Tin Etch Haze on old storefront glass- is it worth trying to restore?

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1

I picked up a new storefront today, and while talking with the customer, I discovered that they have what appears to be tin etch haze on the inside of all their windows - top to bottom. I attempted to scrub a section with Bio-Clean to see if it was some other type of staining, and it had no affect. Here’s a couple pics of the storefront (can’t really see the haze that well :()

So my questions are, how hard is this to restore with the GlassRenu system? Would it require any grinding, or only polishing? How long should it take? and what would you charge for this storefront? The customer is very interested in getting rid of the haze, but indicated a somewhat limited budget. Perhaps its something their landlord would be willing to address.

[SIZE=3]If you have any experience restoring tin etched windows, I’d like to hear your thoughts. Thanks.[/SIZE]

2

If you can polish it out with glassrenu that would be one thing. You start grinding that out and you’ll be sorry.

3

Exactly what I was thinking. I don’t want to get into this if it requires anything more than superficial polishing.

4

Felt or foam pad with ABR or another cerium product should do the trick.

5

Either way alex its not something there gonna wanna pay for. Storefronts owners wont pay for that type of service in my experience. Just gove your price for keeping it clean.

6

Just a thought here Alex… To my knowledge tin etch haze it typically caused by the use of chemicals such as HF, which would suggest that someone used a chemical on the inside of the glass top to bottom. I cant think of a scenario where someone would need to do that. Do you think it could be something else such as faded tint film or do you have a theory on how they could have tin etch haze on all of their inside windows?

Just food for thought,
Wayne

7

Have you had much experience with it? Is it very time consuming?

8

Polishing pad should fix this. I have had many people with this issue before and normally the polishing pad and some polish is all that is needed.

Do a test post and you will find out right away if the polish is going to work or not. Tin etch damage is on the exterior of the glass, it should not require you to grind. Call me if you got any questions. 888-769-0001

9

yeah…usually easier to remove than hard water staining…especially if its high in silicates. I am with Wayne though…how did it get burned on the interiors? I was thinking maybe it was leftover glue from a tint job…who knows…but it would be highly unusual to have a full on burn from top to bottom on the interior of a business. It one of those cases where I’d do a section out of the way and see how long it took…then do the math to figure out the price for the rest.

10

Yeah, I thought it was strange that the windows are covered with haze, but I scraped and scrubbed a section of one, as well as treated it with BioClean, and it had zero effect. The owner admitted that they believe they did it, since they didn’t notice it until after they had cleaned them.

Good tip [MENTION=976]WhiskeyPete[/MENTION], on doing a small section and then doing the math. I think that at minimum, they’d want a full panel treated, so I may offer to treat one for a set price, and let them know I can give a price for the rest of them once I see how long the first one takes. That way if I way underestimate the time, I don’t get locked into doing all of them for that price.

And one last question: you mentioned that this is usually easier than hard water? So do you think an orbital buffer would work with the cerium? My Makita polisher is currently out of commission, so if I could pull this off with my orbital, it would save me some hassle. Otherwise, I’ll be out the time and cost of repair before I even get started.

Thanks, all, for your feedback.

11

Try it…only one way to find out…basicly does the same thing.