I’ve been reading on another list about the new product called NanoUltra.
Some have confused this with older technology that was intended to have the same result, but didn’t. Kris Weigal from Nanophase Technologies explained that most of the protectants out there are hydrophobic, which means that the water beads up and traps dirt and grime, leaving spots and streaks on the windows.
This product is brand new and was announced in January in Reno and is based on nanotechnology. It is designed to work with either rain or spray from a hose or waterfed pole, allowing it’s super hydrophilic properties to rinse away dirt and grime.
They mentioned that their distributors can provide us with a sample kit and Window Cleaning Resource is listed as a distributor, but I can’t find it on the web site.
Do any of you know where to find it on the web site, and how to request the sample kit so that I can give it a try?
We have been playing with the nano product for the past couple of months… Pretty amazing stuff. It is being built into our store today, and samples are available for WCR members free of charge.
Is this product something that could be marketed to builders as a pretreatment just after the windows are installed?
Would this product prevent construction grime, mortar, grout, cement, sealant, putty, etc from sticking?
If so, then if it’s applied as soon as the windows are installed, or even before the windows are installed, it could make the construction cleanup much easier.
Chris,
Since you’ve already played with this some, can you tell me how it would affect vinyl lettering that has to be attached to the windows?
What about advertising signs that are attached to the windows? I have a group of Pier 1 stores that change their advertising banners each month. They attach by moistening the side of the banner that has adhesive and then smoothing the banner onto the windows.
Would the properties of this product prevent those signs from adhering to the glass?
Those are really good questions, unfortunately I dont have a accurate answer for you. I passed this along to the good people at NanoUltra and they will be on shortly to answer any questions.
Hi
Thanks to Chris and Alex for inviting us to the WCR forum. I will try to stay on line to answer your questions.
It looks like some of you are on Gary’s forum and have received some information.
Peter–you had some great questions. As far as applying this product pre-construction–that is a great idea, however, we have not tested it ourselves. It would make clean up of mineral deposits easier, but we do not know if it would make clean up of other construction materials any easier (concrete, caulk, etc…) It is worth a trial. Keep in mind that if you do a heavy duty cleaning after construction, with razor blades, etc…you will take off the protection/treatment.
As far as effecting the vinyl lettering on a business door or window–The Step 1 products contain a mild abrasive that may take this off. We recommend that the Step 1 products not be used on any coated surfaces. The Step 2 can be used on coated surfaces, but obvioiusly you need Step 1 for the surface to be activated before putting on Step 2.
Did I answer your questions?
Kris Weigal
Director of Marketing
Nanophase Technologies
1319 Marquette Drive
Romeoville, IL 60446
630.771.6717 (o)
630.740.0577 (m)
630.771.0825 (f)
Thanks for the quick response. I look foward to hearing how your tests turn out, as my goal would be to avoid needing heavy duty cleaning after construction.
My hope is that your protective coating would block a lot of the construction materials from getting a firm hold on the glass. If that were true, then spraying off the windows with water might do a good deal of the cleaning that is normally required for construction cleaning.
Knowing what a hot topic razor blades are in our industry, I’d be very happy to see technology offer other options.
So, for windows that already have vinyl letting, Step 1 & Step 2 are not good options.
How about the other example I mentioned. If I have already applied Step 1 & Step 2, and then later the customer wants to have vinyl lettering added to the window or door, will your product prevent the vinyl lettering from adhearing properly? Or, in the case of Pier 1 stores, will the vinyl banners have trouble sticking?
The NanoUltra Pre-Treatment or Treatment will not prevent these signs from adhering to the glass. However, when the sign is removed, the adhesive may pull the NanoUltra Treatment off of the window leaving that area unprotected. If this is the case, the Treatment should be reapplied after the banner is removed if another banner is not going back in the original location.
Peter:
Just so you know, the NanoUltra WILL prevent the build up of mineral deposits from construction, but we don’t know about caulk, cement etc… I don’t know anything that prevents or gets that off except a razor blade or very harsh chemical. Even with that, a razor blade or harsh chemical will take ANY coating off, no matter how good it is.
Every environment is different. Try it on one window and see what you think.
So I got my sample pack in the mail, but I haven’t had time to try it out this week. I plan to test on some of the windows on my house.
It seems like this is mostly intended for use on the outside windows, but I have another thought. I clean several restaurants that have greasy fingerprints on them. Do you think using this product on the inside of the windows would help in cleaning greasy fingerprints off?
