The Future of Stain Removal

The key to winning a 50,000 dollar stain removal contract lies in being able to guarantee the results for at least five years or more!  And the only way this can be done is to apply a glass sealant (after removing the stains) that is very resistant to alkali attack.  Then you must also have the means to very quickly remove any newly formed hard water spots as you routinely clean the windows. But without removing or damaging the sealant.  Even replenishing the sealant as you clean.  So that your routine cleaning becomes a three step stain removal, replenishing, and cleaning procedure.  All performed simultaneously.  This must be done as close to the original routine cleaning price as possible.  But the most important consideration is that you will have the everlasting solution to the problem.  This will help to ensure that you keep the contract.

The first step requires locating an alkali resistant sealant.  You can chose a hydrophobic or hydrophylic treatment.  The very nature of hydrophobic sealants presents a problem in that they create water drops.  Drops leave spots.  Which are concentrated mineral deposits.  As each new drop forms on top of old spots, the pH of the evaporating drop continues to increase with each rain or sprinkler cycle.  Ultimately as the spots age they can potentially eat into the sealant and lock onto the silicon dioxide surface.  Logically then the better choice would be a hydrophylic sealant.  Or at least one with a much lower contact angle such that rain will sheet off instead of forming tight drops.  It would be best too if such a hydrophylic coating/sealant were also very resistant to alkali attack.

Removing newly formed mineral deposits from such a surface without doing damage to that surface is possible using a compositional scrub.  That is abrasives that are soft enough to not remove the hydrophylic coating but aggresive enough to remove any mineral deposits which have formed on top of that coating.  I discovered very early on that it is possible to use four zero steel wool to remove newly formed aluminum screen burn on a Rain X surface without doing harm to this hydrophobic sealant.  In fact as you start to scrub your cleaning water will begin to bead as you break through the new stains. Revealing the hydrophobic polymer underneath those stains.  Which has not been damaged by time or your scrubbing technique.

It should be possible to periodically restore, treat, and clean by applying the fluid/chemical with a compositional scrub based applicator. Then wipe dry using a squeegee.  Periodically you can check the surface by hitting it with a small stream of pure water.  It should sheet off leaving very clean glass. Good for a Water Fed Pole maintenance. 

At the time of this writing most of this information is quite theoretical, experimental, and controversial.  But it seams to me to be the most logical course to take to solve stained window problems.  I am in discussion with various companies and chemists that specialize in this technology.  So we will see what the Future holds.  This is one for you Perry!

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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Polishing Glass;...RPM verses FPM

Speed, speed, speed!!!  600, 1500, 3000, 5000, or even 10000 RPMs?  How many RPMs do we need to use?  RPM stands for Revolutions Per Minute.  Did you know that the optics industry uses FPM? This stands for Feet Per Minute.  If you took a point on the outer edge of a rotating disk how many feet would it travel?  If your disk was six inches and it was spinning at 1000 RPMs, that point would be traveling at 1571 FPM.  What if your disk were 3 inches in diameter and also traveling at 1000 RPMs? Then a point at the outer edge would be traveling at 785 FPM.  Half as fast!  What if you were polishing glass with a half inch Dremel bob moving at 10000 RPMs?  That would be 2618 FPM.  This is ten times the RPMs of the six inch disk, but only 1047 FPM more.  I think you get my point.  FPM is a more accurate definition of the "speed" of a polishing disk.  This is also the reason why I have chosen to use a ring/pad to polish glass.  There is a much less variance of speed between the outer and inner edge of a pad that is only one inch or less wide.  In fact there is less of a variance the larger the pad/ring.  There is also less of a variance the thinner the ring.  So a one half inch wide ring would have less of a variance of the FPM of the outer edge and inner edge, then the variance of the outer and inner edge of a one inch wide ring.  This is important if the precise "speed" of the ring is critical to the performance of the polishing system. Most of the time it does.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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Slow Release Pads

The first prototype has been created.  And has been demonstrated in the video shown here.  You can see the orange cerium oxide.  It has been loaded into a special polymeric matrix that breaks down slowly by simple soapy water.  So that when polishing hard water stains from windows this can be done quickly with no mess.  All you need to do is reapply soapy water when it starts to dry out.  To check your progress as you go just squeegee a dry area and check for clarity.  When done just soap and squeegee the entire window. There should be little to no overspray or rundown to clean up after.  This dramatically reduces the time it takes to "clear" a window. Further you will only use exactly the amount of cerium that you need.  This will reduce your cost.

The first SR pads that come out will be based on a high quality optical grade cerium oxide.  But this technology will allow me to develop other pads in the future that will offer additional benefits. Cerium is not the only superabrasive out there. Diamond superabrasives have been used in optics polishing for many years.  I have written about diamond restoration already in this blog.  Different superabrasives can also be blended for better performance.  Remember my post "The Particle Zoo"?Likewise it is possible to build SR pads based on softer compositional abrasives for quickly removing silicone caulk that has been shmeared all over every square inch of every window.

If you would like to get on as a Beta Tester to purchase any prototype products developed just send me an email.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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Wobble Wheel Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the new buzz word these days.  Especially with Perrys Power and Control WFP handles as of recent.  Perry Taits Future of Cleaning is already a revolutionary company in so many ways.  Well I would like to introduce a new wordage.  That being gyroscopic precession.  GP is a wonderful and amazing property of anything that spins.  Including the Wobble Wheel Glass Polishing System.  Lets see why.

The gyroscopic precession of the Wobble Wheel is seriously increased by the six large holes evenly placed around the center universal joint.  It is also increased by moving the polishing material or lap out to the edge or rim of the wheel. In so doing the wheel takes on an antigravity effect.  So the wheel takes on a weightlessness.  When working with tools light is good!  Very ergonomic.

Another ergonomic feature involves the fact that the Wobble remains totally flat on the glass at all times.  It does not tend to grab the window forcing the operator to wrestle with the tool the whole time.  This dramatically reduces physical stress which is definitely ergonomic.  In the six inch Wobble Wheel video my friend demonstrates this effect by easily working the wheel at full speed with a single hand!

So if you are looking for a way to polish glass effortlessly;...the Wobble Wheel is the way to go.  I am currently working with a manufacturer to bring it to market in kit form.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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Wobble Wheel Maximizes AntiGravity Effect

My six inch Wobble Wheel that I have developed for polishing flat glass surfaces has a gyroscopic nature.  This is simply because it is a wheel and it spins between 1200 and 2000 RPMs. Any wheel that spins has a gyroscopic effect.  Which means that any spinning wheel also has gyroscopic precession.  Which appears to be a kind of antigravity.  If you would like to see what I am talking about check out this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeyDf4ooPdo  Just copy paste it into your browser if it doesn't click for you.  It is definitely way too cool!  Nonetheless this effect does make it easier to work with wheels that have less weight and greater gyroscopic precession.  To accomplish this it is necessary to transfer most of the weight to the outer edge.  Which I have done by designing the aluminum base with six large holes.  The polishing pad is also a simple ring.  Because of these two innovations most of the weight has been moved to the outer rim.  So the gyroscopic precession has been increased, including what appears to be also;...an 'antigravity effect'.

Does this interest you?  Would you like to own your own antigravity Wobble Wheel?  Just send me an email henrygroverjr@gmail.com

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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Hack Your Own Product

Twenty years ago I had a kitchen/lab with about 2,500 acids, alkalies, solvents, powders, polymers, wiping cloths, and more. My stainless steel sink was VERY badly stained.  I am surprised my landlord didn't make me replace it when I got married and moved out.  Those were the days.  There were things I came up with then that I never wrote down.  Things that might be viable commercial products today.  I also discovered so many things by pure accident.  Like the tests I developed for abrasive and chemical damage to glass surfaces. And the crazing and hazing affects on acrylic and polycarbonate.  I stayed up late working on stuff I can't even remember now.  I was a regular at the local glass shop constantly buying brand new window glass and mirror.  Only to bring it home and waste it with chemicals and abrasives.  I had Window Cleaners send me pieces of windows taken from buildings they were working on so I could come up with the best way to fix the surface damage.  I had pieces of windows taken from some very famous buildings.  Which had pyrolytic coatings that had been "invisibly" damaged by certain acids. So much fun!

What I want to do now is make many of these ingredients available to you.  I am now involved in product development. Some of my products will be coming to market soon.  Only because I am now working with a manufacturer who is a very dynamic man that wants to help in a large way.  But I want to give you the chance to join in the fun.  Come go with me as the old timers down in South Carolina used to say.  But I literally mean it!

So send me an email.  Don't just read these posts.  Get involved too.  Tell me what you are thinking about.  Lets talk.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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Superhydrophobic Window Cleaning

The difference between superhydrophobic and hydrophobic is like night and day.  The Water Fed Pole experts among us look down on hydrophobic surfaces with much disdain.  And for good reason. As much as they try, these surfaces still cling to water leaving millions of very fine water drops. Which can leave deposits if the rinse water does not have an ultra low TDS, or is contaminated by something else.  Because of this they are more in favor of hydrophylic glass which is water loving.  This causes water to come together in large sheets and run off the glass slowly taking all of these little drops with it. But even this surface is not truly hydrophylic. In reality it is a blend of both hydrophylic and hydrophobic.  You see the water loving/hating properties of all glass surfaces is measured by the contact angle or the CA.  Getting that right for a water fed pole is a bit tricky.  Not that it can't be done.  Using the right chemistry and technique it should be quite possible.  But consider the advantages of a truly "super" hydrophobic surface.  I want to draw attention to this technology because recently there has been more progress in building this animal.

A man called Chunlei Guo professor of optics at the University of Rochester has developed a superhydrophobic surface on metals using a fempto-second laser.  Such a device it is claimed is capable of creating the heat power equal to the wattage of the entire North American power grid.  Using this type of laser Chunlei Guo has been able to create a unique pattern of micro and nanoscopic structures on metal that are intrinsically part of the metal surface.  This process is quite different from those in use today that rely on chemistry.  This is rather physical optics.  The superhydrophobic effects of a laser etched metal surface are much more enhanced then those of a chemically treated metal surface.  This type of surface is also not subject to "wearing off" since it truly is a part of the metal  In fact it IS that metal.  It is a reshaping of that metal surface.  So it is far less likely to degrade over time.

Since the contact angle (CA) of this type of surface is at least 150 degrees, if you were to use a water fed pole to clean it you would not have to be concerned about leaving little drops of water behind.  First there shouldn't be much dirt on it to begin with because superhydrophobic surfaces are considered self cleaning.  If you were to clean with a WFP it would not take very long.  It should happen at lightning speed.

Implementing this technology on metals is quite acceptable. But using it on glass is not.  At least not at this time from what I have read.  The problem lies in the need to create a double pattern on the glass surface.  The first pattern laid down is microscopic.  The second is nanoscopic.  This unique double pattern is what produces the superhydrophobic effect.  In fact, the pattern is critically necessary to create a superhydrophobic surface with a contact angle in excess of 150 degrees. HOWEVER.   It also interferes with incident light.  That is any visible light striking the surface is scattered in such a way as to produce a kind of haze, or translucence.  No one wants their windows to be translucent unless they ordered them that way! They want them to be transparent.  Or as we put it, crystal clear. 

I don't doubt that someday soon someone will develop a superhydrophobic surface with a contact angle (CA) of 150 degrees for transparent window glass.  But it will have to be transparent, and relative inexpensive.  I haven't mentioned many of the benefits of such a surface.  But there are many. Especially for window glass.  To make my point all I have to do is reference a project going on right now in Israel.  Where a million square feet of glass are being treated with a product called Enduroshield.  This is a chemical hydrophobic coating. The suggested application cost is around three bux per square foot.  The cost to the contractor is about fifty cents per square foot.  Even if those figures are somewhat inaccurate, I think you would still agree that the end cost to the owner will still be quite high.  That cost must match the level of perceived value. So what do you think?  Is there a market for superhydrophobic window glass?

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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Mirrors Are an Opportunity!

So many businesses have them!  Jewelry shops, restaurants, hair salons, motels and hotels, drug stores, gyms, and dance studios.  Ask anyone how much they enjoy cleaning them and you will NOT get a favorable response.  That is because they usually are large area mirrors.  Some might be in the direct sun.  Further no one knows how to clean mirrors with a squeegee.  But did you know they can be easily cleaned without a squeegee using a solution of H2O2?  The idea is to first clean them with a squeegee using a cleaner loaded with a hydrophobic organosilane.  This creates a water hating surface in no more time than it takes to simply clean with our tradition tools.  Then once the glass has been treated they can be cleaned with a solution of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) and a huck towel. The cleaning takes place with a swivel applicator and the cleaning solution.  Then they are wiped dry with a huck towel on a flat tool connected to a pole with a universal joint.  In the janitorial world this is called a doodle bug.  In the paint world it is a wall sander.  In our industry Wiljer Textiles has some quality flat tools.  But of course the Reach It Pole is the best for any type of outside or inside work involving high windows, mirrors, or partition glass.

Now we can get creative.  Since this new surface will not be subject to the UVC radiation from the sun or alkali attack from concrete or hard water spots;...it should last a long time. Probably years. But you could offer to come in and "treat" the mirrors as you clean them once every three months. Then the employees could maintain them using hydrogen peroxide.  It could be all they need to do is add a bottle of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide from the drug store in a gallon of pure distilled water.  Sell them a Swivel applicator with a Wiljer sleeve and a pole.  Then show them how to use a huck towel on a flat tool.  Or they could just wipe dry by hand using a huck towel.  This entire process could be demonstrated at no cost. Of course they won't be able to apply the organosilane themselves. Only we possess the chemical and know how to apply it.

Another opportunity might exist in first doing the demonstration.  Then offering to set up the mirrors for free once only.  In exchange for the window cleaning/maintenance contract.  If there is a need to reapply in the future then you would price the mirrors.  Another idea would be to just offer to clean the mirrors on a regular basis like you would the windows.  You might even have some mirrors already on your route.  Your customers might be waiting to have you give them a quote.

If you are creative I am sure you will come up with some other variations on this plan.  I would certainly never apply a glass treatment to the inside of window glass.  Because it would promote a filming effect.  Yet mirrors, or railing/partition glass would work fine.  The bottom line here is there is an opportunity just waiting to be explored.

If you would like to get into this sideline just send me an email.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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Cleaning Glass with Sodium Metasilicate

Otherwise known as "water glass".  It is usually sold as a TSP substitute.  A 100% pure product from the hardware store or a paint supply shop comes as white crystals, and looks like table salt.  But the reality is, it is a VERY powerful alkali!  When cleaning with it I will usually only add a teaspoon to four gallons of water.  Then I will add a synthetic detergent like Dawn since syn-dets tend to keep it from leaving deposits. Dawn has not more than one percent sodium hydroxide. Which is also a powerful alkali.  I wrote a post about this chemical also.  When SMS is used without a soap such as Dawn it has the tendency to leave a residue on the glass that is difficult to remove.  The spots left behind are also difficult to remove.  This is because they are in effect what I like to call artificial water spots.  Or mineral deposits.  They are sodium silicate deposits which are very similar to the chemistry of glass.  Of course such stains are relatively easy to remove with a little rubbing using a silica based compound or cerium oxide in water.

As a cleaner SMS is very powerful at removing even years of organic film.  Such as car exhaust on aluminum window frames at gas stations.  But I always suggest using rubber gloves since it will dry out your skin or worse.  When used at higher concentrations it will remove screen burn from window glass.   But again use extreme caution.  Never let it get on your skin or in your eyes.

One more word on using SMS to remove screen burn.  I will mix it with water at about a 5 to 10 percent solution in water. Then I will add about 10 percent silica powder.  This is an experimental product that I can sell to you at 20 dollars per pound including shipping.  Further I will use four zero steel wool.  This is a VERY powerful combination for removing even the worst screen burn.  Just remember to use extreme caution. One more word of caution.  I suggest looking up the MSDS on silica powder.  The dangers are greatly reduced when it is used in a liquid form.  In other words when it is put in water.  But you should never use it dry since you could breath it in.  This type of repeated exposure can cause silicosis which is cancer causing.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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Glass Treatments Can Cause a Filming Effect

OK.  Which glass treatment do you prefer to use to create an "Easy Clean" glass surface?  There have been probably a hundred different products brought to market over the last forty years!  So we have had lots of time to treat lots of glass. Yet they can all be divided into two different categories. Hydrophobic (water hating), and hydrophylic (water loving).   Hydrophobic surfaces which cause water to bead up are great if you intend on cleaning with a microfiber cloth by hand or with a pad on a pole.  Just wet with an applicator then wipe dry.  If you use a solution that is not based on any detergents, you will get a crystal clear result.  But.  If you intend on cleaning with a water fed pole then your answer lies in a hydrophylic coating or glass treatment.  When such a water loving treatment is applied to the outside of a window the rinse water from a water fed pole will tend to sheet out and then come together again running off the glass completely.  Leaving very few drops of water behind.  Which could leave spots depending on the quality of your rinse water.  So the less drops the less spotting. 

There is absolutely a market for both of these two different treatments.  Which are also called nano coats.  They are usually only a few molecules deep.  However they are all subject to a very interesting effect that I have yet to see addressed in any article.  Which effect can be seen on either side of a window.  If you are applying a hydrophobe to the outside simply know that in the summer time the outside might develop a film.  That is if the building has good central air conditioning.  This film that I mention is a condensation of microscopic airborne particulates and or gaseous fumes.  It always develops on the warmer side. Any type of thin film on glass enhances this effect.  It is the reason why the inside of restaurant and garage windows always become more filmy in the cold months when you use a detergent based cleaning solution.  This effect is also true if you were to apply a hydrophylic (water loving) coating to the inside. In the colder months especially such a glass treatment will cause a film to develop in a matter of days.  Now this is not so much of a problem if the building has double paned insulating glass units. Because the inside lite will not be as cold.  But if it has only single paned windows look out.  Because this film can develop in a matter of only a single week.  Of course it can be removed every time you clean the windows.  But if the customer notices it as a "new thing", then you might be asked to "fix" the "problem".  On the bright side mirrors are almost always exclusive to this effect.  They are fixed to the wall with a one quarter inch air space behind them for circulation.  As a result the glass on both sides is identical to the ambient temperature of the room.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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Selling Aftermarket Glass Treatments

Glass treatments are professional applications of thin film chemicals at ambient temperature.  They usually are only a couple of molecules deep.  If the polymers form a covalent bond with the oxygen atoms at the surface of the glass, the treatment is said to be "part of" the glass.  Some of these companies are very emphatic about not using the terms sealant and coating. They also tend to focus on their claim that their product has been tested by many independant labs which specialize in such analytical work.  They will elucidate at length about the applications of their products, and mention various well known buildings that have been treated.  I can think of one company in particular that has a patent on their technology which claims to use two different chemical treatments.  The first one which is only about a couple polymers deep forms a covalent bond with the oxygens at the surface of the glass.  Then they have a second 'different' polymer that is chemically bonded to the first.  This patented technology is supposed to give their proprietary treatment/product superior longevity and resistance to UVC and alkali attack.  They also have reports of independent tests that they can provide to anyone who asks which prove beyond doubt that their technology and product is the absolute best. Their are other companies yet that will just simply state that their product has been around for years, and is very well established in the marketplace.  They will focus on this fact not even getting into any independent tests or alternate patented technology.  Further;..,there are even more companies that have copied these companies in creating products that can be used not just on glass, but metal, plastic, and other surfaces too. Some of them are OK.  But others are not.  Their effects last for only a few days.  They certainly do not form covalent bonds since they are not "surface specific".  Their are those products too which are applied to glass in the float glass factory when the glass is manufactured.  I have been told these are pyrolytically bonded to the glass and are in fact truly permanent.  Just the other day I was cleaning windows at my Glass Shop and overheard a sales pitch regarding a brand new shower door enclosure.  To wrap it up the salesperson said, "And I also seriously suggest using a glass that has a stain resistant factory treatment".  If you are a professional applicator of aftermarket glass treatments you will have a difficult time getting in the front door when marketing to the glass world.  Since they have been brainwashed already to believe that the treated glass they get from glass manufacturers like Guardian is the absolute best, and there is nothing that you could provide that could even come close to that quality.

So what do we do?  The very first thing is to focus on aftermarket glass.  Don't even get into any discussions with the glass world about the actual quality of various treatments and technologies used on new glass.  But rather just focus on your own knowledge of this field, and your expertise in the application of the right treatment for the desired effect.  Which effect might be stain resistance, scratch resistance, an easy clean surface, hydrophobicity, or hydrophylicity.  Give a guarantee, and a price.  Do not discuss the name of the product you will be using.  Nor discuss the actual process that you will be using.  The technology that you use is proprietary, and there is no need for you to discuss it in detail with anyone.  It would be good at this point however to discuss the different benefits of glass treatments.  This can be done verbally at the moment.  It can also be done with a flyer or info-letter.

Your guarantee should be specific to the desired effect of the treatment and what the application will be.  Is the customer mostly concerned with exterior scratch resistance?  Are they in search of a treatment to make cleaning interior shower glass enclosures much easier?  Are they looking for an easy clean treatment for the exterior using a water fed pole?  Or do they want an exterior easy clean treatment where the glass will be wiped with a micro fiber towel?  Are they in search of a treatment that will make removing hard water deposits that are being caused by  a sprinkler system or efflorescence of the exterior building facade much easier over the months and years to come?  All of these different applications require different treatments/products, and different application techniques. Some applications will even demand a different guarantee, or no guarantee at all!  I don't think any manufacturer of a glass treatment/product will tell you anything that I have written in this paragraph. But it is all very true.  

Before you get into this niche business it is necessary to become familiar with the different products that are currently on the market.  You should also become familiar with some very "grassroots tests" that will tell you what you need to know about which application you are looking at.  There will be new treatments/products that will continue to hit the market.  Some will come along as a franchise, some as a professional product at a higher than normal cost, and some as a retail item available at a Lowes or Home Depot.  You need to be ready to test out these new products so you can add them to your company list of chemical tools.  You wouldn't use the same window cleaning tools on every window.  So why should you use the same glass treatment tool for every application/job.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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12,000 Dollar Resi Restoration Job

It was a million dollar house on the hill.  In a very wealthy neighborhood.  The painters decided to power wash in preparation for painting.  So they used a commercial product based on sodium carbonate and sodium metasilicate.  It cleaned the outside of the house very well.  But also left a white haze/stain on the windows.  Which no one was able to remove. Others had tried.  They ended up leaving many scratches on those windows they worked on.

The house had Pella windows.  Each window had 6, 10, 12, or 15 small insulating glass units.  So if a door (15 units) had two stained units, the entire door would have to be replaced.  There were exactly 1,974 insulating units in the entire house.  Of which almost 500 were stained.  These were spread out through the entire house.  Every window had at least one stained unit. So every window would have to be replaced.  At a total cost of 80,000 bux!  I priced the units at 20 bux each. 500 units came to 10,000 dollars.  Then charged another 2,000 bux to clean the outside so I would only restore those units that were stained.  I made about 100 bux per hour.

The money was coming from the paint companies insurance. When I arrived in the driveway that first day the insurance man was waiting with a check in hand for a quarter of the job. Why not?  I was going to save them 62,000 bux!  Looking back I probably shouldn't have been that generous. Anyhow when I started working I learned real quick that my old friend cerium oxide would not touch the stain.  Also diamond compound with my machine was leaving a scratch haze. The customer/homeowner would not tolerate this.  So I sat down and took a break.  Then I put all my cords, pads, and machines back in the car and got out some Bounty paper towels.  The paper towels and diamond compound, yellow, at a micron rating of 3;...worked very well.  No scratches.  The stain came right off.  It was taking about ten minutes per unit at twenty bux per unit.

Everyone was happy.  The homeowner, paint company, insurance company, and me.  It was a total win win situation. The bottom line here is not every job is in want of a solution. Those that are, usually involve lawyers and insurance companies.  When they do, price high.  Look for those that do. And know that every job will be different.  Requiring different solutions.  Further, always maintain your confidence in the face of what might appear to be defeat.  It could be sweet!

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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Aggressive Stain Removal Pads

Four zero steel wool pads are based on strands of actual steel.  Each strand of steel is about 20 microns across.  It is also round.  As it passes across the glass surface it does not cut, but rather rubs. It does not abrade.  It is not abrasive.  But it is hard.  Just about as hard as glass.  So it will literally push abrasive particles such as silicas or diamond directly into the glass and drag them enhancing their abrasive action.  This is why steel wool pads are more aggressive than hard felt, or sponge pads. Even nylon/plastic pads are not as aggressive as steel wool.  This is because steel is much harder than plastic.  

There are other pads that are "aggressive". Any pad that is very hard can be considered aggressive. Steel wool works so well because it is wool.  It is a mesh.  The polishing particles are about 1/6th the size of the diameter of four zero steel wool.  They are easily caught up in that mesh and are also easily dragged under the strands.  Which force them into the surface.  Any other material that does this will have similar success in polishing glass.  There are various commercial pads that have very small holes all over the pad surface.  Such holes perform a similar function to a steel wool mesh.  In fact, as the particles begin to drag between the pad and the glass they can become embedded in the surface of the pad.  Once embedded they will abrade the glass on a microscopic level.  They will polish the glass and remove mineral deposits.

There are particles which are very effective at abrading glass.  They are very effective at removing stock.  Silicon carbide, boron nitride, and diamond are three.  When these are used in conjunction with very aggressive pads they can remove stock very fast.  So they are very effective at grinding glass for scratch removal.  Or are also very effective are removing mineral deposits.  These have been used for many years in the field of glass "cold working".  One problem that can happen involves the formation of glass dust agglomerates.  When scratches form on glass seen or microscopic, there are always little pieces that break away.  These can stick together forming larger "particles" which can leave very large scratches.  To avoid this problem when using aggressive pads with aggressive particles much water is also used during the grinding process.  Such will flush away most if not all of the glass dust agglomerates.  I am guessing that a similar use of water during the polishing process should prove just as effective. 

Grinding and polishing glass is a very old technology.  Silicon carbide and cerium oxide have been used for many years.  Water has always been an integral part of the process.  Only in later years have there been alternate synthetic pad materials created that have proven rather effective.  Especially in nano-polishing.  The goal has always been to create a better surface with smaller and smaller imperfections.  Surfaces are now routinely engineered down to a quarter of a micron.  On all types of substrates.  The particle zoo is not small.  There are all kinds of particles.  Of all types of chemistries, shapes, and sizes.  We even have functionalyzed nano-particles.  Scanning electron microscopes show us not just their shapes, but also the exact arrangement of the atoms that make up each particle. This is where this 'old technology' has become very high tech and modern. 

It is my dream to explore many of these high tech pads.  By doing this we will merge this high tech world of polishing glass with the Window Cleaning industry.  

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

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Anatomy of a Hard Water Spot

I know it goes without saying;...but hard water spots come from hard water drops.  Hard water drops are hard because they are loaded with silicate based minerals.  Silicates are microscopic "rocks".  Hence the word hard.  These silicates usually include the elements silicon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and sodium.  They are very similar to the chemistry of window glass, and so have the tendency to "lock on" to the microscopic surface.  Once there they can initiate an exchange reaction with the atoms in the glass effecting a stage two static etch over time.  So that when they are removed via a superabrasive based polish what remains is a visible distortion of the surface or a "fingerprint" of the spot itself.  I can make this statement with absolute confidence since I have performed the experiment myself on a piece of dark glass cut from an existing window damaged by hard water drops.  Dark tinted glass by the way is much more likely to become damaged by hard water, and is much more difficult to restore.  Many of the videos on the internet demonstrating stain removal systems are performed on first surface reflective glass. This is the easiest surface to clear.  I would like to see one done using dark glass!

So many people think that hard water spots are just a deposit. Just a simple stain.  While this is usually true at the beginning, it is not always true. Over time serious damage can be done. The reason lies in the anatomy of the spot. The spot forms as has been mentioned from a hard water drop. As that drop evaporates in the hot sun the concentration of silicates increases, and so does the pH of the water drop.  When the pH reaches 9 and above a chemical reaction begins leaching the hydrogen atoms from the glass surface.  As time wears on other atoms/elements such as sodium, calcium, and oxygen are leached away.  At this point complete dissolution takes place or what is called a stage two static etch.  Both the reaction byproducts and the various silicates in the original drop are left behind as the water molecules evaporate.  Hence it is considered static.  It is also true that not all of the water molecules have left.  You would have to heat the glass to seven hundred degrees to accomplish this.  But from what we can see with the unaided eye;... the glass is dry. 

The greatest damage or dissolution takes place around the outer edge of the spot.  This is because as the drop evaporates it does so from the middle out.  I call the middle area the "basin", and the outer edge the "ring".  The drop ring rather than the basin carries most of the silicates and so reaches the highest pH first.  So logically this is where most of the damage or dissolution takes place.  The spot basin is virtually untouched. If you look close at the pictures shown on the side bar here you will see what I mean.

What is interesting about the potential of hard water drops to etch a glass surface is the fact that this action is increased by a few different factors.  One is simple repetition.  Every time a drop runs down the window, it is caught by a previously existing spot.  The drop stops right over the spot, and evaporates right there when the sun comes out the next day.  So spots will become more and more intense over time by this process.  As each drop forms on top of each spot and evaporates, etching becomes more severe.  Another factor to consider is how hot the glass is because this determines how quickly each drop evaporates. Which allows for many more drops to form and evaporate.  It also means that the chemical reaction or dissolution of the glass will be much more pronounced.  Heat always speeds up a chemical reaction. Another factor to consider, which has already been mentioned briefly, is the chemistry of the glass.  Dark glass is much more likely to react with highly alkaline water drops.  This is why water spots are much more difficult to remove from this type of glass surface. Dark glass also heats up more quickly in the sun. Ordinary clear glass is the next down.  And the easiest to clear are reflective pyrolytic first surface windows. 

I am quite sure that a deeper look into the "structural biology" of hard water spots would reveal some rather fascinating facts about the destructive nature of these "one celled" animals. Their "cellular walls" are in fact alive as each spot evolves through its life cycle. One tactic is to prevent the walls from forming in the first place by creating a hydrophylic surface by the use of a titanium dioxide coating.  Of course hydrophylicity can be created in other ways too.  There are various silanes that can be functionalized to form covalent bonds with the "free" oxygen atoms on the surface of glass, and at the same time hold onto water molecules strongly enough to form a film.  In this way water drops are not so easily formed.  I would like to point out that the ability of such designer coatings to resist the alkali attack of high pH water drops is not dependent on their hydrophobic/hydrophylic properties;...but rather their chemistry.  It is also true that when spot rings have been eliminated by hydrophylic coatings, it is far less likely that hard water from either a sprinkler system or concrete efflorescence will do damage to such coatings.  And so the holy grail of stain resistant coatings might not be hydrophobics at all.  But rather just the opposite.  You judge!

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygroverjr@gmail.com

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Also if you have any interest in any of the products mentioned or alluded to in any of these posts please just send me an email.

Mineral Deposit Edu for Customers

Hard water stains or mineral deposits can occur all the way up sixty six stories, or just on the first floor.  They can come from brickwork, concrete facades, sprinkler systems, or the garden hose.  They can also result on the inside of windows surrounding indoor pools.  When they form they can be extremely difficult to remove.  Most times very special polishing procedures are required to accomplish this.  Acids which etch glass should never be used to remove mineral deposits since these can very quickly and easily destroy windows.  It is because of these reasons that the correct procedure for "clearing" windows of mineral deposits can be extremely expensive.

Our customer might tell us to just use a little steel wool.  Or extra soap?  Or what about a store bought product people use on their bathroom fixtures?  Obviously they are not familiar with the nature of the problem.  Mineral deposits can start developing on an invisible level.  Then they become more and more noticeable until they are very unsightly and absolutely impossible to remove with a simple inexpensive procedure.  The greatest reason for this is that such spots are very similar to glass itself.  They are based on a combination of silicates and silica.  This is what the matrix of glass is.  It is like trying to remove paint from paint.  Another reason why they are so difficult to remove lies in the fact that exterior glass surfaces on a microscopic level look like the lunar landscape.  Check out the picture here on this blog showing what the etched surface of window glass looks like.  Over time the exterior/weather side of window glass is attacked mostly by acid rain and is badly etched.  Water vapor will react with the elements that make up soda lime/window glass literally leaching away certain atomic components.  You can actually feel this by lightly running a dry fingertip  across the dry inside surface of a storm window and compare this to the outside surface of the same plate of glass. The outside surface will be much more rough.  Mineral deposits which are essentially silicon based salts, will fill in and strongly attach themselves to the windows by means of these microscopic leached pores. 

Water spots or mineral deposits can actually be seen before they become obvious by simply fogging a "clean" window surface with your breath.  As the fog forms it will show up every spot.  Then as the fog vanishes so do the spots.  Try running a dry fingertip across that surface and you will soon notice how much friction this generates.  If you polish a clear spot using an ultra pure polishing compound you will notice how smooth it becomes.  Try doing this with steel wool, extra soap, or bathroom stain remover based on hydrochloric acid. It just won't happen.

Further.  If the effort is made to remove all spotting/minerals early on before they become tenaciously attached and quite unsightly; then a special sealer should be applied immediately after the restoration work is performed.  Make sure the sealer is one that has been tested and is not attacked by alkali chemistry or UVC. Your window cleaner will know exactly which one to use. The application of such a chemical will help to keep the windows looking absolutely pristine.

So if your window cleaner tells you that it would be a good thing to "restore" your windows, it would be a good thing to listen.  Listen now, pay a little now, or pay a LOT later down the line.  The choice is up to you!

Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com

If you would like these posts to come into your inbox as they are written please put your address in the box at the top right, "Follow by Email".

Also if you have any interest in any of the products mentioned or alluded to in any of these posts please just send me an email.