special cooling procedure that strengthens the glass. It is five times stronger than regular glass. This type of glass breaks in a unique way. Should any part of the glass break then the whole window would shatter at once. It does not break into sharp shards but instead into small oval shaped pebbles.

The tempered glass is used on the windows as an accident safety benefit. Laminated glass is very difficult to break through, thus the reason for using it on the windshields. The tempered glass can be broken easier by rescue workers in the event of an accident to pull occupants out of their vehicle.

Since Kansas City has various weather patterns it helps to understand something about auto glass. In recent years there have been ice storms and major flooding in the Kansas City area. It's nice to know that your windshield should be able to withstand an ice storm and if you get catch in a flooded area you can break your side or rear window with more ease than your windshield.

This article is brought to you by Kansas City Auto Glass. For courteous and professional windshield repair service in Kansas City, visit our Kansas City Auto Glass website.