We all know the value of good car maintenance, it’s not too dissimilar to wearing a mask during these pandemic times we are all living through. Regular or scheduled vehicle maintenance not only protects yourself but also protects other road users and pedestrians. For example, it is not advisable to drive your car with a long brake pedal. It is not overly smart to drive a car with loose body panels. And if one of the headlight or indicator lamps is not functioning properly, time to get the problem fixed. 

And we have all experienced the pain of being on the receiving end of a cracked windscreen. The small, often pin size stone that flicks up into the air, seemingly out of nowhere, and collides with your windscreen as you are out running errands, has turned from a small pin-sized chip to a hairline crack. Or worse, the crack is unrepairable and the only option is to replace the entire windscreen.

You could drive around with a cracked windscreen if channeling your inner Ace Ventura Pet Detective personality. But this is not a Hollywood comedy movie, this is planet earth and our world is governed by rules and regulations. The general consensus is that driving around with a cracked and unrepairable windscreen isn’t smart, it most certainly isn’t safe and depending on the size and location of the crack it may not be entirely legal. To that end, such a dangerous scenario poses a safety risk to yourself and other road users. 

A windscreen with a crack measuring 40mm or more is an instant MOT failure. A crack impairing the driver’s line of sight is, in legal terms, a fixed penalty and three points waiting to be digitally stamped on your driver’s license. 

Windscreen Safety Taken To The Next Level

It is important to understand that the windscreen is designed to be a major structural component of a car, and once bonded into place increases the overall torsional rigidity and stiffness of the entire vehicle. A decisively adhered windscreen mitigates the effects of an unforeseen crash by improving impact resistance by up to 40-percent. But you need a good application of adhesive because let’s imagine this scenario. If you were unfortunate to be involved in a car crash and the window popped out that 40-percent structural integrity isn’t doing what it’s supposed to be doing if the adhesive has failed.

One example of how strong adhesives have become can be seen in the fighter jet industry. During the manufacturing process, the wings are glued/bonded into position. No extra mechanical fasteners, no rivets, just a layer of polymeric material. And think about that for a minute… a jet fighter can pull a tremendous amount of g-force when performing extreme flight maneuvers. This example alone validates how strong these specialist adhesives have become.

Understanding The Properties of Modern Adhesives

Modern materials science and chemistry is able to create advanced, state-of-the-art adhesives. Scientists are able to formulate new products and variants by changing the structure of adhesive compounds at the molecular level, creating new formulas for a variety of applications. And the supercar of bonding/adhesive manufacturers is Henkel. 

Henkel has a long track record of developing and supplying carmakers with benchmark adhesives for numerous purposes. The company is regarded as the blue ribbon of adhesive manufacturers, the premier league so to speak. And they play in the industrial and consumer retail divisions.

Henkel’s top team of scientists creates bespoke polyurethane-based recipes. But they are not sitting next to an over-sized boiling pot suspended on a wooden tripod over a wood-burning fire. Modern science is conducted at the molecular level and is guided by AI algorithms, a lot of computational processing power which yields a data set. This data set is then formulated and categorised into developing super-strong adhesives for many use-case scenarios within the automotive manufacturing process. And beyond into trade professions such as the vehicle glass repair and replacement industry.

TEROSON BOND is The Next Generation Now

Henkel has created the next generation of windscreen adhesives extrapolated from their deep knowledge and experience within the automotive industry. TEROSON BOND 60 is a descendant, OEM-approved bonding solution developed for the vehicle repair industry specifically catering for windscreen replacement. Windscreen adhesives need to be weatherproof, fight against the degrading effects of ultraviolet rays, be cool enough to deal with hot temperatures, and brave enough to cope with ice-cold weather.  

Henkel has formulated a group of cold and warm applied windscreen adhesives. The actual science and mechanics of how cold and warm applied adhesives work requires a deep technical breakdown. But we’ll give the shortened consumer-friendly version.

TEROSON BOND 60 is classed as a polyurethane adhesive which is composed of organic polymer chains joined by urethane/carbonate links. At the microscopic level, these polymers are thermosetting which simply means room temperature provides enough heat for the adhesive to set and cure. 

Polyurethane adhesives can be modified into a liquid or a paste. Remember those polymer chains? As the chemical reaction is taking place at room temperature the polymers start linking together to form an ultra-strong network of chemical bonds. Once fully set and cured polyurethane adhesives are weatherproof and do not melt when heat is applied.

TEROSON BOND 60 offers significantly improved application and processing times for windscreen replacement jobs and is available in three derivative products. 

TEROSON BOND 60 : is a cold applied 1-component polyurethane windscreen adhesive with a 16 minute glazing time and a safe drive-away time of only 60 minutes.

TEROSON BOND 60 True Primerless : is another cold-applied 1-component windscreen adhesive with a 25 minute glazing time and a safe drive-away time of 60 minutes. The integrated primer ensures fast and easy processing.

TEROSON BOND 60 Controlled Cure : is an OEM-approved, warm applied 2-component polyurethane windscreen adhesive, with an average glazing time of 25 minutes. The curing process will occur irrespective of weather conditions. The adhesive is ideal for mounting large windows and side-screens e.g. in trucks. 

Outstanding Ease of Use 

TEROSON BOND 60, the most widely used of the three, is considered to be the industry benchmark for windscreen adhesives. It undergoes higher-standard impact tests than any other windscreen bonding adhesive on the market.

TEROSON BOND 60 is formulated to be easy, clean and fast to process. Because it is formulated to have a paste-like consistency there is no stringing and no sagging as the adhesive is being applied. It can be used in temperatures as low as -10°C, but that is an extreme use case scenario. In most cases, TEROSON BOND 60 will be applied by professionals in a dedicated working environment.

The speed of processing a windscreen replacement allows for a safe drive-away time of 60 minutes. TEROSON BOND 60 is also compatible with ADAS sensors due to very low conductivity and complies with the U.S. Federal transport agency’s National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) FMVSS 212/208 crash test standards.

Re-writing The Industry Rule Book

Henkel goes further and performs an in-house developed crash test standard for a 100% frontal impact windscreen retention test at 40mph, 10mph more than the federally mandated FMVSS 212/208 test. Henkel’s testing procedure significantly validates the superior performance properties of TEROSON BOND 60 which has become the preferred choice within the vehicle repair and maintenance industry.

For over 140 years Henkel has never rested on its many laurels and plaudits. The company’s core philosophy is to take vehicle maintenance and passenger car safety to the next level. And if that means beating their own industry standard-setting benchmarks, then you can be sure Henkel will continue to deliver now and into the future.

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