Hi Ian,

Yes, I'm still in the game and thanks for finally defining what "AIUI" mean though it was only 11 years ago, HA-HA!

I have also recently learned what "AITA" means, though not in reference to myself... so far!

When I was in high school back around 1967, one of my classmates crashed his VW Beetle and his head went part way through its windshield, leaving him with some wounds that looked incredibly painful weeks after his accident when he returned to classes. So, I have seen the results first-hand. To this day, I wonder how well he healed. 

Laminated windshields are still in use in North America. I think the plastic membranes are now much more durable and won't stretch or puncture the way you describe.  I have seen in videos firemen using saws to cut away the windshield and roof to extract victims, The completely broken windshield glass remains bonded to the membrane and is rolled away as it is cut free.

Hi Dan, AIUI = "as I understand it".

Laminated glass was banned here for some time because of a gruesome collision outcome known as the "crown of thorns" .. Without restraint, in a front on collision, the head is propelled forward into the windscreen and partially through the shattered laminated windscreen which opens up at the point of impact with splits radiating outwards. As the head recoils back from the impact, the hole closes up and the shards slice off the top of the head. :(((. Luckily (as a first responder) I've never attended such an event .... but there are stories.....

As restraints became more usual, "safety " glass has been replaced by laminated as it reduces the catastrophic (BTDT) sudden loss of vision consequent to rocks striking the windscreen (even with the small safety zone usually found in the drivers line of sight in most tempered windscreens). Back when I was driving my Mini home from college there was a infamous stretch of road known as the "Crystal Highway" due to the number of windscreen remnants scattered along a hundred or so KMs of roadside...

Good to see you're still in the game...

Cheers, Ian

PS Seat belts are definitely the way to go...

I have a 1982 Austin Mini and the tint on my passenger and driver side windows is getting scraped by the clips that hold the seal on the Inside Edge of the windows. I was wondering if anybody had a solution for this?

Tempered glass went as far back at least as the 1937 Plymouth - my earliest recollection of cubed glass - I didn't break it though.

Ian: I don't know what 'AIUI' means - please clarify, but laminated windshields were/are part of the restraint system - designed to keep people otherwise unrestrained IN the windshield. That included the glass retaining components / systems. I believe they still are - I recall reading something a few years ago about window repacement shops not using the correct adhesives to keep the glass in.

Seat belts are the best/only way to keep bodies in the vehicle. Air bags do not do that at all - they only cushion impact for a few very short seconds, and at only certain angles of impact - they are really very limited in their effectiveness. Air bags keep occupants from colliding with the vehicle body - including the glass. The glass probably helps keep the air bags positioned, providing a back-up for the cushion effect.

Windshield glass is indeed hard - my sister and I cracked a 1938 Dodge windsheld with our heads when Dad jammed the brakes on when cut off at an intersection. No seat belts back then!  I think the gearshift knob with every shift hitting the knee of the middle passenger - me - hurt more than the windshield!

Heat isn't needed to dry the tint. Heat is used to shape the tint over a curved area like a rear window so you can apply just one piece of tint. In the 'olden days' the rear window was tinted in strips that joined on the demister lines so you couldn't see them easily.

KJ

I would be very surprised if ALL side/rear auto glass was not of the tempered/toughened/safety type - at leasty on any vehicle produced in the last half a century....  And much the same for windscreens - until recent times. 

AIUI laminated screens were illegal in the US due to the dangers they imposed on unrestrained occupants.  This has changed with the introduction of airbags/belts. 

Cheers, Ian

I don't know if this helps, but over the years I've seen at least (2) Mini Woody Wagons and (1) Wagon w/out wood with window tint. So pre-'69 sliders on the Wagons good to go.                                                                  Mini Estate

P.S. Here's the Wagon I remembered seeing with tint somewhere along the way >>>

Great info! The issue the guy has, apparently, it's a heating process he uses to aid in adhering the film to the glass. I appreciate his concerns for sure, but am thinking he really doesn't want to do the job. So, I'm in the hunt for another tint dude here in the Fresno/Clovis area that is comfortable in working with this glass...

It's probably worth knowing that tempered/toughened windshields were available for Minis. It's best to check.

Kelley

Tempered/toughened/heat strenghtened glass is heated on both sides in the factory to a very hot (glowing) state where it is almost plastic, then quenched with air to cool the surfaces much faster than the core. This sets up a considerable amount of surface tension evenly over the glass. Since the tensions are equal, the glass holds its shape (flat or curved). The glass must be pre-shaped for the final use because it cannot be cut afterwards. If you have a sheet of glass which you think may be tempered, you cans ometimes see the pinch marks near one edge where the clamps held it while being heated. On cars they are often hidden by the framing.

Tempered glass cannot be cut afterwards because of the surface tension. If you try to cut it with a glass cutter, you relieve the tension in one place and the remaining tension just splits the glass. because the tension is in all directions, the splits divide very frequently, resulting in the thousands of tiny glass cubes, each of which still has some tension in it. This happens very quiclky, resulting in the window "bursting". ( If you're careful, sometimes you can break one of those cubes in two with your fingers.)

The burst can 'throw' the glass more in one direction - the side on which the failure was initiated, because the tension on the other side is not broken at the same time.

A scratch or nick deep enough into the glass to penetrate the surface tension results in the glass failing. If the scratch doesn't go all the way through, it is still a weak point that may fail due to additional stress or eventual fatigue. (This may be what happened in travellering's case.)

A sharp blow e.g. from a glass popper or its ghetto version (a spark plug), causes localized excess, unbalanced stress that the surface tension cannot resist, and the glass fails.

On buildings, large tempered skylights were once a problem because the glass could fail but the cubes would stick together, continuing to form a sheet that would fall out of the frame and cause severe injury. Some building codes prohibited tempered glass unless a grille was installed below it to break up the sheet as it fell.

Back to tinting films : Extreme tint films may generate excessive heat in the glass. On the the hand, the film will hold the glass cubes together. If it is a "security' grade film it will provide that bonus.

Now a question: with films, do they cut the film to fit to the edge of the glass seals and slides (e.g. a roll-up window), or would it be better on sliding windows to remove the glass so the film edge would be tucked in? That could at least solve the poecton of eals issue.

Based on an sort-of explosion inside a locked storage container, I can verify that the sliding windows will shatter without obvious damage to the door or seals.  We went to get the car out after some hot days and cold nights in East TN and found glass both inside and outside the car over about a five foot radius.

Great idea!  I have 20% all the way round on my car and LOVE IT

Tinter never asked the questoin to me, but i assume he knew what he was doing-Great sucess...

If hes' putting enough heat to worry about the glass and temp getting that hot- then mouldings and rubbers should be melted first... not good....

 quick search  = Toughened glass is the same as tempered glass.  The windshield is Laminated.

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toughened_glass

I'm interested in having a light window tint applied to the rear and side windows of my Mini. The question from the tint guy is whether or not the glass is tempered or laminated. I know the wind screen must be laminated and assume the side and rear glass is tempered. All pieces are original to the car and are clearly marked with the Toughened labeling. The issue is that he uses a heat gun to aid in the adhesion process and is worried that he may break the glass in the process... I've never thought of this as an issue in having windows tinted in the past. Is there something new or something I am unaware of?

Any input is welcomed.

Jon.