---
title: "What is a Windshield (windscreen) made of?"
description: "Two sheets of ordinary glass laminated to a tough plastic interlayer, which is what stops it falling out. Every component, the material it uses, and the constraint t"
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/windshield/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is a Windshield (windscreen) made of?

**What is a Windshield (windscreen) made of?: Two sheets of ordinary glass laminated to a tough plastic interlayer, which is what stops it falling out.**

The side and rear windows of the same car are usually toughened rather than laminated, and the difference is deliberate. Toughened glass shatters into blunt granules, which is safe for a window you might have to escape through but useless for a windscreen, because the whole panel goes opaque instantly at 110 km/h. Laminated glass cracks and stays transparent enough to drive to the side of the road, and it is a structural part of the body shell contributing to roof crush resistance and airbag support. The interlayer also blocks essentially all UV-B, which is why the driver-side arm of long-distance drivers tans through the side window but not through the screen.

## Component by component

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| Part | Material | Why that material |
| --- | --- | --- |
| glass plies | two sheets of soda-lime float glass, each roughly 2 mm thick | Annealed float glass is cheap, optically flat and can be bent to a complex shape without distortion. |
| interlayer | polyvinyl butyral film, typically 0.76 mm | PVB bonds tenaciously to glass and stretches enormously before tearing, so the screen cracks but holds together and holds you in. |
| acoustic layer | a softer PVB core in three-layer acoustic screens | A damping layer at the resonant frequencies of the panel cuts cabin noise by a few decibels without adding mass. |
| black border | ceramic frit, fired into the glass edge | It protects the polyurethane bonding adhesive from ultraviolet light, which would otherwise break it down and let the screen come loose. |
| coatings and inserts | infrared-reflective layers, heating wires, rain sensor and camera brackets | Driver assistance cameras look through the screen, which is why a replacement screen must be the right specification and recalibrated. |

## Other cars and driving objects

- [Car tire](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tire/) — Several different rubber compounds reinforced with steel and textile cord — closer to a composite than to rubber.
- [Car battery](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/car-battery/) — Lead and lead dioxide plates in dilute sulfuric acid, in a polypropylene case — mostly lead, by weight.
- [Airbag](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/airbag/) — A coated nylon bag inflated by a small solid-propellant gas generator in about thirty milliseconds.
- [Brake pad](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/brake-pad/) — A friction compound of fibres, fillers and resin, moulded and bonded onto a steel backing plate.
- [Spark plug](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/spark-plug/) — A ceramic insulator carrying a centre electrode of nickel, platinum or iridium inside a steel shell.
- [Seatbelt](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/seatbelt/) — Woven polyester webbing designed to stretch a controlled amount, plus a locking retractor and a pyrotechnic pretensioner.

## Common questions

### What is a Windshield (windscreen) made of?

Two sheets of ordinary glass laminated to a tough plastic interlayer, which is what stops it falling out.

### What is the glass plies of a Windshield (windscreen) made of?

Two sheets of soda-lime float glass, each roughly 2 mm thick. Annealed float glass is cheap, optically flat and can be bent to a complex shape without distortion.

### What is the interlayer of a Windshield (windscreen) made of?

Polyvinyl butyral film, typically 0.76 mm. PVB bonds tenaciously to glass and stretches enormously before tearing, so the screen cracks but holds together and holds you in.

## Related pages

- [Car tire](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tire/)
- [Car battery](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/car-battery/)
- [Airbag](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/airbag/)
- [Brake pad](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/brake-pad/)
- [Spark plug](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/spark-plug/)
- [Seatbelt](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/seatbelt/)
- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)