Clear coating windshield and sun roof glass

I'm posting from a motel in Nashville as Auto Amor is applying a clear film to the windshield and front half of the sunroof glass. In the first five years, both the windshield and front of sun roof had suffered road debris, stone impacts.

Once cracked, air and water get in and the cracks grow. The clear coat film blocks air and water access so the small impact area remains insignificant.

Satellite Autoglass replaced the windshield for $1,200 and after camera calibration, announced they are no longer in the Tesla windshield replacement business. Furthermore, Tesla is going to a two camera system instead of the past three camera configuration. This means future windshield repairs may be impossibly expensive if available at all.

Each glass replacement cost a little over $1,000. I'm getting both windshield and front of the sun roof covered for just under $1,000. The glass clear coat is a 'cost avoidance' prophylactic.

Bob Wilson

 

That is my understanding too. But the down time is an uncompensated expense. Worse, my last insurance company confirmed 'liability only,'

Bob Wilson

 

I took some images to compare: film coated windshield; air #1, air #2, and; original side window:


Left to right: coated windshield; air #1, air #2, and; uncoated side window. Because white carries the maximum spectrum, there are slightly overlapped samples on the lower left. Even magnified to seeing pixels, my old man eyes sees very little difference. The two air samples seem a little brighter but I don't see a definable difference with the iPhone7 camera.

Without sunglasses, the reflected light from other vehicles looks like this through the coated windshield:


The iPhone 7 camera focused on the "A" pillar so pixel examination of the reflected sunlight is out of focus. But this shows this is effectively, a clear film coating.

Not shown, I wear polarized sun glasses and noticed reflected sunlight from on coming traffic has a blueish tint which changes with head tilt. Speculation, the gap between the clear film and windshield may have polarizing filter characteristics stronger in the red side of the spectrum. Taking the sun glasses off, the reflections are almost painfully bright.

One desirable effect is I was more relaxed driving back even if there were semi-trailer or construction dump truck traveling ahead. In the past, I would sometimes hear 'sand' impacts which always suggested a 'pebble' might show up too. With the protective film, my fear of window cracking, pebbles has significantly reduced. Today's Full Self Driving (FSD) does not share my sensitivity to windshield cracking debris.

Bob Wilson

 

• I only carry liability with a $500 deductible. Painful experience has revealed this is the best approach for me.
• Don't know the exact thickness. The boundary on the sun roof is in the sub-mm height.

The $1,200 cost and soon, limited availability (Safelite in Huntsville leaving the business), and the dead repair time, I prefer cost avoidance.

Bob Wilson

 

Thickness of coating:

• ~0.0058 inch
• ~0.14732 mm

Bob Wilson