We have an account that has about 550 pieces of stained glass. The glass has not been cleaned in over 10 years. Also, we are cleaning up after a remodel where there is paint splashed on some of the glass.
We have tried various cleaning methods, water fed pole, strip washer with detergent, ammonia & water solution, etc, but the one that seems to work best is to use straight steel wool and buff off each individual piece. By question concerns the steel wool.
We have always used grades 0000 and 000 because we felt anything more coarse could damage the glass. On this project we are using grade 000. That being said, the 000 grade is making a mess and falling apart too quickly and we have considered going to a coarser grade.
I’m curious as to why you’re not just using a razor. It’s quicker and more efficient.
As for the steel wool every recommendation I’ve ever seen is to avoid anything more coarse than 000. I use bronze wool which I find holds up far better than steel wool.
Rhodes American used to put on their 0000 packages that it was ok to use on glass, although I have not seen it recently on the package. I never saw it on any of the other grades. I have seen 000 leave some scratches on glass.
I would check out the bronze wool, its becoming quite popular. Our guys also seem to like it better, as Tony said it holds up better to. You may also think about combining it with a stain remover type chemical. That will speed things up quite a bit.
Tony & Chris, Thanks for the tip on the bronze wool not falling apart as easily as steel wool. That is one of the issues we are having. As far as not using a razor, some of this glass would be impossible to razor. There are some pieces that do not have flat surfaces. They are like glass marbles. Then there are odd shaped pieces that are only a couple of inches long on each side. Some of the pieces have wavy surfaces. Remember this is stained glass, not sheet glass. If we were using razors, we would have to use the 1" razors on the pieces that would take razors. But as I said, not every piece would take a razor. So wool is really the quicker and more efficient way to go.
Wow, I don’t know much but the idea of using steel wool on a window makes me shiver.
I had a custom made leather pouch I carry on my belt so a one 1 scraper is always a flick away. On after construction clean ups, I use a 3 inch scraper. Always making sure the blade is new and sharp, always making sure the window is wet with soap in the water. On newly built homes with stucco on the glass I constantly rinse the window as best I can while scrapping.
HD carries 0000, I don’t know the brand name though, its in my trunk now.
Over the last few weeks I’ve switched over to using 0000 on pretty much every window that doesnt have paint or or sap on it (I still razor these). They just seem to come out better that way, and the $2 bag of steel wool lasts me a week.
By the way, for you powerwash guys, I also found that 0000 with a little bit of Krud Kutter removes artillery spores quite nicely
Two reasons, 1st I think it would scratch glass. I know they are talking about finer and finer types etc but I’ve seen little circular scratch marks along frames of windows which I imagine was the painter cleaning up paint that got past the masking tape. I’ve seen them so bad that I have to stop and point it out to the customer.
the 2nd is conviencence and speed. I never have steel wool in my pocket but I always have a scraper on my belt, not just for paint spots but bird crap, tape, egg and what not.
I’ve never heard of that, but that’s what’s so great about the internet. I think I started cleaning windows before there even was an internet, I think.
Does that really work and at a good speed? would you contact a construction company and offer to clean all there new houses? I actually avoid that type of work and have only done it when I used to work for other people.
Our step by step method (how I was trained 25 years ago) You have your normal window cleaning tools. Go up to the basement window, they seem to be the worst when it comes to stucco. Brush the window, scrape the entire window with 3 inch scrapers from frame to frame , then wash the window again normally and touch up with 1 inch scrappers. This works great with after construction windows that only have tape and caulking, stickers etc.
But a lot could go wrong with that method if the window is full of stucco, especially by inexperienced cleaners. I’ve seen windows get brutalized by rookies working on commission (faster the better) never worrying about how sharp the razors are, a lot of it was the owners fault for being cheap with supplies. Eventually when I came to a window with stucco I would only take very short strokes and keep the brush above my scrapper constantly rinsing whenever I thought there was any chance of grit. Flip my razor over after a few windows, put in new blades etc. But, yeah that’s old school. If I could go up with a spray bottle full of chemical and just brush it off that would be pretty amazing I’m going to research that a little bit.
In the last ten years, the only time I’ve done after construction clean up was when I get sucked into it. I like to advertise in newer areas, areas that are still building homes. All I like now are casement type windows.
I recently made a switch from steel wool to bronze wool and I’m very happy with the switch so far. Bronze wool holds up better and does not rust which are two major advantages.
I’ve seen painters using 120 grit sandpaper on detail sanders and run right up the side of a window leaving those circular scratches. You aren’t going to do that w/ steel or bronze wool.
I didn’t learn it on the internet. I learned from Dan Fields.
Works great and quickly. The acid breaks the bond in stucco and concrete, allowing for safe scraping.
Dan Fields ran a CCU business with ~60 employees in the SF Bay Area during the housing boom years.
Brushing grit with a standard washer sleeve moves it across the glass, producing scratches. That’s where a hogs hair brush works well. A dull blade (not rusted) cannot scratch glass.
It’s not as easy as spray on, brush off.
Use Search here to research further – there are lots of CCU- and phosphoric acid-related posts
In the last ten years, the only time I’ve done after construction clean up was when I get sucked into it. I like to advertise in newer areas, areas that are still building homes. All I like now are casement type windows.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that link. Do you know how current the video is? I wish there were excerpts from it on Youtube, I checked, there weren’t.
btw, I don’t use those, well we call them applicators with sleeves unless I’m doing pole work. I use a hand held brush, they’re plastic with green plastic brush hairs. I remember we used to used wooden handled brushes that had what I think was horse hair (maybe hogs hair but I doubt it), nobody like them, they would shed hairs and cause streaks. Those green brushes hold a lot of water in them or you can flick out some water and climb a ladder and they won’t drip and they’ll still have lots of water in them. In fact, on one story houses I could leave my pail in the front yard and do the entire back with one brush full of water, not always but it did happen.
I do like the idea of softening the stucco first, same idea as spraying warm water on a living room ceiling so you can scrape that stucco off. especially since I used to leave most of the stucco on the window frames because there was nothing else I knew how to do. Can’t scrape it.
