Windshield Repair in Durham: Chips and Short Cracks

Raleigh Auto Glass is a website of Impex Auto Glass. Impex has no storefront in Durham: chip and crack repair is part of its mobile service, done at your home, your work or wherever the car sits. This page explains which damage a repair can hold, how a repair is done, what it leaves behind, and how it is usually paid for.

Which chips and cracks can be repaired

Three things decide whether a repair will work: how big the damage is, how deep it goes, and where it sits. Impex’s own rule is that a repair may be possible when the damage is small, shallow and away from the edges of the glass. Large, deep or edge damage means a new windshield.

For size, the industry has a published standard. ROLAGS, the Repair of Laminated Automotive Glass Standard administered by the National Windshield Repair Division, states that stone breaks up to two inches in diameter and single line cracks up to 14 inches are repairable. ROLAGS defines a short crack as six inches or less, a long crack as more than six inches, and an edge crack as one that runs to an edge of the glass.

Shops also use simpler rules of thumb. Impex describes small chips as those smaller than a quarter. Another common one in the industry is that damage smaller than a dollar bill, about six inches, is likely repairable. Neither is a law or a standard, and a technician still has to see the glass. A chip directly in front of the driver may be replaced even when it is small, because a repair can leave a slight blemish in the line of sight.

Damage	Usually	Why
Bullseye or star chip smaller than a quarter	Repair	Small and shallow: resin fills it
Combination break up to about two inches	Often repair	Within the ROLAGS stone-break size
Single short crack, away from the edge	Often repair	ROLAGS allows single cracks up to 14 inches
Crack that reaches the edge	Replace	Edge damage weakens the bonded glass
Damage in the camera’s view behind the mirror	Ask first	It can affect what the camera sees
Several breaks, or one through both layers	Replace	Too much damage for resin to hold

If yours sounds like the replace column, our page on windshield replacement Durham NC covers that job instead.

Why a chip should be repaired soon

A windshield is two sheets of glass bonded to a plastic layer between them. A stone chip breaks the outer sheet. Every change in temperature makes the glass expand and contract, and every bump flexes it a little. A chip is a weak point where that stress gathers, and a crack can run from it with very little warning: a cold morning with the defroster on high, a hot afternoon followed by the car wash, a pothole on a Durham side street.

Dirt and water also work into an open chip. A clean, fresh break takes resin well; one packed with grime takes it less cleanly and can show more after the repair. Until the technician arrives, a piece of clear tape over the chip keeps it clean. Avoid blasting the defroster directly at it, and avoid slamming the doors.

How a windshield chip repair is done

A repair fills the break with a clear resin that bonds to the glass. It is a short job done at the car. In outline:

1. The technician looks at the damage and confirms it is a repair, not a replacement.
2. Loose glass and dirt are cleared from the impact point.
3. A tool is fixed over the chip and air is drawn out of the break.
4. Resin is pushed into the break under pressure so it reaches the legs of a star or the length of a short crack.
5. The resin is cured, usually with ultraviolet light.
6. The surface is levelled and polished, and the glass is cleaned.

Because the windshield stays in place, there is no adhesive to cure and nothing to recalibrate. The camera behind the mirror is not disturbed, which matters on newer cars: I-CAR lists removing the windshield as an event that may require the forward camera to be aimed again, and a repair does not remove it.

What a repair does, and what it does not

A good repair stops the chip spreading and restores strength to the broken spot. It makes the damage much less visible, but it does not make the glass look new: a faint mark often stays where the stone hit. The repair also cannot fix pitting, the sandblasted look a windshield gets after years on the interstate, or a crack that has already run to the edge.

	Chip or crack repair	Windshield replacement
What happens	Resin injected into the break	Old glass cut out, new glass bonded in urethane
Original glass and factory seal	Kept	Replaced
Camera calibration	Not triggered by the repair	Often needed on newer cars
Wait before driving	None for adhesive	Until the urethane has bonded
What is left	A faint mark at the impact point	Clear new glass

Paying for windshield repair in North Carolina

Glass damage is a comprehensive loss in North Carolina. The NC Department of Insurance says comprehensive coverage pays the cost of repair less any deductible, and lists breakage of glass and missiles or falling objects among the covered losses. North Carolina has no law that waives the glass deductible, so many repairs cost less than the deductible and are simply paid directly. If your policy includes full glass coverage, the repair may be covered; check your policy or ask your agent before you decide.

If you do claim, you choose who does the work. G.S. 58-3-180 requires a policy covering damage to a motor vehicle to let you select the repair service, and the insurer owes the same amount whichever you pick. A comprehensive glass claim is not an at-fault accident, so it does not add Safe Driver Incentive Plan points, though insurers can consider how often you claim. Impex works with all major insurance providers.

Where Durham’s chips come from

Durham drivers spend a lot of time on interstate. I-40 runs along the south of the city past Research Triangle Park, and I-85 crosses the north on its way northeast from Hillsborough. The Durham Freeway, NC 147, links Duke with RTP, and US 15-501 runs as an expressway between Durham and Chapel Hill. Trucks share all of them, and most chips come from a stone thrown up by the vehicle in front.

North Carolina law requires loads to be secured so nothing falls, blows or sifts off. Under G.S. 20-116(g), trucks over 7,500 pounds hauling rock, gravel or stone must keep the load six inches below the sides and covered by a tarpaulin or similar cover. Giving gravel trucks extra room is the simplest protection. When a stone does hit, the sooner the chip is filled, the more likely a repair is all it needs.

A note on inspections: North Carolina’s annual safety inspection under G.S. 20-183.3 checks your windshield wipers, not the glass, and no NC statute sets a crack size. A chip is not an inspection item. Repair it because chips grow.

Impex repairs chips across Durham and the towns to the west; for the whole list, see the areas page. For broken side or back glass in Durham, see auto glass Durham NC.

Questions people ask