Fantastic Profits in Surface Testing and Protection

3D Optical Microscope Measurement of a Textured Glass Surface

The Glass Smart Insider will help you learn how to test glass for scratch sensitivity and how to protect glass from scratching.  This is a brand new science for window cleaners.  It is a very much needed service, and is potentially very profitable.  According to the Wikipedia metrology is, "the science of measurement, embracing both experimental and theoretical determinations at at any level of uncertainty in any field of science and technology.".  What we are concerned with in this article is the science of measuring the physical characteristics in 3D of the surface of window glass.  So 3D surface metrology.  Why?  Simply because this measurement will tell us exactly how sensitive any window is to scratching.  You see it is in fact the microscopic and possibly even the nanoscopic roughness of the surface that determines how easy windows will scratch.  I have proven this by simply polishing one half of a brand new mirror plate with a cerium oxide slurry and a felt pad.  This is the typical procedure that window cleaners will use to remove hard water spots.  Then dragging a broken piece of glass from one edge to the other.  The half that has been polished will show a perfect scratch.  The other half will show some scratching but not much.  This can also be done with acids that etch glass such as hydrofluoric and sulfuric.  To desensitize a polished surface it is necessary to treat it with a long lasting sealant.  Not one that is degraded by UVC in only a month.



What is fascinating about this condition is that it does exist on brand new float glass.  Obviously something is happening during the manufacturing process to alter the microscopic roughness.  Right now we do not know what that is.  But we have learned that it can be created both mechanically and chemically.  In other words it can be a mechano-chemical process.  We have also learned that this type of surface can be changed.  It can be made scratch resistant.  That kind of technology opens up a brand new market for window cleaners.  Especially on post construction sites.  We can first test glass to learn which glass is scratch sensitive.  Then we can offer protection.  Both at a cost.  Which will be explained in the Glass Smart Insider.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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Gaining the Competitive Edge with Diamond Products

Products that are based on microscopic and even nanoscopic diamond particles can easily give you a very strong edge over your competition!  The real key to accomplishing this is twofold.  First you must know precisely what diamond products to use for what purpose.  Second you must find a way to use this technology in your marketing.  The first is quite obvious.  Diamond can create serious problems if not used correctly, or simply be ineffective.  As for using this technology in your marketing efforts you will have to focus on the real benefits to your potential customers.  Also your existing customers because they will help you with publicity.  

Diamond particles have been used in colloidal suspensions, compounds, coated films, and loaded metals and ceramics.  Probably the most common type of product available that window cleaners are familiar with is the colloidal suspension.  There is a product out now called Diamond Magic which uses a liquid suspension of diamond particles.  If you look at the SDS for this product you might notice that the amount of diamond by weight compared to the total volume is rather small.  This is likely for two reasons.  First diamond powders are not inexpensive.  I remember twenty years ago paying fifty United States Dollars (USD) for about a tablespoonful!  Surprisingly the price is approximately the same today.  I know this blog goes into many countries worldwide so your supplier might charge different.  The bottom line here is if you are going to develop a glass restoration product based on a diamond powder you will have to multiply your total cost by a factor of 4.5 to 6 to get the end retail price in order to make a profit.  Second it is not necessary most times to use very much diamond to get a certain desired result.  In fact along this line of thinking water is one of the best ways to lubricate diamond products. So at times less is more.  I always say check your surface.  Checking in the direct sun is always best.  There are always variables involved here.  One of the most notable is that we are not working in a facility, nor are we working in a lab.  We are working with surfaces that are completely unknown.  When polishing a glass surface that has been covered with hard water spots or mineral deposits, you really have no clue exactly what they are made of.  You don't know what the size of the mineral crystal structure is either.  Also you don't know how the polishing product you are using is going to react with the deposits you are attempting to remove.  This is a great deal of unknown factors here.  So as my friend and glass restoration guru Marc Tanner puts it, every job is different!  We cannot take much advice from the lab techs because they do NOT work in the field with us.  We are the scientists.  We are the field techs.

Another type of diamond product are the compounds.  Now compounds are very thick blends of diamond powders and suspending agents.  These products use way more diamond powder.  Even as much as sixty percent.  They are very effective at cutting glass when using the correct technique.  Even polishing compounds will cut through glass very effectively.  Although it is rather easy to leave swirl marks that are visible only in the direct sun.  For some of the different reasons mentioned above.  I remember one time tackling a restoration job that had about 1,974 very small windows that were badly stained from a cleaning product based on sodium metasilicate and sodium carbonate.  I tried a small rotary machine with a hard felt pad and a great diamond compound;...but it left visible scratching.  It was very effective at clearing the stain, which no other polishing product would.  I even tried some of the very bad acid based products out there that I would never do a job with;...just as a test.  They also would not touch the stain.  The only way I could remove the stain and leave no scratches from the diamond compound, was to rub it out by hand using Bounty paper towels.  

Here is the most efficient way to use diamond compounds on large area glass plates.  You will need a rotary machine that remains flat on the glass at all times.  I have included a picture here of a wheel that I had built special.  You will notice the 3/8 shaft is tilted slightly to the left.  That is because there is a universal joint added to the inside which the shaft is connected to.  The holes in the wheel gives it lightweight.  It is made from mag/aluminum.  And the center cylinder allows for safety.  There is only a 12 degree variation in movement of the shaft.  Any hard felt pad can be glued to the bottom.



The easiest way to use such a tool is with a rotary drill motor.  First clean the window.  Then apply some clean soapy water to the window.  Next apply just three or four drops of diamond compound to the hard felt pad.  Now apply the pad to the window and pull the trigger.  It is always best to start out slow and gain speed.  I would first try removing the spots as slow as possible.  You can get a zero to three thousand rpm drill motor.  Or if you decide to get a much more powerful grinder which is much heavier you can also get a variable.  But will have to adapt the shaft to the grinder.  Whatever wheel you have built or purchase.

Here is an old video I made about five years ago showing how this concept actually works.  I made up what I call a slow release felt disk based on a cerium oxide.  Currently I am still working the bugs out of a microcrystalline silica slow release pad.  Such a pad would eliminate the need for continually applying drops.  But you would need a trigger to apply soapy water.  No matter whether you use compound drops or a slow release pad, there is the definite advantage of not needing to clean up a huge mess.  You will be able to minimize the amount of product you use.  And squeegee from time to time to check your work.  Here is the video.

Now this is just the very beginning of this technology.  Check out this picture.  
This pad/wheel is used with pure water for polishing granite counter tops to a high shine.  It is essentially a plastic medium loaded with diamond or silicon carbide particles.  Over time it is worn down and is thrown away.  But is capable of doing many square feet.  One time I had a bank of windows that were seriously stained by hard water spots.  It was dark glass and so was the most difficult surface to restore.  None of the compounds I had would work.  Again not even the acids would work.  So I picked up a fifty dollar diamond disk and spun it with nothing but pure water.  In a single minute it knocked off the stains perfectly!  The only problem was it left very fine scratches all over the window.  These could have been removed with a cerium polishing compound.  But I was looking for a simple single step answer.  It is likely that any scratches of this type left on a granite top would not be easy to see.  But when working on glass anything jumps right out at you.  Especially in the direct sunlight.

Now there are thousands of different products out there.  If you look at the left column of this blog you will be able to pick out at least three or four companies that sell diamond products.  A couple specialize in just diamond products.  But how do you know which ones to buy, and how to use them?  That is what I have decided to focus on in my very latest newsletter called the Glass Smart Insider.  Still focused on the most innovative technology for the window cleaning industry.  There is so much out there.  So much to learn.  And so much to apply.  I am seriously looking for sponsors to help me with the time and expense of furthering this technology.  I am asking only ten USDollars per week for this very simple grassroots electronic newsletter.  It is a very pain letter I am sending out by email. Available as a subscription only.  But you can pay as we go.  No need to pay in advance.  You can pay once a week if you want.  I have set up a Pay Pal account if this is easier for you.  And will be exploring other means for those living in other Countries. But if you just want to send a check that is another way.  I just have not set up with credit/debit cards yet.

I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know those who have been reading this blog for the last several years.  I am almost at 100,000 views.  And am hoping it has already made a difference in your business.



  

November 2018 Glass Smart Bulletin

The Destructive Power of Acids

Unfortunately most building owners, property maintenance managers, and even window cleaners are not aware of the destructive power of acids.  The general opinion is that windows cannot be harmed by acids.  That even when windows become seriously stained by hard water as is shown here in these two pictures, all that is required is a quick "acid wash".

Little do they know that chemicals such as hydrofluoric, sulfuric, and ammoniumbifluoride  have a detrimental effect on the window surface;...every single time!    

Acids and Dark Glass

Actually there are an assortment of acids and alkalies that react with glass surfaces. Hydrofluoric acid however is probably the most common.  This is the one which has been favored by the window cleaning industry for many years.  It has been added to so called professional glass restoration products.  Companies have even used it pure in much higher concentrations.  The destruction caused by this acid can be seen all over the world in every country.  Based on what I have personally seen in the field it has had the greatest effect on dark glass.  That is glass that is tinted with different metal oxides all the way through from the inner surface to the outer surface.  The full thickness in other words.  I believe that dark glass is most easily "dissolved" by hydrofluoric (HF) acid.  HF will "eat away" at the surface leaving behind clear impressions of hard water spots.  This causes a type of "orange peal" effect.  If used to remove long drips of a concrete sealant this results in a "banding" effect.  Any light scratches that might have been covered over and hidden by newly formed hard water spots are fully revealed and become magnified fifty times.  On occasions these are difficult to see unless the sun is shining directly on the glass.  So they become visible when the sun moves around to that side of the building or comes up the next day.  It is also possible that the surface could take on a patchy/cloudy etch.  Again this could be rather light or very intense depending on different conditions present at the time the acid was used.  One other effect I have not wrote about yet involves a change in both the chemistry and the physical properties in the glass surface.  When glass is exposed to HF it becomes very prone to scratching.  So glass that was previously very smooth and resistant to scratches now becomes very rough and easy to scratch.  Making it that much more difficult to maintain over the course of its life.

Acids and Clear Glass

All of the effects mentioned above also apply to clear glass.  Just not as intense in my opinion.  Although it is true that both hard and soft low e coatings are much more frequently used these days on the first surface of clear glass.  The trend also is for these coatings to be very transparent.  So it is very difficult to know they are even there.  You would have to test the surface with a device or some other way to determine if it had a coating. Companies have come up with coatings that are supposed to have photoreactive and even photovoltaic properties.  Any of these high tech coatings would be destroyed by the first time use of these different acids such as and especially HF.   I have include below a picture of the kind of damage that is caused by the use of HF on an old coating from PPG called Solar Cool Silver.  This coating was literally stripped off by HF and is now impossible to repair.  The windows on this building have been permanently destroyed.

This Bulletin is published in this blog for the general public.  Not that this information is necessarily known by all window cleaners.  Because it is unfortunately not.  The sad truth is that there are thousands of window cleaners that do not know and or simply do not accept this information.  The ability to make a quick buck coupled with the desire of the building owner to save thousands of dollars, has driven the widespread use of acid.  The cost of properly and correctly restoring a window can easily be ten times the cost of clearing it with an acid such as HF.  The risk of losing a window here and there or even all of the windows is seen as the price that must be paid to save all that money.  This is rather faulty reasoning however.  For if you must replace the windows because of acid use the stains will still return.  The old and or new windows must be sealed with the correct product and then the windows must be properly maintained.  The ultimate cost of window replacement could be very expensive.  Much more then having a proper restoration performed or certainly much more than a quick acid wash.  If you are looking for more information on this subject just send an email to henrygroverjr@gmail.com

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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