If you choose to buy a commercial system just know that you are also throwing money away. The better way would be to link up with a professional who does this every day and work side by side with them. Buy a polisher and a grinder, along with various pads, and mix up your own compounds. But still know that every job is different. Some will be like eating cake. Others will be impossible without as Marc Tanner calls it, "cutting glass". You will need as your first step a method for cutting through all of the stains and even some of the glass. This first step must leave the window with an even white haze. Which will during the second step come off with a cerium slurry or compound. Such will remove the haze rather quickly compared to the first step of grinding. But you must know that there is also the question of what type of surface you are working on. If it is a low e metal then you will end up stripping it right off. That is damage. So use caution. There are many complications when doing this work.
One complication has to do with surfaces. The same exact atom for atom stain will come off a low e coating much easier that from a transparent glass surface. But the same exact stain will also come off a transparent glass surface much much easier that a dark surface. Where the window plate has been tinted all the way through. This type of window can be virtually impossible to clear without cutting.
Another complication results when you discover that someone has been there before you with an acid. Especially a hydrofluoric acid. Certain acids have the tendency of removing only some of the stains but leaving maybe 20 percent. Which can still be seen. Such acids also will eat into the glass making the surface like a "sponge" so it will soak up any new stains and hold onto them with incredible power and strength. You will then need to cut the glass and polish with a cerium.
Now while the quality of the cerium is not extremely important, the type of superabrasive used for cutting is. Don't get me wrong. The quality of the cerium is important. And I wrote a post about this which you should find very interesting. But the cutter is really critical. This is because it actually sets up the surface for the cerium. This is a two step, maybe even a three step procedure. With the first step being the most important.
Every job will be completely different from the job before. In fact, and this is where it gets really wacky, the windows on the same building can be very different from other windows on the same building. If for no other reason than who was on that building before you. Because you have no idea who it was and what they did. Most of the time no one is going to tell you too. So once again use caution. These are the things the manufacturers will not tell you. They just don't know. The glass restoration professionals out there like Marc Tanner do not use commercial hard water removal systems. They have been there and did that and have moved on. These are the people you need to communicate with. I have talked with several. Marc of course is King.
Now finally you absolutely need to seal off the new surface with a hydrophobic product when you are done. Only for just two very big reasons. First the window is now extremely susceptible to very difficult stains. Second every square inch is also now very susceptible to scratches. Using the product NG1010 from Nanovations USA takes care of both of these problems. So again;...never perform any stain removal procedure without using NG1010. Do it EVERY time!
Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com
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