Almost all auto glass, be it windshield, side panels or rear, have a black margin around them now days. Some areas, especially on windshields, have portions checkered or dotted. What is the purpose of the black margin and also the checkered areas? Thank You!
The black margin around auto glass???
- Thread starter samtheman
- Start date
- Status
I believe they are for defrost/defog.
The checkered area seems to be to help block out the sun. The pattern usually dips down where the rearview mirror is, and that helps where you can't pull down a sun visor.
Not too sure about the solid black border...maybe it's just for looks? On a lot of cars, it seems like the windshield opening extends below the height of the dash; the solid black could be to hide the gluing surface.
Not too sure about the solid black border...maybe it's just for looks? On a lot of cars, it seems like the windshield opening extends below the height of the dash; the solid black could be to hide the gluing surface.
The other possibility is it is suppose to absorb radiant and/or solar heat thus expediting window defog, although in the summer or south that would seem to be counter productive. Hopefully we'll have an auto engineer or an auto glass person stop by and we'll get a detailed explanation!
Also, I had called four auto glass shops and they all guessed. Most humerus reply was "That is just the way they come!"
The ‘frit’, lines the outer edges of the windshield, commonly 2-3 inches wide and even wider on top. The frit protects the urethane molding (generally speaking, glue that bonds windshield to car) of the windshield from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Without the frit, the urethane would melt and cease to hold the windshield to the body frame.
I have that on my frontier truck..i think its there just to mask off any installation 'blems' to the interior, so the manufacturer doesn't have to put in any decorative trim. Most likely just to keep manufacturing costs down.
I second that opinion/guess.
it helps to cover the windshield glue, if it wasn't black around the edges you'd be able to see the glue clear as day and it would be all uneven looking and it would look like poor quality.
^ ditto
JHZR2
Staff member
I have read that it has to do with the glue in/bonding process that is used to attach the glass (nowadays a structural part of the car), and the curing process that is used. The black layer is required to ensure a good cure without damage to the rubber and glues on the other side.
JMH
JMH
Q: Several years ago, black dots started appearing on new vehicle windshields. The dots are usually only around the periphery of the windshield. What purpose do these dots serve? --
A: Windshield glass contains a black enamel band (called the frit) around the periphery that is baked into the glass. This black band includes a border of dots. See figure. The band has an etched surface to enable adhesive to bond to the glass, says a sales manager at Able Auto Glass. When car manufacturers install the windshield, they bond the windshield to the vehicle with adhesive placed on the etched part of the black enamel glass area (inside surface). The outside of the enamel band shades the adhesive from the Sun and protects it from ultraviolet radiation. The band also serves a cosmetic purpose by covering up the adhesive and gives the windshield edge "a more finished look."
[Steve Coyle, Auto Glass Specialists] The black dots blend the border into the glass
Rather than a straight black edge, the dot border blends the solid band into the clear glass, says Steve Coyle at Auto Glass Specialists. Some windshields also use the dots as a third sun visor to block the Sun behind the rearview mirror where most visors don't reach.
A: Windshield glass contains a black enamel band (called the frit) around the periphery that is baked into the glass. This black band includes a border of dots. See figure. The band has an etched surface to enable adhesive to bond to the glass, says a sales manager at Able Auto Glass. When car manufacturers install the windshield, they bond the windshield to the vehicle with adhesive placed on the etched part of the black enamel glass area (inside surface). The outside of the enamel band shades the adhesive from the Sun and protects it from ultraviolet radiation. The band also serves a cosmetic purpose by covering up the adhesive and gives the windshield edge "a more finished look."
[Steve Coyle, Auto Glass Specialists] The black dots blend the border into the glass
Rather than a straight black edge, the dot border blends the solid band into the clear glass, says Steve Coyle at Auto Glass Specialists. Some windshields also use the dots as a third sun visor to block the Sun behind the rearview mirror where most visors don't reach.
Thanks all!
I would have gone along with that, but cars of the 1970's and early 1980s didn't have the black border, yet were held in the same way. I'm gonna guess for adhesion purposes, or maybe for looks, or maybe for sunshading.
times change, if it wasn't there you'd see the glue.
adhesive....maybe, you have to put a primer on the windshield before you lay the glue regardless.
adhesive....maybe, you have to put a primer on the windshield before you lay the glue regardless.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
