All You Need To Know about Windshield Sealant

Finding water seepage inside the car is not at all uncommon. However, more often than not, the underlying reason is the car’s windshield. Is your windshield in car leaking, but you cannot notice any apparent crack or chip? Do you have a minor fissure that keeps filling up with water? If you have answered yes to any one of these questions, then a sealant might be a quick fix for you.

What is a Windshield Sealant?

As the name suggests, a sealant patches up minor cracks around the edge of a windscreen gasket. When you book an appointment for your automotive windshield repair, make sure to ask your service provider about the type of sealant they use. All glass sealants are waterproof and can withstand harsh temperatures, weather conditions, and vibrations.

These gel-like sealants are made to flow into crevices between the windshield and gasket to create a durable seal. You must be wondering how a sealant reaches to the bottom of a chip. Since these chemicals are reasonably liquid, an expert drops the sealant at the top of the window and lets gravity do its job by smearing and spreading it along the length of the fissure. As it passes along a ding, it seals up all the hole and crevices that can potentially absorb water.

After application, the sealant is left to dry, and it becomes entirely clear, leaving unobtrusive vision. If applied correctly, the sealant will be bonded to the glass and hold the structure together for a significant amount of time. Apart from windshields, this chemical can also be applied to chips on the side and rear windows.

Types of Sealants

There exist various types of sealants, and your auto repair expert is the best person to educate you on the one you need, depending on the extent of the damage. The windshield in car is the most durable window, but one that is partially vulnerable to damages. Here are the most commonly available sealants in the market one can choose from – silicone, polyurethane, butyral, acrylic, and modified silicon.

Apart from polyurethane, the rest are pure sealants. Polyurethane, however, is a rubber-based adhesive that is extra tough, which significantly enhances the safety of the surface it is applied to. The core difference between a sealant and an adhesive is that adhesives unite two different material bodies, like glass and metal. Sealants, on the other hand, forms a hard, waterproof coating that fills a gap and does not allow water to seep inside.

There is also a difference between silicone and urethane adhesives. Urethane has better elongation and is 90 times stronger than its counterpart. Silicone tends to soften when exposed to high temperature and moisture for a prolonged period of time. It is also a bit messy and weak at the joints as compared to the urethane.

Nature of Problems Windshield Sealants Can Tackle. They are -

#1 They correctly fix small invisible or visible fissures and chips around a windshield that were causing leaks.

#2 There are specific car models that have a slight gap between the windshield in car and the frame it is stuck to. This gap is invisible to the naked eye but encourages moisture to leak inside a vehicle. You may think that a little water entering your car or a chip is not all that bad, but wait till winter hits and this water freezes, aggravating the damage. A sealant, however, can fill up this gap.

#3 Condensation caused due to a leaky windshield in car has serious long-term effects on your vehicle – one being that rust can form on metallic frames and other parts. This crisis can be temporarily averted with the help of a sealant.