Myths and Misconceptions about Windscreen Replacement.

1. It’s windscreen (or windshield). It is not a window screen.

2. Mastic is not used to bond windscreens into a car. The correct product is a high performance, specific and automotive grade Polyurethane ( “PUR” ) adhesive system which can only be used in conjunction with its own activators and primers.

3. With rare exception, generally speaking, genuine OEM glass parts (marked with the car manufacturer’s emblem) are not the same as those without. Contrary to internet folklore, there is not a little man sat at the end of windscreen production lines ‘stamping’ logos on windscreens. If it does not bear the (car) manufacturer’s logo, it’s not as good as one that does.

4. Those black dots you see around the windscreen are not part of the radio antenna.

5. Acoustic (or acoustically insulated) windscreens do not feature a thicker Polyvinyl Butyral ( “PVB” ). It is in fact two additional layers (compared to one for standard windscreens). The three layered PVB comprises of an acoustic dampening layer which is sandwiched between two thin sheets of standard PVB.

6. All laminated windscreens are made from clear glass. It is the PVB layer which is tinted.

7. Despite what you may have been told, most windscreens can be removed from a vehicle without damaging it, or the vehicle. There are, of course, risks attached to the process but these are mostly related to human error somewhere along the line.

8. Black primer – or adhesion promoter – is not designed for painting over scratches. The emphasis – conversely – should to avoid scratching the paintwork leaving the black primer to be used for what it is intended for, and that is, on freshly painted surfaces, or bared metal (from cutting back the old PUR). Black primer is also not a rust inhibitor and anyone using it so is merely painting over a continuing, and worsening, corrosion issue.