What do you do about new glass care instructions?

[steve076]

Hi, I'm Steve, I run a window cleaning company in Australia, after I did a job a customer told me they paid 3k for their sunroom to be tinted.  I thought I would take a look at maybe expanding into tinting, from the research I have already done, it seem that scraping the glass seems pretty mandatory.  

If this is the case how do you deal with new care instructions for tempered glass?

New care instructions basically forbid us as window cleaners from using a razor blade on the glass as the glass will likely scratch, it happens.

As someone who has been in the window cleaning industry for over 20 years and has done hundreds of construction commercial window cleans, I can tell you first hand that the tempered glass over here almost always scratch when you use a blade.  The glass companies are aware of this and have stated this is an aggressive cleaning method and is not condoned on tempered glass.

 

So my question, was my research wrong?

is part of the surface preparation scraping the glass?

 

 

[jh812]

Nope you're completely right. Best alternative is going to be 0000 steel wool. 

[Tint Eastwood]

   During the tempering process the glass is passed through a furnace via rollers, so the side that is pointed up has the risk of airborne glass fines to settle on the surface. Since the glass is heated to such high temperatures these particles embed themselves. Most of the time they are impossible to see, but every now and again you will have a pane that has a collection of larger specs that can distort the glass. Generally speaking, it is not possible to visually inspect a window for glass fines so the best way to test is use a scraper in a bottom or top corner of a pane and listen for a gritty sound as you scrape. If it feels/sounds like you are scraping over sand   and use the 0000 steel wool or an appropriate scrubby pad. I have found that using a solvent mixed in with your cleaning solution (Denatured alcohol) can help cut through some of the residue and grime. 

 

Also worth mentioning that not all glass is tempered or assembled equally, you will find some tempered glass to be worse than others or not affected at all. It really comes down to how well the manufacturer is at keeping the airborne particles off of the glass when tempering. So remember that there is always one "scratchy" side and one smooth side to tempered panes, and if it is a double pane or IG unit, pray that the manufacturer is smart enough to glaze the scratchy sides inward. 

 

Tint away after appropriate cleaning, but always remember that one day the film WILL go bad and when that day comes a PS adhesive will be much easier to remove without damaging the glass.  

[Bham]

Is there such a thing as a “side” to tempered glass?   In other words, is the side with the etching label “the better side”; or is that just a myth ? 

Edited February 24, 2019 by Bham

[Tint Eastwood]

From my experience no, the etching could be on either side. But they are typically consistent with each run, so if the etching turns out to be on the “safe” side then it’s pretty safe to say that their process is the same throughout. Another manufacturer may do it on the bad side for whatever reason. Maybe the way they handle or store the glass before etching.