I Had A Dream

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Change is at times the most effective means by which we succeed.  It has taken me 25 years to accomplish this however.  Even at the advice of one of our industries greatest icons I still didn't listen.  The idea and dream I had for developing a newsletter for the window cleaning industry worldwide almost worked too many times.  So I have finally decided to completely abandon it for all time.  As for my love of research and writing this will nonetheless continue.  My hope is that it will never end.  Further I have so much available in the way of what we call social media to help me attain my goals.  I have this blog, the WCR online Forum, My two FB Groups (one secret and one public), and now the Glass Smart Product Development YouTube Channel.  All of this is helping me to learn and especially to disseminate what I have learned to window cleaners worldwide.  It is also helping me to organize and assemble a human machine for product development.  There are so many very smart people out there who have developed alternate technologies that you all can directly benefit from.  But the conventional way of bringing their products to market would be very time consuming.  To do this much quicker we need to get more people involved in this business.  This is what I am inviting and encouraging as many of you who will to do.  My intention is to help you as much as I can.  In the development phase of your products and then also in the marketing of them.  Not just to the window cleaning industry either.  But as Marc Tanner would say the sky is the limit.  There is no limit.  You are only limited by your imagination.

I am especially interested in working with companies like NanovationsUSA, General Chemical, and many others who have already launched several products.  I will be developing many videos that will demonstrate what these products will do.  Some of which even the manufacturers and sales people have no clue about.  Further I will be sourcing some very special ingredients like the silicon based super wetters as additives for trad work to easily clean phobic surfaces.  Whether these be new phobic surfaces such as Nanovations treated glass, and just plain phobic windows and or mirrors as demonstrated in one of my more recent videos.  Imagine that, as soap developed just for phobic surfaces.  No more chatter with a crystal clear result.  

Now the most important line of products I am working on right now, are those which you can either develop or buy yourself for youe own window customers.  The very first one is available RIGHT NOW!  It is an anti-fog that customers can use on their mirrors, swim goggles, or any other glass surface that develops a fog.  The company will private label it for you then send you the bottles.  Their is already an SDS created for it.  All you need to do is change the name and address at the top to your own.  Then either pass it out or sell it for a profit to your customers.  Can you really think of a better "business card"?  It will have all your contact info right on the bottle.  Which will be passed around.  In fact your customers might want to buy more from you for their friends.  As I say this is available right now.  There are two more I am working on.  The first is an anti-bacterial/viral cleaner for cell phones.  The second is a window paint that will stay put until it is time to be removed.  You can soap and squeegee right over it.  But when it is time for it to be removed it will peal right off.  No mess no fuss.  Just peal it off and roll it up in your hands dry.  Both of these products can easily be sold to your customers.  The difference is once again you own them.  And all of your contact information will be on them for your window cleaning business.

If you are interested in the Anti-Fog just send me an email and I will get you all the information you need to order a sample direct from the company you will be buying from.  These will be the people who will private label for you, bottle it, and ship it back to you for distribution.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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Demonstrating Dynamic and Static Phylic Surfaces

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This video begins by showing how incredibly phobic a glass surface can be.  This is a brand new mirror.  Notice how pure water beads up and runs off.  Not very good for WFP work at all!  The video continues to expose a new blend of soaps both carbon and silicon based.  All three are anionic so they won't leave much of a film.  But have a well balanced effect on water so just the right surface tension is accomplished for Trad work on phobic glass.  I next wanted to see if Universal Photonics SR Pad was adequate to convert a very phobic surface to a phylic surface.  But not!  If I gave it enough time I am sure it would have worked.  But you can see I was able to accomplish this much better with a lose compound by hand alone.  No machine.  Pure water just sheets over this newly converted phylic surface.  It is so phylic that not even a single water drop forms.  Totally perfect for WFP work!  But hold on.  This is just a dynamic phylic surface!  I can hear you say oh no, now what?  Well my friends there are actually two different phylic surfaces.  Dynamic is the kind that will sheet water that actively strikes it.  Such as from a WFP brush, window wetting wand, a heavy rain, etc.  You get it.  But condensate from a mist or steam from a hot shower is quite another matter.  For this we need a glass surface that has been chemically enhanced.  This can be performed in a number of different ways.  Here I have chosen a water based anti-fog product which you can buy.  It does not bond to the glass and so will wear off in a relatively short time.  But would be great if you wanted to private label it and sell to your customers.  Anyhow I applied it to the bottom half of my mirror.  Remember I totally converted the entire mirror surface to a dynamic phylic surface.  Which sheeted dynamic water very well.  But still allows microscopic beads of pure water to form as a fog.  Yet by applying the anti-fog I was able to change the bottom half of the mirror to a static phylic surface.  The upper part remained a dynamic phylic.  So in the video you can see clearly through the bottom half.  This will sheet even condensate from a hot shower!  The top half of the dynamic phylic surface on the other hand developed a thick fog.  The trick comes at the very end of the video when I pass a wetting wand up and down the entire plate showing how the entire surface can be sheeted with pure water.  This demonstrates the power of hydrophylic chemical treatments for glass.  They can be quite effective.  Products that do this are easy to get.  I do believe the one I demonstrated here is one of the best out there.  And you can buy it in large quantities if you want to put it in smaller bottles and repackage for advertising your business.  But it will still wear off in time because it is not a bonded reactive anti-fog product.  We need a polymer that forms a covalent bond with glass.  One that will convert dynamic phylic to static phylic and last.  I will keep you posted on this.  Cuz I am working on precisely this right now.  This is yet one more video in my series demonstrating the conversion technology of phobic to phylic.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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The Destructive Power of Pure Water

Water alone has the power to do serious damage to glass in as little as thirty seconds!  I am talking about normal water with a normal pH, and no chemicals or special soaps added!  I have seen it happen.  A pressure wash company had just come through with a pure water spray and blasted a stucco/type exterior.  Their water dissolved the exterior surface and leached/removed the minerals there.  Once in the rinse water they ran down the large plates of glass directly underneath.  Then when the water evaporated these minerals locked onto the windows.  Granted there could very well have been other factors involved here that I still don't know about.  But what I do know is when I asked what was used all I heard was, "just water".  This was an older building, it was all rented out, the owners likely even heard about the problem;....but the stains are still there.  For me to experiment on.  With a commercial storefront route of about 135 customers I have many situations that I can exploit for educational purposes.  Sometimes I just whip out the machines and chems and go at it.  No one even pays attention.

You know it really is quite ironic that the same water that we use to clean and maintain windows has the power and ability under the right conditions to do such damage to glass surfaces! Here is another totally fascinating example which I am sure you old timers have seen.  I am talking about storm windows.  Try this next time you do an old house with outer storms.  Once clean, run a dry fingertip lightly across the inside and then the outside of the upper storm window.  The inside will be very smooth.  But not the out.  That surface has been literally chewed off by a process called weathering.  I am going to get just a little technical here and go to one of my reference books, "Corrosion of Glass" published by Ashlee way back in 1979.  My point being we have known about this stuff for a long time.  Really nothing new.  So you really don't have to take my word for it.  I just pretend to be smart.  But am actually just connecting the dots here!  OK.  So the book says on page one of chapter one;...."Stage 1: the initial or primary stage of attack is a process which involves ion exchange between sodium ions from the glass and hydrogen ions from the solution...".  This book also states on page one of chapter one;...."Stage 2: the second stage of attack is a process whereby breakdown of the silica structure occurs and total glass dissolution ensues.".  The Glass Committee of the IWCA under the leadership of Paul West became aware of this chemistry and how it actually promotes certain chemophysical changes in soda-lime window glass.  Several points are of note here but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that hydrogen ions (which come from water) are quite involved in promoting the initial Stage 1 reaction which ultimately leads to Stage 2 which is in fact "total dissolution" or breakdown of the glass surface.  In much simply terms water eats glass.  How quickly and to what extent depends on various conditions such as relative humidity and temperature.  All of this science should convince us and our customers that glass should be sealed with a product.  My preference is Nanovations NG1010.  You will find more information and video demonstrations of this product elsewhere in this blog.  If you have any other questions about it just ask.  Here is a picture taken from the above mentioned book demonstrating total dissolution of glass in the furrows of some scratches.



Next up are interleaving systems for the on site storage of window glass at new constructions.  The idea is that water or humidity (especially in hot climates) can easily over time cause corrosion of glass plates.  This problem is made much worse when we consider that the glass could be placed in storage for as much as six months before installed on the building.  So the simple solution is to keep the plates from getting too close together.  You see glass naturally loves water.  Therefore when moisture condenses between two plates that are very close it doesn't evaporate.  Over time the chemical reaction described above takes place.  Dissolution occurs.  And the window glass is damaged.  Here is a link to an online article written by Dr. Paul Duffer on precisely this problem and how to prevent it.  http://www.vitroglazings.com/VitroGlazings/media/sitedocuments/TDs/19_TD105F.pdf  Dr. Paul has been a tremendous help to the IWCA for many years devoting so much of his time.

Another very interesting condition involves what I call water lines.  I have one job in particular where these have formed on the inside over many years.  They are difficult to see on cloudy days.  Also difficult to see from the inside looking out when they form on the inside.  But are very easy to see from the outside looking in when formed on the inside and on a bright sunny day.  They result from water running down the window constantly.  The water chemically wears a path.  Hence each water drop precisely follows the path of the previous drop.  Eventually this process creates dark lines.  They can be removed by various polishing processes.  Such as wet diamond compounds and soft but small polishing pads.

Failed IG Units are a perfect demonstration of a stage two static etch.  This type of etch forms on the inside of insulating glass units.  It usually takes many months to form.  But it is a perfect demonstration of a static etch, not a dynamic etch.  Water vapor or moisture collects between the plates as the seal fails. But it cannot easily escape.  So it remains there, and heats up very quickly in the hot sun.  Which causes the reactions discussed above.  Although the reaction byproducts are not removed by dynamic/flowing water.  So such salts are not removed.  They just stay right there.  It is easy to see when this happens.  Because initially the condensed moisture is completely clear.  Then as the reaction begins you will notice a white cloudiness develop.  It will not be even but rather shows up like clouds.  Also it starts as a very light cloudiness but becomes more and more opaque.

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Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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Phobic 2 Phylic Video Part Two

The purpose of making this video was threefold.  First my intention was to show off the Mini-Wobble.  I wanted to show how much like the six inch Wobble Wheel it is.  That it has a swivel feature which allows for a 12 degree variance of the drive shaft.  This permits the polishing disc to remain perfectly flat on the glass at all times without bobbing around.  So as to minimize the polishing learning curve.  It is so easy it can be used with one hand. just like the six inch Wobble.  Further when the wheel remains totally flat on the glass this also greatly helps to minimize and scratch haze.  The preferred method of polishing is with a soft polishing pad.  Felt also works.  Except Marc Tanner does not like felt.  And he is the expert in this field.  For this reason Marc and I along with Dave Keller are working on a very special high tech pad developed especially for one step polishing.  As for the polishing compound I prefer a rather thick cerium based compound.  This along with a "not hard" pad works very well.  And I will be making another video very soon to demonstrate the most efficient way to work with cerium.  Which I think you will find very practical.  Here is the video I have written this post about.

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Second my intention was to demonstrate the Slow Release (SR) pads that are being sold by Universal Photonics.  I developed the term Slow Release.  It is more of a generic term.  There are other commercial pads which use similar technologies as this one.  Universals name for their pad is the Phantom Fixx.  Their Product Customer Part Number is PFPD050010A01A01.  I used a two inch diameter pad with a Velcro backing for the video.  The address for Universal is 85 Jetson Lane, Central Islip, NY 11722.  Phone 516-935-4000.  www.universalphotonics.com
This test I did was very interesting because the pad was rather hard.  Especially compared to the ones that I created using a special PVA density powder and another softening ingredient.  Both the Phantom Fixx and my SR pad had the tendency to leave visible scratches on certain surfaces.  The Phantom Fixx did not leave any scratches on the mirror at SuperCuts.  It also did not leave any scratches on the very last test on the outside of the window at the garage.  But absolutely did leave scratches on the inside of the garage windows.  Which did demonstrate that it is absolutely NOT a pad that can be used on every glass surface without causing any problem.  If you chose to use it you must be extremely careful.  Also you must never use it on a tin oxide low e surface.  These surfaces require exceptional care.  Universal does have many other excellent products that we can make compounds with.  I have received three different ceriums and a zirconium oxide that I will be testing.  I also have a couple premaid diamnond compounds which I bought from another company that I will be testing.  And of course they will go on the Glass Smart YouTube Channel.

The third and equally important reason for this latest video is to demonstrate how easy a Phantom Fixx pad very efficiently converts a phobic surface to a phylic surface;...every time!  This is also a very long lasting change.  It also does not create a mess from loose compound.  Hence the cleanup is very quick.  Just soap and squeegee.  This type of "deep clean" using such a "quick" polishing technique is also very useful for applying a hydrophobic sealant like Nanovations NG1010.  What I have also found very interesting is that truly hydrophylic surfaces allow anyone to snake off a window or mirror using just plain water.  Who would have thought that you could swirl any plate of glass with pure water?  No chems, no soaps at all!  I thought it was very interesting too that when you wet a completely phylic (water loving) glass surface with water it sheets over so efficiently that the surface looks completely dry.  This is the surface which we want for Water Fed Pole work because the rinse water will drain off leaving no spots.  No drops no spots.  It also makes it possible to clean very fast with a WFP.  This is something I will be demonstrating too;... IN THE FIELD. 

This is all just the very beginning of this new technology.  It will completely revolutionize WFP work.  This IS a technology.  But it is a technology which will be fueled by and driven by some very innovative products.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com
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Testing Solvents for Non-Conventional Window Cleaning

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This is the latest GS YouTube video just completed on June 1st 2019.  Hope you enjoy.  On it I have put to the test four different Solvents.  The Clean 1000 and Clean 1200XA from Elevance and sold by J.Tech Sales of the Maroon Group in Boca Raton Florida.  Also the Augeo Clean and Omnia product sold by the same company.  The video does a good job at showing which works at softening and dissolving paint.  Specifically Krylons Industrial Rust Tough spray paint.  I chose fluorescent green.  What you can't see on the video is the smell.  Most people will not like it.  But then most don't like the smell of Titans Oil Flo which is based on a different chemistry.  The Clean 1000 and Clean 1200XA products have the most strong odor.  Whereas Omnia and Augeo are not so bad.  Of these four the Augeo is the least effective at softening paint.  It is based on the chemical isopropylideneglycerol.  As for the Clean 1000 and 1200XA they are based on methyl 9-decenoate (9 decenoic acid methyl ester).  Also Eastman Chemicals' Omnia is based on butan-1yl-3-hydroxybutanoate; butyl-3-hydroxybutyrate.    Here are some links to the Material Safety Data Sheets for these products.  I could not find the MSDS for the Elevance Products online.  But the contact information for Elevance is;

866-625-7103

2501 Davey Rd
Woodridge, IL 60517
USA

Here are some links to the Material Safety Data Sheets for the Omnia and Augeo.  

Omnia  http://ws.eastman.com/ProductCatalogApps/PageControllers/MSDS_PC.aspx?Product=71093918 

Augeo  https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0153/9461/files/AUGEO_CLEAN_MULTI_-_SDS_surfachem_0603818.pdf

As for purchasing or obtaining samples of any of these four solvents you can contact;... 

JT Sales 6531 Park of Commerce Blvd Suite 170
Boca Raton, FL 33487
USA
561-995-0070

As you can see from the video small specks of paint can be removed using all of the solvents.  Although if you have a rather thick coating of paint the products of choice would likely be the 1000, 1200, or the Omnia.  These products can also be blended with a product such as Composition Materials Plasti Grit line.  More specifically their Clear Cut 200 Grade.  Their contact info for purchases and samples is;...

Composition Materials Co., Inc.
249 Pepes Farm Road
Milford, CT 06460
Ph 800-262-7763 ph 203-874-6500 Fax 203-874-6505

The Clear Cut is a plastic abrasive with an acrylic particle.  The powder cuts through greasy fingerprints with extreme ease.  I am sure you will find other uses too in nonconventional window cleaning.  

I discovered the most effective way to use the solvents was to coat the painted surface for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Then you will be able to wipe the paint right off.  Soap the window and squeegee.  To enhance this effect and keep the solvent from evaporating you could apply the product to the window and then apply a thin sheet of clear plastic over it.  Which you should be able to get at most any hardware store.  Then while you are waiting on the solvent to work you could be cleaning other windows.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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