WINDSHIELD REPAIR JOURNALUltra B-O-N-D

April/May 2004

The u.s. Department of Transportation mandatesthat all new vehicles pass Federal Motor Vehicle

Safety Standard (FMVSS) performance tests. These tests

ensure vehicles maintain a minimum safety standard.

Standards concerning windshields are:

FMVSS 212 measures windshield retention in a barrier

crash. Every make and model vehicle is accelerated to 30

mph and crashed head-on into a concrete barrier. The

automobile must retain 75 percent of the windshield along

the pinch weld perimeter. Some vehicle manufacturers

require 100% retention in this severe crash test.

FMVSS 216 is the roof crush performance test. It

measures the structural strength required ro protect

- occupants in the event the vehicle rolls over. One and one­

half times the unloaded vehicle weight or 6,000 lbs.

(whichever is less) of force is applied at an angle to the roof.

The roof structure can depress no more than five inches to

pass. Note: the windshield provides 30-70% of the roof

strength.

FMVSS 208 occupant crash protection specifies

equipment requirements for active and passive restraints,

including air bags. There can be no separation of load­

bearing safety assemblies in a 30 mph barrier crash. This

pertains to the windshield because the passenger side air bag

deploys off the windshield in order to perform its safetyfunction.

Windshield Repair protects and preserves these safety

standards by preventing a windshield replacement from

altering the original factory installation.

The Motor Vehicle Act, Section 1397 (a2a) states "No

dealer. ..or repair business shall knowingly render

inoperative, in whole or in part, any device or element of

design installed on or in a motor vehicle." In plain words,

replacement shops must restore vehicles to their original,safe condition.

The National Glass Association states that, "proper

windshield installation is as important to your safety as seat

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belts, airbags and anti-lock brakes." Windshield

replacements per the Independent Glass Association,National Glass Association, ABC's 20/20 and Fox News are

known to be done incorrectly 70% of the time.

All of the windshield lawsuits to date were from deaths

and injuries caused by a replacement eliminating and/or

compromising one or more of the FMVSS.

Logically speaking the safest solution to this problem is to

prevent the replacement as often as possible, which is whatwindshield crack repair does. Limiting windshield crack

repair to six inches is ludicrous because over 90% of

repairable cracks are over six inches. Cracks up to at least 12

inches long must be repaired in order to prevent most

windshield replacements. Note: Lab tests show there is no

difference between a six inch versus a twelve inch long crack

repaIr.

The federal required tests for the windshield itself are the

SAE/ ANSI Z 26.1 Tests. Windshield Crack Repair passes

these tests. There is no known injury lawsuit ever from a

windshield repair in the 31-year history of the industry.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 Glass Shops & the IGA Attempt to Bann

1 Windshield Repair Protects & Preserves

2 Why Safe Installation Practices Are Important

2 Clearance Specials

3 Auto Glass America

3 Lawsuit Update

4 Tech to Techl

Ultra BOND e-mail address and webe-mail: repair@ultrabond.com

web: www.ultrabond.com

www.edgeguard.com

From The Independent Glass Association:

Why Safe Installation Practices are Important

AIRBAG PERFORMANCE

Airbag timing - As part of a vehicle's structure, thewindshield is a critical determinant of proper airbagtiming. In a crash, an improperly installed windshieldmay cause an airbag to deploy too early or too late. Ineither case, the safety of the occupants may becompromised.

Airbag retention - On impact the windshield acts asa brace to support the passenger side airbag. If thewindshield separates, the airbag does not have aconstrained space, and it is not effective in protectingthe occupant.

OCCUPANT RETENTION

The windshield is intended to keep unrestrainedoccupants inside the vehicle. In a crash, an improperlyinstalled windshield may fail to hold and detach fromits frame, allowing any passengers in the vehicle to be

Blown out windshield.

Picture taken by R. Campfield

ejected, which increases each occupant's chances forserious or even fatal injuries.

VEHICLE STRENGTH

Structural Integrity - The windshield is an importantpart of a vehicle's energy management systems, whichdirects crash energy around the occupantcompartment. If the windshield is improperly installed,the vehicle may crumple differently than themanufacturer intended, which may jeopardizeoccupants.

Rollover Strength - In a rollover accident, thewindshield provides strength by helping to keep theroof from crushing in on any vehicle occupants. Insome model designs, the windshield supplies up to50% of the vehicle's rollover strength.

© 2004 Independent Glass Association,

All rights reserved

Roof Crush.

Picture taken by R. Campfield

· LAW!iUIT UPDATE ·

Status Quo. The judge still has not ruled; it has been ten months.We are hoping he will rule this month.

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SPECIAL REPORT:7 OUT OF 10 WINDSHIELDS ARE INSTALLED IMPROPERLY

How IOu Can Beat the Odds

It'sa fact. 7 out of 10 windshields are installedimproperly, according to industry statistics. The

risk that drivers are taking, that they aren't even aware

of, is astronomical. The risk could easily be with that

used car you bought which has an improperly

installed replacement windshield or it could be with

that nice guy who installs windshields and lives in

your neighborhood but who does not follow safe

replacement standards. Make sure these 6 common

mistakes are not made on your windshield

installation. If you don't, you could be risking yourlife in an accident.

The most common mistake is not using the proper

urethane adhesive. Different vehicles require different

rypes of adhesives and your installer may not be aware

of it. When the weather gets under 40 degrees, a

special cold weather urethane must be used for proper

adhesion. Many glass shops don't bother to use thesemore expensive yet proper materials to hold your

windshield in. They are risking your life, not theirs.

Something as simple as a clean glass is critical.

Installers must make the time to clean the bonding

edge of the glass with a residue free glass cleaner and

clean paper towel.

This takes only 2 minutes, yet some installers

forget it every day.

Clean hands are just as important. When placing a

windshield in the car, the installer's hands grasp the

edge of the glass. This is where the glass bonds to the

body of the car, and where oils or dirt can transfer from

their hands to the glass easily. A new pair of disposable

residue free gloves should be used on every installation.

Many glass installers don't take the time to use a

pinchweld primer. When a windshield is removed,

small scratches are made underneath the molding

area and around the edge of the glass. The primer is

used to make sure the urethane has a proper surface

to bond to. Primer is also used to keep any bare metal

scratches from turning into rust problems later. Thisis something that we see quite often on cars that have

previously had windshields replaced. Somebody

hasn't bothered to spend the 5 minutes and 15 cents

it takes to make sure there will not be a rust problem

a few years down the road. If the rust gets bad, thewindshield will not have a safe pinchweld surface areato bond to on the car. The result is a windshield that

will not stay in the car during a bad accident.

This puts the occupants at a serious risk.

Often customers are not informed of safe drive

away times. Temperature, humidiry and the rype of

urethane your vehicle calls for all change the amountof time necessary for the urethane to dry safely.

Installers are not always taught how to determine the

safe cure time for windshield bonding. How can thecustomer be told if the installer doesn't know?

(Note: Grammatical changes made to this report)

IVENTORY CLEARANCE SPECIAL

SAVE 20% on Vinyl Decals and New Style Crackmaster

SAVE 10% on Polo shirts (colors and sizes limited to stock on hand)

T-Shirt Clearance - discontinued - stocking only palos. $8.00 (colors and sizes limited to stock on hand)

Injector Caps $4.50 package of 10, save $2.50!

ALL SALE PRICES END June 15,2004.

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Introducing Jason

Windshield Doctors of Williston, VT

Jason is 32-years old and got into the business

through family. He has now been doing rep~irs for10 years .

Williston is one of many small towns that Windshield

Doctors provide service to. Located within the

Champlain Valley of western Vermont, Williston is rich

in historical and natural resources. Temperatures are

running in the upper 50's and lower 60's right now.

Although Windshield Doctors offer mobile service,

Jason is now working primarily from a shop.

As a young man of 22 when he started, Jason felt self­

assured with his repair results within one month of

training. However, he states that he had "very picky

teachers" with who had established a very good

reputation so his repairs were critiqued for another 60

days or so.

Customers give poslt!ve comments about his workand Jason makes sure that his customers know what to

expect from repair work to alleviate any potential

misunderstandings.

Their best method of marketing has been the yellow

pages and word-of-mouth. For a relatively small area

(150,000 population) they have approximately 20

competitors but Jason is confident that nothing beats

them on quality.

Jason feels our industry could use some help in getting

a fairer price for our work from the insurance companies

and preventing the steering that goes on with the

networks. (Of course we couldn't agree more). He also

feels we should focus on quality.

His recommendation to other techs: "Take your

time. View every job as putting your reputation at risk

(because you are). It's better to do 5 repairs well than 10

poorly."

We couldn't have said it better! Thank you Jason for

taking the time to share a little bit about your businesswith our other technicians.

Glass Shopsand the IGA

Attempt to BanWindshield Repair

in Connecticut

Richard Campfield has testified twice and submitted

reports such as the one in this newsletter. Ultra Bond

Attorneys have also written to the Governor,

Commissioner and Attorney General to have these glass

shops taken off the board. Another proposal was submittedto the commissioner by the NWRA, which called for no

limit on crack length and no acute area.

A nother attempt by the glass replacement industry to.l1.ban the competition of windshield repair is brewing

in Connecticut. This time it is not glass manufacturers but

dumb glass shops who do not realize that windshield repair

is more valuable and profitable than replacements and they

are hurring themselves while they rip-off and endanger theconsumer.

IGA President, Kurt Muller and IGA See/Treasurer,

Robert Stuben are two of the four glass shops on a six

member licensing board that are setting repair standardsthat will eliminate the windshield repair-only businesses in

Connecticut. They are trying to call the driver side wipersweep the acute area and no cracks over six inches.

ECHTE

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