I have a job coming up in July on a horse riding arena that has well over 1500 panes of glass. They spray stained the building last year with an oil based product so it has been baking on the windows for almost a year now. It is all tempered glass so I can forget about using razor blades, any suggestions on chemical removal?
Why does it being tempered glass rule out razor blade usage?
Tried it on a few last year and these things scratch like they’re made out of butter, even with lots of water.
??? Just because one window does it doesn’t mean all do it. I would say the only thing I would do is use razors. Don’t let all the fab debris talk scare you, it is rare and just make sure you have a waiver. If you notice scratching you will stop.
I wouldn’t call fab debris rare, it’s often enough that we keep the razors in the trailer to avoid the temptation to use them and only pull them out to remove stickers, it sucks but it makes me sick to my stomach when I see the rainbows of tiny scratches.
As for the stain on windows we come across it often, we use the bronze scrub pads and I explain to the customer why we can’t razor the window. I have taken to calling out the stainers on their work also, educate them about how it’s not as simple as “just take a blade to it”, may save you some headaches in the future, but for now on that project, I would explain why you won’t be able to get them perfect, or have to charge an hourly rate for the extra work. Also I would not rule out the idea of back charging any stainer that creates a mess like that, if they want to make easy money by “blow and go” they should know it will cost them, or they can come out and scrub the spots off, it’s the equivalent of overspraying a car and they wouldn’t get away with that.
We blade just about every pane of glass on the outside unless they are done more then once a year, then they rarely need it.
You got to use the blade man.
Brett I would have to agree, I’ve been cleaning windows for 20 years and I know what blades can do to tempered glass, I ruined a set of French doors once. We can’t afford scratch the hell out of 1500 windows, cost isn’t an issue to this customer, so I think I will try a fast drying petroleum based cleaner like laquer thinner or xylene and the bronze wool.
Blades are not the problem. Perhaps you have just run into FD and didn’t realize what you were dealing with. When you are dealing with 1500 panes you need to think economy of effort and that means using a blade.
Hey Tony,
Do you have a glass renu system? We come across overspraying stain daily combined with lots of FD, so me and my lead guy were wondering if it is possible to use a worn polishing pad and the machine to remove heavy overspraying (lots of the tiny spots, not actually thick). I’ve been weighing getting the system anyway but that could be the clincher.
I’ve even considered offering the refinishing to eliminate the FD, at a discounted rate, just so we could go back to using our razors on the homes in the future, because stain jobs are an annual thing up here, so even a year later windows are contaminated with stain, often from their neighbors stain job.
All the handy man types tell me they use Wd40, but I’ve heard the propellant can be corrosive to aluminum, and I’ve always been leery of any chemicals destroying the seals as we already have mother nature working against us, so I don’t have any experience with any chemicals on the glass. Would definitely be interested in finding the miracle one (besides TSP, Dange;)).
Bret have you ever used oil flow? It stinks but removes the stain and can be flowed with a wfp. Another new product from Titan you might try is Cement Off. One wcer mixes it with denatured alcohol 8 ounces to 8 ounces and claims it removes everything.
Bret have you ever used oil flow? It stinks but removes the stain and can be flowed with a wfp. Another new product from Titan you might try is Cement Off. One wcer mixes it with denatured alcohol 8 ounces to 8 ounces and claims it removes everything.
