Windshield replacement is necessary when you get a crack in your wind bonnet that is large enough that it obstructs your view of the highway.
Sometimes windshield replacement is necessary when a crack in the glass does not create a visibility problem, but instead poses a threat of allowing the glass to break even farther and possibly fall out of the car.
Windshield replacement will require that you find another piece of glass that is shaped exactly like the one you have.
The glass from one make and model of automobile will generally not be suitable as a windshield replacement in another automobile.
Each manufacturer shapes the glass they place before the driver a little differently.
This is because the shape that the vehicle has is slightly different.
You must purchase a piece of glass that was specifically molded to fit the make and model of vehicle that you own.
The government regulates the manufacture of glass that is going to be placed in automobiles and in commercial buildings.
All glass that is intended for these purposes must be heat tempered so they are break resistant and less brittle.
The process that makes them become break resistant also renders them too hard to be cut or shaped afterward.
So before a car window is made a mold is made to be used as a pattern so that each window will fit perfectly into the opening on the vehicle.
Before these items can be replaced you will also have to have a replacement gasket that fits around the opening.
The gasket will be made of rubber and it will fit the opening in the vehicle.
It will also fit the piece of glass protecting the edges of the glass from vibrations that could cause it to be broken.
Tempered automobile glass is very strong, but if you strike it on the edge you can shatter it quite easily.
The bumps in the road would cause the glass to rub against the metal frame of the car or be jarred hard enough against that frame that it broke.
The rubber gasket prevents this from happening.
You have to have a special adhesive to use to bind the glass to the rubber and the rubber to the car body.
Without the correct adhesive the glass will not stay in place and will likely not be water tight.
A windshield has to protect you from flying debris and from water entering so the right adhesive will have to be purchased.
Sometimes the glass portion of the windshield is not damaged, but the gasket that holds it in place can dry rot after many years.
In these cases you will carefully remove the glass and then the gasket.
You will replace the old gasket with a new one and then use adhesive to hold the gasket and glass in place.
Yo can do this at home or hire a professional glass company to do the work for you.
Some companies will even come to your job and do a replacement while you are at work.