Winter Replacement - Safe or Should You Wait?

In earlier years temperature was an important factor when having your windshield replaced, most importantly from the late 50s on through to the early 90s. This is because windshield applications were provided with the use of butyl. This material, butyl, is considered to be an adhesive product, but it never really truly bonds to the vehicle or the glass like modern urethane adhesives used in today’s standards, and it didn’t like to stick well in colder temperatures. Butyl can be difficult to work with during the winter months and can get hard and difficult to remove. As time progressed and with the introduction of urethane as a back fill material to work along side with butyl, installations could still be challenging, if not more so because urethane does cure out and get hard. Older chemical compositions of urethane took longer to cure and got a lot harder and more dense than what is used now.

By early to mid 90’s butyl was phased out and urethane was the only application used. Some older versions of urethane could take 8 hours or longer to cure, in order for a consumer to drive away safely. by the early 2000’s more advanced urethanes hit the market, with high modulus, non conductive, and even fast curing variants. These new formulations could cure with a Minimum Safe Drive Away Time (MSDAT) of one hour with a temperature usage of down to approximately 20 or 30 Degrees Fahrenheit.

After the development of fast cure, the focus was scoped on minimizing cold temperature usage down to Zero degrees Fahrenheit and these urethanes were also introduced in the early 2000’s. Within the past 10 years the introduction of 30 minute MSDAT down to Zero degrees Fahrenheit. All adhesive gets colder and more dense to work with when temps hit 40 degrees or below, however, auto glass replacement has been very safe to do in colder climates within the past 20 years and with the advancement of specialized auto glass tools, it’s been even easier in cold conditions. So if you find yourself with a broken windshield this winter season, don’t fear about bonding issues or potential lea, as these new adhesives are designed to withstand the elements and the use in colder conditions.