Functionalizing Glass Surfaces

Cleaning windows is just the beginning.  Chemistry and nanotechnology now allow us to completely change the physical and electrical properties of window glass.  This is known as functionalizing.  What are the benefits?

             First we can give glass a “rain guard”.  The surface is made hydrophobic.  Such a treatment is desirable for vehicles as it greatly improves visibility in rain storms.  It is also great for greenhouses.  Choosing the right chemical and knowing how to best apply it is critical to longevity and performance.

Gaurding glass from stains can be done using specialized hydrophobic treatments.  Hard water spots from concrete efflorescence, and sprinkler systems (ground water) can be a real problem as they take away from the aesthetics of the building.

Invisible scratch/mar guards work well on high traffic doors, entryways, high profile exterior glass, and mirrors.  These also are hydrophobic and help with routine cleaning.

Hydrophylic (water loving) reactive coatings are great for antifog properties on bathroom mirrors and certain windows.  These treatments also make it easier to clean the outside of high windows using a water fed pole.

Another  very interesting application for hydrophobic treatments of mirror glass is what I call peekaboo stenciling.  It is possible to create images and lettering on bathroom mirrors that are completely invisible until the mirror is fogged.  But when the fog goes away so does the image.  This process will repeat forever.  It is permanent over the life of the mirror if cleaned correctly.  It is a great advertising idea that works especially well for motels and hotels.  These could even sell small mirrors with their logo, name,  phone number, and website to their customers for advertising purposes. 

For this matter even hair salons might be interested in doing this on small four by four inch mirrors that they could pass out to their best customers.  Young girls especially find this fascinating.  They would keep the mirror in their hand bag.  Then they would show their friend by taking it out and breathing on it. 

The idea  even works on ice box glass doors.  Every time they are opened they fog up.    Anything can be advertised such as ice cream or anything else that must be kept frozen.  There are likely many other ideas for functionalized glass that can be explored.

Written By Henry Grover jr.

To receive these posts in your inbox just type your email in the box to the top right "Follow By Email".

For product sales henrygroverjr@gmail.com

Properties of Micro & Nanoscopic Particles

The abrasives industry is a many faceted animal.  The technology of creating particles used in polishing hard surfaces has advanced tremendously over the last several decades.  Currently we can manufacture particles measured not just in microns but in nanometers.  A single nanometer is a thousand times smaller than a micron.  The average sized micro-pore of a glass surface is five microns across.  So a ten nanometer particle would be five hundred times smaller than this.  More than size we must consider hardness.  There is also morphology (shape) which is typically controlled by the crystal structure.  Which in turn is controlled by the chemistry.  The property of agglomeration is something to consider as well.  This simply means that the individual particles tend to ‘ball up’.  Such larger agglomerates can create scratches.  Then there is the purity rating.  Powders rated  99.9 percent pure are not at all uncommon.  Next to be considered is the friability of the particle.  In other words, will the particle break up when put to work?  If it does at what pressure and to what size?  This is a very useful property since it allows the user to remove much surface initially then finish with a much smoother surface.  It is also true that friable particles will have new edges for better cutting and refinishing.  There is also the property of chemical reactivity which requires a knowledge of what type of surface the powders will be used on.  Even if the particles will not react directly with the surface forming covalent or even trivalent bonds; they still could be adsorbed onto the surface ionically.  In other words they could be affected by what is otherwise called hydrogen bonding.  One more question to be answered is have these particles been functionalized?  That is has some chemical or chemicals been reacted with the outer surface of the particles so that they are now much more water miscible or oleophilic?  As you can see there is much to consider when looking for a particular particle for a certain formulation or product.  This is a new kind of “particle zoo”!  Lets first consider polycrystalline synthetic diamond particles.  Soda lime flat glass surfaces are rather soft compared to diamond.  Everyone knows that diamond cuts glass.  Just look at how sharp those particles in the above picture are!  Since diamond has a mohs hardness of nine compared to that of glass (which is only seven), you can see how effective these particles  are in resurfacing windows.                                       

There are other abrasives out there too.  Such as cerium oxide, silica, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride, and many more.  All of these posses many different properties.  So there are literally thousands of different abrasives that someone can choose from.  Product development can be rather time consuming because of all the experiments that must be run.  Which includes field testing.  Let me give you an example.

Early on I began experimenting with removing hard water spots from windows using many different abrasives.  I learned real fast that particles  must be at least as hard as glass.  They have to be under five microns in size with a purity rating of 99.9 percent.  No agglomerates.  Also certain diamond abrasives didn’t work any better than other abrasives when used in a paste or slurry.  At least on mineral deposits from concrete and hard water.  Yet there were other stains such as those formed from solutions of sodium metasilicate and sodium carbonate that would only yield to diamond compound and paper towels by hand.  

Written By Henry Grover Jr.

For these posts to appear automatically in your inbox just type your email in the box at the top right "Follow By Email".

For product sales henrygroverjr@gmail.com

 

Window Glass Inspections

From almost invisible seriously failed insulating glass units to missing low e coatings, thumbprints and dessicant outgassing in between low e units, negative deflection from leaked argon gas, uncleanable tempered surfaces, reflective distortions of tempered glass, etched surfaces from previous power washing, mineral deposits, scratch damage, weld splatter, chemically crazed and or hazed plexiglass or lexan surfaces;...the list just goes on.  The inspection of window glass is a highly specialized expertise.  But certainly not one that is not needed.  Anyone selling, buying, or building a home or business property could potentially lose many thousands or tens of thousands of dollars due to the cost of replacing such defective units.  Most times it is necessary to have every window in a home professionally cleaned and then professionally inspected on a bright sunny day before any of these defects can be identified.  The Real Estate Agent will always defer to the Home Inspector for all inspection services.  Then the Home Inspector ‘might’ call in other more specialized inspection service professionals if a need is determined.  Owing to the potential cost of replacing damaged or defective windows it only makes sense for the seller, buyer, or builder to make this request to the Home Inspector.  You will need to ask them to have the windows professionally cleaned and then inspected.  The reason is very simple.  That this is almost never done.
When I clean windows I always perform this service free of charge.  I see it as an absolutely essential service on brand new buildings.  Owing to the fact that there is always a full one year warranty on the entire building.  So if you have any defective or damaged windows you can have them replaced free of charge.  If you wait longer than a year you might own them.  It is a very common practice for owners to have a home or commercial building constructed only to clean the windows years later.  This is especially the case for franchise owners.  Over the last three decades plus of cleaning windows I have taken on many new building/commercial accounts, and cleaned many new homes.  In every single case I have uncovered both damaged and defective windows and glass.Most times I can work with the contractor from start to finish to prevent any damage and identify any defects.  This always saves the contractor both time and money.  Defective windows that are discovered early can be replaced at no cost to the contractor and replaced before the time of installation for a timely completion of the project.  If damage is done inadvertently during construction, at times this can be repaired.  Which again will save the contractor.  The contractor will also want to store the glass in such a way that damage does not result. Once the building is complete the windows and mirrors should be maintained to ensure protection.  For example scratches can be removed and prevented.  I call this scratch and abrasion maintenance.  Not every window cleaner offers this service.  I have noticed that franchise restaurants are routinely hit by errant scratches.  Which is certainly not a structural defect but it does take away from the overall beauty of the room.  Simply because little patches of scratches end up looking like food stuff stuck to the glass.  These scratches can be removed and prevented with the right tools and technique.

Written by Henry Grover Jr. 

To recieve these posts directly in your inbox just type your address in the box to the top right "Follow by Email".

For product sales henrygroverjr@gmail.com




 

Shotgun Fungi On The Run

If you are cleaning an outside window, and you happen to notice those annoying dark brown/black raised nubs scattered all over the glass look around.  You will likely find some mulch nearby.  There is a fungus that grows happily in this stuff that shoots its spores at anything within reach.  When they stick they are very difficult to remove.  As a window cleaner I have always had to use my razor to get them off.  But I would prefer not to if they are on some very expensive tempered glass.  Such as sliding doors that cost 1200 bux each to replace.  So I found a solution.

I took a flat swivel doodle applicator.  Cut it to a 4 by 4 inch square.  Applied a repositional tack to it.  Then applied a soft glue to a soft cotton towel.  And applied a special plastic compositional abrasive.  Softer than glass but much tougher than the fungi.  The towels can be put on and off the plastic doodle a hundred times.  Further I can wet the window then scrub them off.  No need for razor blades.  While this is not a totally foolproof system (to avoid scratches from tempered glass with a problematic surface) it does work pretty well.

If you want in on this technology just call the Window Cleaning Resource.  I have a link on this blog.  

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

To recieve these posts in your inbox type your email in the box to the top right "Follow by Email".

For product sales henrygroverjr@gmail.com