Auto Glass Glossary of Terms
Recently I was surprised to hear one of my colleagues had never heard of the term “decking.” That instance got me thinking, glass techs do speak a language of their own. A good example is from previous Education Committee debates, where I learned there are a lot of colloquial names for plastic sticks like, bones, fiber sticks, and the always popular “pooky sticks”; different terms were used based on the location.
I thought it would be beneficial to start a glossary of terms and add them to the dictionary of auto glass terminology. Here are some to start:
- Decking
Decking refers to the act of pressing the glass downward into its final position on an applied adhesive. A common phrase would be, I decked the glass into position on the pinchweld.
- Pinchweld
Considering this term doesn’t exist in my computer’s dictionary for some reason, I thought it might be added to our glossary for that reason alone. Everyone knows what a pinchweld is, a periodic weld between two layers of metal.
However, in the auto glass industry we look at a pinchweld as not just a thing, but as an item with multiple parts. It can be “L” shaped, “flat” or have a “Z” shape. It can also have a “floor” and a “wall.”
It’s a part of the vehicle frame that a glass part is adhered to.
- Exposed-edged Part
An exposed-edge glass part is any glass part with an unprotected edge. It can still have an underside moulding attached, but the very edge of the glass is exposed.
- Bead
The bead is an extrusion of the urethane adhesive, and is usually found on the under edge of the glass part. However, it can also be recessed on the bottom of the glass. Sometimes the bead is applied to the glass and other times applied to the vehicle frame (pinchweld).
- Cowl
The true term for the “cowl” is the cowl panel. It’s a cover located at the bottom edge of the glass and extends to the front of the firewall. It covers the cowl/firewall drains. The panel usually surrounds the windshield wiper posts and covers the unsightliness of the drains and raw metal underneath. The cowl panel should be removed on most vehicles to perform a proper installation.
- Tucking
Tucking is the act of inserting the glass under the cowl panel without its removal. Tucking can displace the applied adhesive and make the glass installation unsafe. It is usually used to save time removing the cowl panel and wiper.
- SDAT/MDAT
These acronyms stand for Safe Drive Away Time and Minimum Drive Away Time. They have been used interchangeably, however the industry wants to begin using the later. To reach MDAT the urethane must reach the strength necessary to withstand the forces put upon the glass as defined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 208 and 212. The titles of these standards are Passive Restraint Systems and Windshield Retention respectively.
These terms are only the start. If any of my readers have heard a term used they are not familiar with or if you have some terms we should add, please let me know.
Please add the following to your list of Glossary Terms: “Foreign-owned TPA/Competitor/Bully”. Definition…. a Foreign-owned TPA/competitor/bully is a foreign-owned entity that administers auto glass claims for about 18 of the top 20 Insurance Companies in the US and also has the largest US retail glass shop presence and whose mission is to use their ruthless abilities to maximize profits and so dominate the industry to the extent that it becomes almost impossible for a small American-owned auto glass shop to stand up to their unwritten rules and hope to be treated fairly because they know that in order to present proper evidence, one would have to record every conversation, get sworn, notorized affidavits from customers who have been mis-lead and/or steered in an effort to show this ruthlessness to an Insurance Company claim manager that would probably rather not be bothered.
Amen Bob. Make it up as you go. The funny thing is when someone makes it up and tells the clients they start thinking that’s the correct term or explanation when in reality they made it up.
Honest and awesome.
I thought it was illegal to render an inoperable vehicle back to the owner when it was not safe to drive. Releasing it to the customer prior to the safe drive-away time would fall under this category. For this reason, I prefer the former term. To me, it emphasizes safety.
I thought I was the only one who used “pooky”.. Just put some pooky in there and it’ll be fine.