AGRSS® Council Helps Manufacturer Resolve PAAS Issue
Apr 2nd, 2011 | By agrss | Category: Latest News, StandardsThe AGRSS® Council Inc. recently learned that while the NAGS catalog notes that the FW02525 should be available with a pre-applied adhesive system (PAAS), at least one manufacturer has been distributing this windshield without the expected PAAS. The Council notified the manufacturer by letter on February 4, and on March 8 the Council received a letter that the issue had been corrected.
AGRSS® Standards Committee chair Bob Beranek says he first heard of the issue from Binswanger Glass, an AGRSS®-Registered company with locations throughout the country.
“Binswanger officials voiced a concern about some of the aftermarket glass coming to them that was supposed to have PAAS and instead had underside mouldings,” says Beranek.
This posed a safety concern. “When you exchange a PAAS bead with an underside moulding with double-faced tape, the amount of bonding is reduced substantially,” says Beranek. “This is a problem when it comes to replicating the OEM installation.”
Beranek himself had encountered the same issue with this particular part from the same manufacturer. “I had to make a decision—do I add an underside moulding, which would render that glass unsafe? Or install the glass without any moulding at all, in which case the customer would have an appearance difference?” he said. “I’m caught between a rock and a hard place—I can put in an unsafe windshield or I can put in a windshield the customer doesn’t want to look at.”
The manufacturer advised the AGRSS® Council that, as a result of the AGRSS® notification, the company conducted a full review of its replacement products that are offered as PAAS products.
“We discovered that we have products identified as a PAAS product that are not indeed a PAAS product,” writes the manufacturer. “Those products will be re-identified as a non-PAAS product if a proper NAGS number exists. In those cases where a NAGS number does not exist, [we] will request a new NAGS non-PAAS number that we can properly use to identify our glass replacement products.”
“We were very pleased to see the AGRSS® Standard work in such a positive way. It requires that any unsafe conditions be brought to the manufacturer’s attention for correction,” says AGRSS® Council Inc. president Debra Levy. “This safety-conscious manufacturer was appreciative of the notification. The system worked.”
If AGRSS would act the same way in Europe, the AGRR market would be dramatically improved !
Kudos !
Respect, Bob, you really are the one to point the hot issues concerning techs’ expertise !
Daniel, from Dr.Parbriz, Romania
It’s wonderful that this information is available to us, however, it would have been helpful to know this information when it was first discovered, who the particular manufacturer is, and what the correct solution would be. After reading the article, we are aware of the problem, however, how to properly install this windshield by using the AGRSS standard in still unclear.
First of all, concerning the timing of the discovery. It would be irresponsible of AGRSS to issue a warning on every possible issue that comes to our attention until we confirm that the issue is true. As soon as we confirmed the problem was real, we immediately accessed the issue and requested a response from the distributor in question. The distributor then inventoried their entire stock and found even more parts that were improperly marked and proceeded with the necessary steps to correct the problem.
The windshields were not unsafe, only the markings were incorrect. The only thing that would make this issue a safety concern is if the installing technician failed to properly bond the part to the vehicle. It is true that to properly bond the glass to the body, the customers’ vehicle would not look the same but it could be safely installed.
The part of concern was a FW2525, which is a PAAS style of windshield. Because it is PAAS, there is a protruding lip that appears to the customer as a cosmetic finish. It also has an applied bead of cured urethane that is used in conjunction with fresh urethane to bond the glass part to the body. The FW2525 in question had neither the lip or the cured urethane bead thus the cosmetic finish could not be accomplished and still have a solid bond. If you buy this windshield, there is only one way to install this glass safely. That is to bond the glass to the body without any underside molding that would take up bonding space. Yes, it will not look finished but if you choose to use this part rather than a real PAAS FW2525, that is you only real alternative.
I hope this answered your concerns. If you wish to speak with me directly, feel free to contact me at 608-837-0968.