Windscreen Glass, Pilkington or PPG/PGW? Topic is solved

[mrbrian200]

At the least 3M would have a competing interlayer product. And probably some patent sharing/licensing agreements between the two. The sheer number of 3M's various product offerings is staggering. If you can touch, see, smell, burn, breath, stick it, or feel it, 3M probably either makes it or makes something just like it.

[93Regina]

3m product referenced specifically says it does not result in a purplish hue

*Purple balances color perception and is good for contrast against green backgrounds such as hiking in forests. *Unlike blue-tinted lenses, which can cause more glare, purple tinting on glasses does provide some shading from the sun's rays.

They also say in their literature that it's a "clear film."

An OEM glass manufacture would sell a product that conforms to DOT/etc regulations/laws.

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[matthew1]

Brian, great information here. Thanks for walking us through your decision points. Added to the Repair Database.

[mrbrian200]

Brian, great information here. Thanks for walking us through your decision points. Added to the Repair Database.

The more l looked at Fuyao as a company (googling for information), the more favorable they looked as a reasonable, most likely OE quality ARG supplier. Then when the glass sourced through PPG turned out to come from them and they put it on lit stand before installation where I could see that it looked flawless, I decided I was a-ok with it and went ahead.
Fuyao is listed as an OE supplier for Volvo...as well as the majority of other recognizable car makes out there including other mid-high end euro brands. My gut was telling me their glass will be on par with Pilkington as far as overall quality/durablility etc. Just doesn't say "VOLVO" in the lower right corner, which insisting on might be getting a little overly picky on a 12 year old car that I have no intention of selling.maybe.ever.

[matthew1]

I'm angry I didn't do more research eight years ago when I replaced my Volvo V70 R glass. I should have updated that topic, but regardless the replacement glass was wavy when you looked at it from inside the car. Wavy distortion when looking right, as the driver. Not too bad, but noticeable and distracting for me.

[mrbrian200]

I figured out how to remove the rain-x, or whatever similar product the glass installer applied, or persistent oily slick from manufacturing without too much trouble. Like rain-x, going over it with alcohol just smears the stuff around after which it dries to a white haze you can't see through until you buff it out after the alcohol dries. Makes the windscreen wipers stick to the windscreen too much: they 'fart' across the screen with a lot of noise in addition to smearing water/not wiping it clean...

Equal parts ammonia and carpet shampoo..full strength don't dilute..with a healthy squirt of dawn dish washing liquid. About 1 measuring cup total mixture. Spray windscreen being careful not to get over-spray on the paint. Wipe around with a soft paper towel. It will be very 'sudsy'. Then go over it with a dry towel. Throw away the towels you just used and repeat 4 or 5 times, then finish with a good rinse with clean water and dry towels until the cleansers are clear/no more suds form when wiping with a wet towel. All better.

My rain sensor adhesive pad is 'bubbled' awful, hence the sensor doesn't work very well. Will report again on this once I get a chance to address it. From research it seems glass installers often don't get this right and owners frequently have to redo it. It's acting exactly as others have reported when the pad isn't cleanly applied and/or the installer merely stuck a second pad on top of the original-which doesn't work.

[mrbrian200]

Rain sensor works fine with the Fuyao glass. The glass installers reused the original silicone pad and made a mess of it: didn't clean it, used some sort of oil to compensate for it not lining up properly because it came unbonded from the sensor body one side but was still attached on the other, but they didn't seem to understand because it's 'stretchy' it won't line up properly unless you pull it completely off and start over. A couple ounces of applied working grey matter, some MAF/electronics cleaner to clear the oil they tried to use with a more scientific approach toward installation (it's not going to work right if the silicone pad isn't lined up perfect on the sensor body before you stick it back on the windshield) Drove an hour in light/varying rain, it works as good as it did with the OE factory glass now, which is pretty good. I get really spoiled - you don't realize how much you mess with the wiper speed settings less the rain sensor, which is a constant distraction during inclement conditions when you really don't need 'extra stuff' to be fiddling with.

[June]

I know it's been a couple of years mrbrian200 since installation. How has that Fuyao windshield heald up? I finally bit the bullet this week and filed the claim on my windshield. My insurance company allowed $655 for the glass, so I had to kick in a extra $300 to get Genuine Volvo replacement glass. I'm using a glass installation company my dealer uses and recommended highly. I did check with my parts department to verify the company did order my glass through them and they did. Once the glass is installed I will update what manufacturer is marked on the Genuine Volvo replacement glass. June

[June]

The new Genuine Volvo replacement windshield was installed today. The factory windshield was marked on the passenger side and the new marked on the driver side. The original was made in Italy and so is the replacement. Really nice to have the new glass installed as my original had plenty of nicks from 200K of rocks and sand. It looked like the driver side lower corner had been leaking. June