Small chip on the tempered glass

[Scarly]

Yesterday, before cleaning my PC, I noticed a small chip on the tempered glass of my Lian Li 216. I have had this case for almost two years now and I take great care of it. To be honest, I don't know if this chip was there from day one. Most of the time the PC was under the table, and only recently I put it on the coffee table on the sunny side of the room (due to the glare of the sun I could see the chip). Please tell me if this is something to worry about? Could this be a time bomb or is everything ok?

 

[lemonadesoda]

Yes. This is a time bomb. In t minus 10000 you will get a Windows BSOD.

Seriously, it is nothing to worry about. There is no PRESSURE on the glass, so it is nothing more than a scratch that you can't see at 10 foot.

 

[freeagent]

Right on the edge too.. be careful with it.

 

[Denver]

I don't think it's anything to worry about, as long as the chip isn't overclocked of course.

 

[Scarly]

Thanks guys. This question may sound stupid, but this is my first pc case with tempered glass.

 

[Veseleil]

I'd just undervolt the chip and call it a day.

 

[Bill_Bright]

If you are thinking it may spread like a tiny crack in a car's windshield might eventually spread across the entire windshield, that is not likely to happen. Car windshields are subject to extreme temperatures from sub-zero °F to well over 100°F. Not only that, hot windshield glass may be subjected to sudden and extreme changes in temperatures, for example, from a pop-up rain shower or water hose.

Nothing like that sort of abuse will happen with your computer case glass.

Right on the edge too.. be careful with it.

Yeah, a sharp edge would be my concern. You don't want to get blood all over the place.

 

[Scarly]

If you are thinking it may spread like a tiny crack in a car's windshield might eventually spread across the entire windshield, that is not likely to happen.

I don't think it can spread. I wanted to know if this defect would make the glass more fragile as a whole.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I wanted to know if this defect would make the glass more fragile as a whole.

If this was a crack, and bigger than seen in your image, I might be concerned about that. But a chip spreading would not concern me.

It is important to note one of, if not "the" major advantage to "tempered" glass is how it breaks. Regular (annealed) glass breaks relatively easily and into large "shards" of glass with dangerously sharp edges. Tempered glass is harder to break and then shatters into tiny, nearly harmless chunks.

As long as the chip area now has no sharp edges to slice open a finger, I feel you have nothing to worry about. However, if you still are worried, visit your local hardware/home improvement store (or Amazon) and get a diamond file made specifically to smooth out glass edges.

And in the meantime, put a piece tape over it.

Or better yet, forget about it and enjoy your computer.

 

[Scarly]

If this was a crack, and bigger than seen in your image, I might be concerned about that. But a chip spreading would not concern me.

It is important to note one of, if not "the" major advantage to "tempered" glass is how it breaks. Regular (annealed) glass breaks relatively easily and into large "shards" of glass with dangerously sharp edges. Tempered glass is harder to break and then shatters into tiny, nearly harmless chunks.

As long as the chip area now has no sharp edges to slice open a finger, I feel you have nothing to worry about. However, if you still are worried, visit your local hardware/home improvement store (or Amazon) and get a diamond file made specifically to smooth out glass edges.

And in the meantime, put a piece tape over it.

Or better yet, forget about it and enjoy your computer.

Well, thanks for such informative reply, but the sharp edges are not the problem here. It's just that all of us have seen these horrible photos of people shattering their tempered glass, where one thing could cause the whole glass to explode. That's why I decided to know opinions here, I wanted to know if this small issue could be a problem in a long run.

 

[Shrek]

I don't think it can spread. I wanted to know if this defect would make the glass more fragile as a whole.

That is possible, but if it breaks it is into pebbles and not jagged shards.

Tempered glass - Wikipedia
Not sure I agree with
"Because of the balanced stresses in the glass, damage to any portion will eventually result in the glass shattering into thumbnail-sized pieces. The glass is most susceptible to breakage due to damage at its edge, where the tensile stress is the greatest..."

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Im not sure if you can use a resin kit normally used to repair rock chips in car windscreens to repair that chip. I think you can but its going to take some fiddling with to get perfect.

 

[xrobwx71]

Drip some super glue on it, sprinkle baking soda on it to instant catalyze, sand (600-1000 grit?) and buff to desired look and feel.

 

[nomdeplume]

Exactly what I was about to type. That or clear nail polish and emery board.

 

[Bill_Bright]

It's just that all of us have seen these horrible photos of people shattering their tempered glass, where one thing could cause the whole glass to explode.

It seems like you are needlessly obsessing over this small issue.

Yes, there is a remote possibility the glass could shatter but that is very remote ESPECIALLY now that you are aware of the chip. I would just advise you be a little extra careful when removing and replacing the panel.

To me, it would be impossible for it to break without some outside force striking it. So just sitting on the floor (or wherever it normally sits when in use) is not going to be a problem unless you whack it with a hammer. So don't whack it with a hammer.

Not sure I agree with

Yeah, I think that could be worded a bit better. I "think" they mean the pane would be easier to shatter if you hit an edge with a hammer as opposed to hitting the pane in the middle of the pane.

 

[bonehead123]

Been there, done that, exact same situation, except it happened on a TT 900....

My solution was to carefully file it smooth as noted above, then apply several (10 in my case) thin coats of clear finger nail polish, lightly & carefully sanding with 320 grit automotive sandpaper in between each coat, clean with vinegar & let dry 24hrs before applying the next coat...

The end result was that I got the chip filled back up to where it was almost perfectly flush with the rest of the edge and basically unnoticeable, UNLESS you used a flashlight & magnifying glass and knew EXACTLY where to look...

Looking back now, it probably triggered an OCD episode, since I take extremely good care of my things (even more so for my 'puters), but oh well

 

[Bill_Bright]

Looking back now, it probably triggered an OCD episode

At least it was for a good cause. And more importantly, your procedure worked!

 

[A Computer Guy]

Yesterday, before cleaning my PC, I noticed a small chip on the tempered glass of my Lian Li 216. I have had this case for almost two years now and I take great care of it. To be honest, I don't know if this chip was there from day one. Most of the time the PC was under the table, and only recently I put it on the coffee table on the sunny side of the room (due to the glare of the sun I could see the chip). Please tell me if this is something to worry about? Could this be a time bomb or is everything ok?

View attachment 392255

Well you could put a bit of superglue on it and smack the center of the glass a bit with a mallet to absolve your fears however I suspect it will be ok.

 

[Scarly]

It seems like you are needlessly obsessing over this small issue.

You are not wrong. I have a difficult period in life, so my mental condition is quite weak. Since I don't know how much this affects the situation (maybe it still counts as new), I'm a little concerned.

But I am very careful with it, so it is very likely that this chip was there from the very beginning. I just don't know how really hard you need to try to explode such glasses, so I wasn't sure if this issue could make the whole glass REALLY fragile, or it is really fine as it was before.

 

[Veseleil]

Relax, that glass panel is tougher than you think. It's not a common glass type, and you'd know that if you tried to break a piece of a tempered glass panel of any size.
You're troubling yourself over a non issue really.

 

[Scarly]

Relax, that glass panel is tougher than you think. It's not a common glass type, and you'd know that if you tried to break a piece of a tempered glass panel of any size.
You're troubling yourself over a non issue really.

Glad to hear that, really. Thank you.