Sometimes the car becomes a box of surprises for everyone. Who has not discovered, after many years, that the fuel indicator tells us the side where the tank is located, according to the positioning of the hose in the icon? Or that a small hidden cover in the bumper hides an anchor point to tow the car in an emergency?
No matter how many years our car has and no matter how many kilometers we have traveled together, it is easy to realize that we do not know many things about it. Without going into mechanical issues and without taking into account the components that are hidden -a conventional car has between 70,000 and 90,000 parts-, there is always something that catches our attention because we had not previously paid attention to that detail.
If we look carefully at the windshield we will realize an element that most people go unnoticed. We refer to a small strip made up of small black dots that frames the glass. At first glance, it may seem that it is an aesthetic element or strategically placed vinyl to protect passengers from the sun’s rays. But in no case has this strip been designed for these purposes.
These black dots are actually a thin layer of ceramic paint known as a ‘frit band’. Its mission is none other than to hide and protect the insulating urethane adhesive used to fix these crystals. It is very resistant and is completely glued to the glass, so it is very difficult to tear off, even if we try to scratch or scratch it even with a spatula.
As Carglass explains on its blog, the ‘frit band’ allows the properties of the adhesive that holds the glass to be maintained, despite high temperatures, rainwater and strong gusts of wind to which cars are exposed. “If it weren’t for these small circles of ceramic paint, the probability that our glass could detach when in contact with high temperatures or large amounts of water for a long time would increase,” explains the specialist in repairing and replacing vehicle windows.
The fact that this ceramic painting is made up of small dots or circles responds solely to an aesthetic question. At the same time, this presentation also allows for a more fluid transition from the black band that surrounds the windscreen towards the interior of the glass becoming more transparent. In this way, it is additionally possible to better distribute the temperature during the baking of the glass and thus minimize its optical distortion, explains Carglass.
This effect would be much more complicated to achieve if, instead of points, black lines or bands were used. Facing the driver, the small black dots are less invasive than if, for example, lines were used. It must be taken into account that more than 90% of the information on traffic that drivers receive comes through their vision, points out Fundación Mapfre. Likewise, he points out that for most of the maneuvers the driver must rely on his visual sense.
Surely from now on we will realize that most of the cars we see every day have that small strip of black dots on the windshield. Only the windows of older cars lack it. But, in addition, we can look at how in the windows of other vehicles, such as buses, trains and subways, that ‘frit band’ also appears that perhaps we had gone completely unnoticed until now.
