New Windscreen Fitted

[Glassy]

1 minute ago, chris-H said:

Something amiss , I was called by the company on Friday and they've taken the photos to look into. I'll keep u posted,  the guy in the phone agreed it's not been done right  !

 

Merry Christmas 

 

Did you manage to identify who manufactures the windscreen? Will be down in one of the corners (usually the RHS).

[chris-H]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you guys , finally managed to get the car back to the fitters .. I've a choice between the tps OEM  supplied screen which no longer come with the seal (pre 2006) or I can get a Pilkington glass replacement which does come with the original seal . VW no longer supply the rubber seal ?? 

Glassy , what are your thoughts ? 

 

Any advice appreciated 

[Glassy]

Chuck me the reg number and I'll come back with some definitive answers.

 

 

[chris-H]

sent !

[Glassy]

You still haven't told us what brand of glass has been fitted to the car!

Re your questions: the earlier windscreens for this car come with an underglass trim fitted to the glass edge. There is no 'seal' as such; the glass is glazed directly to the car (oka bonded) with a polyurethane adhesive. The trim is pre-applied at the factory so the glass comes, effectively, pre-encapsulated. It is not a separate part, but does provide a 'buffer' to ensure the glass doesn't end up flat against the pinchweld. The later screens were produced without a trim (the trim would have been replaced with a thin line of adhesive to act as the buffer).  In any case, it doesn't matter as the overwhelming majority of VAG cars are glazed without these trims. If anything, the trim can sometimes hide sin (if the windscreen fitter scratches the paintwork for example). The absence of one means he will have to be conscious and alert about what he's doing because the slightest lapse in concentration will show.

 

The notes I have show that the 'trim-less' version has now superseded the trimmed version. Any screens with trim on will be old stock or cheap reproductions for aftermarket distribution. The attached image shows the earlier screen with a trim. Image courtesy of Pilkington AGR part of the NSG Group.

 

Second image to follow...

 

 

[Glassy]

This image (again, courtesy of Pilkington AGR part of the NSG Group) shows the modified version whereby the trim has been replaced by a buffer (it ensures the glass doesn't end up recessed too far in the aperture and flat against the frame).

 

My guess is that the glass might be sitting too high if anything. But there's nothing wrong or missing. If anything I'd say it's more about the finish/lack of attention to detail + the brand of glass (which you still haven't told us). 

 

 

[chris-H]

Thanks Glassy

 

should have been clearer.. The "current replacement" that is fitted (badly) is a TPS supplied VW screen, stamped VW in bottom corner. I have a choice once this is removed of the same, without seal/gasket or of a Pilkington supplied as pictured by yourself.

One issue that has come to light is that the current batch of TPS supplied screens apparently have some distortion (very slight inward warping) centre of the top edge. This has been stated by VW technical peeps. In fairness I didn't notice this with the one fitted currently.

 

BR

 

Chris

[Glassy]

8 minutes ago, chris-H said:

Thanks Glassy

 

should have been clearer.. The "current replacement" that is fitted (badly) is a TPS supplied VW screen, stamped VW in bottom corner. I have a choice once this is removed of the same, without seal/gasket or of a Pilkington supplied as pictured by yourself.

One issue that has come to light is that the current batch of TPS supplied screens apparently have some distortion (very slight inward warping) centre of the top edge. This has been stated by VW technical peeps. In fairness I didn't notice this with the one fitted currently.

 

BR

 

Chris

 

TPS is a distributor for VAG parts. It's easy to misconstrue what 'stamped' means as a lot of people then believe that the non-stamped windscreens are the same product. This is not the case. If the product bears the manufacturer's logo it is the best available product. All the others are copies of it. Fakes. One is manufactured from the blueprint (owned and copyrighted by the car manufacturer) and the others are produced by a reverse engineering process. They are fakes in other words. However, some will be better than others. 

 

Distortion is almost unavoidable. Whilst there is a chance that the screen in your car isn't as perfect as it could be, when you're sandwiching a polyvinyl butyral sheet between two layers of curved glass the finished product is never going to be as good - optically - as a flat piece of glass. A thick sheet of flat glass is never going to be as good as a thinner sheet. 

Was the current 'VW' screen fitted from the outstet, or did this replace another? I could go back through the thread but just want to get a clearer*, more up-to-date picture of the status quo.  

 

* unintentional pun.