Window Cleaning Companies can now get into the technology of applying self cleaning coatings to window glass. This is fast becoming a specialty line of work that only the Window Cleaner is truly qualified to take on. It is another service that can substantially increase your bottom line. The chemistry and technology exists right now. If you chose to not get involved you will miss out. Lets check out the technology of making glass dirt resistant and hence “self cleaning”. We will also look at some eye opening videos that demonstrate what is now being done.
I did quite a bit of looking into this several years ago. Since it’s been several years there could have been new breakthroughs but I am not aware of any.
For all coatings, the main issue that keeps them from being marketable is their durability. Because the glass preparation and application process is labor intensive the coatings have to durable enough to not break down and last long enough for the added cost of application to be beneficial. Most products don’t last long enough in the elements. Because of this the products are left only being applicable in certain applications and not a wide spread application.
As for self cleaning, although their is some beneficial applications, you have to have enough volume of rain fall for the self cleaning properties to be effective. This becomes an issue in areas where rain fall does not occur often enough and where architecture of the building doesn’t allow enough water to come in contact with the glass. Again this isn’t to say that there are not applications or use for this type of product.
When you add the two factors together, lack of durability vs cost of application and limited glass that actually receives enough rain fall to activate the self cleaning properties, the coatings that are currently on the market only have limited applications. That said there is definitely a market for it and if someone did a good job of identifying a substantial enough market for the application and they are able to effectively market the product, they would have very limited competition.
The other issue is the marketing. It is definitely a product that takes educating the consumer on the real benefits of the products as most customers tend to not see past the sticker shock (price) to really grasp the benefits.
There is a company that I worked with on some of their products who offer building restoration and their approach with selling building coatings is to combine the sale of the coating application with a maintenance service and building image guarantee. In other words they guarantee that if they apply the coating and maintain the building they won’t have brown building syndrome again and they put it in writing.
I believe the I spoke with the company out of Japan that is in one of the videos on your blog. Their product has to be applied with a particular compressor. Their coating last for like 10 years because the compressor applies the coating via a mist and it attaches on a nano level. Most other coatings are applied by buffing it on and don’t last long. Maybe a couple of years and that’s in a lab and not real work conditions.
The best super hydrophobic product wasn’t usable on glass last I checked as they hadn’t gotten it to where it would apply perfectly clear but would slightly haze the glass. It would still repel at a super hydrophobic level but it was just not optically clear.
Last I did the research on coatings I felt like I was searching for the Holy Grail or a ghost. Lol. The technology just isn’t quite their yet. The last hydrophilic coating for window cleaning that came on the market didn’t do well and it was a good product. I think it was Glass Guardian. I believe they discontinued the product.
That has to be the best return I have ever got. This is why we have this forum. I would love to talk with you on a more in depth level about specific products and technologies. I know we have talked about this tech before. But it is still developing over time. I am personally fascinated by the products that are applied with our cleaning solution. We clean and its done. No extra time. So if they wear off in six months or less we just return for another clean. The trick would be to remove all of the hydrocarbon pollution from the glass surface really quick. Then it becomes hydrophylic. After we apply a hydrophylic coating with our cleaner we would come back to clean again. And reapply again. Maybe just checking with pure water with a once over using the wand to see how the coating is doing. If it has any hydrocarbon pollution stuck to it which would make it hydrophobic. Please send me an email at [email protected]. I do agree with everything you have said. Great research. Good thinking.
