NWRA Issues Member Alert Regarding Possible Requirement of Windshield Etching for Repairs and Replacements

The National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) has issued an alert to its membership that it has learned that the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is working on a new updated Z26 standard that would require all "modifications" (including repairs and replacements) to original factory-installed glass be marked on the glass so as to catalogue all alterations.

The updated standard, Z26.1, is being developed through its SAE/ANSI Z26.1 Automotive Safety Glazing Committee, according to the NWRA.

The cataloguing of repairs and replacements would be tracked by etching a trademark directly onto the glass surface and would provide information about the type of modification and the person or company who modified the glass.

NWRA notes that deliberations of the committee have been closed, and the details of the proposal are unclear.

Some proponents of the updated standard believe it will prevent issues with salvage glass being used inappropriately in windshield replacements.

Similarly, one glass industry source who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, says that just as the glass installed into the windshield should be marked as to who manufactured the glass, it only makes sense that repairs and replacements should be noted also. In addition, the source said this would provide more information in the event of an accident involving a windshield as to what had been done to the glass.

"If [the repair community is] going to claim that no one's ever gone through a repaired windshield, how do you know that?" said the source.

John Turnbull, who chairs the SAE committee on Automotive Glazing, could not be reached for comment.

CLICK HERE to read the full text of the NWRA Member Alert.

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