So far I’ve used my blade on one window and have used bronze wool on two jobs. It bothers me seriously bad, but sometimes the stuff just isn’t coming off… period. Is there a window you’ll use either the blade or wool on that you won’t use the other on? Do you always tell the customer of the risk involved and have them sign a release? Can you walk me through your process when you want to tackle a window and it turns out to have crud on it - paint spots or the little crud that really abrasive like sand paper or anything?
What about tempered glass? Is all glass in commercial building tempered? They all look to have the stamp on the corner. When you’re going to do a window do you tell the customer if it may scratch and ask permission or what?
What about plastic scrapers? Do they do nearly the damage that a blade will do to a window or does it get nearly as much off?
Don’t be too scared to use the razor when you need to. Most commercial glass is tempered, for safety reasons. A lot of home do too, but you do at times find older homes that doesn’t. Anyways, watch @Luke video on scraping, how to do it. That’s a good start for you. No, you don’t need to get a waiver on every single storefront or account. If it was new construction with debris on the glass, I would then. Most glass you shouldn’t have a problem with, I’ve cleaned windows 25 years and haven’t ran into much bad glass. Every once In awhile, I wouldn’t get yourself too worked up over this. Use a good blade and techniques, keep Glass wet with your solution, no dry scraping, one motion, not back and forth, if you here or see you causing any scratches, stop. Try if you can to use wool, plastic is so-so, I don’t use it often, I have on some tuff concrete on some windows but that’s it. But with stickers and other debris, to get it off the glass you don’t have a lot of choice but to use a blade, if you want to be efficient. Hope that helps a little.
@SimplyCleanKentucky, I had one of my first jobs at a bar with obviously tinted windows. They had a big splotch of adhesive where a sticker was removed. They agrees to let me scrap the edge of the window to find out which side the tinting was. It was the first time I had used the blade, but it did scrape any tinting on either side of the window. I still can’t figure that out. Why would it not?
Was the tint on the glass? Or was it just tinted glass or darker glass? If it was actual tint it should be on the inside part of the window not outside. If you do get adhesive on actual tint, I use oil-flow to break it down and remove it without using a scraper. You don’t want to put a scraper on actual tinted side of the glass. If there is tint in the window not a issue.
@SimplyCleanKentucky, alright, now I’m really confused. I thought all glass that was darker was tinted and sometimes it may be tinted if it looked barely shaded at all. What are all the variations?
Some of the newer houses here in NZ (ie double glazed) have the tint on the inside of the two panes so the outside are just glass. They can also be darkened at the factory.
Like any other tool, get to know how it works and how not to use it. Always use it flat against the glass, use water, steady strokes. Check the blade before you start for any nicks or dints. Clean the blade once you’ve finished. I use a blade for bird muck or fly/bee poo only use a minimal stroke where the dirt is.
For paint spots etc, you just need to mentally break the window area down into smaller areas and do one a time if it covers a large surface area of the window. That way you avoid longer strokes where you could possibly angle the blade on the glass.
It can be actual tint that someone applied after it left the factory, that’s what you need to be careful with, no scraping. But tint from the factory is in the glass, nothing installed on the glass, but made into the glass, which makes it darker.
What I want to know is how often is in on the glass versus inside the glass and is tinting ever just slightly darker than a non-tinted glass? I mean, is it always like it is at a bar where you can barely see through it, or is it ever much lighter than that?
There are lots of different types of tints - mirror, UV, varying shades of either black or grey,
UV tints are hard to see as they dont block the light just the UV so as to save carpets and furntiure being bleached by sunlight.
If it’s an aftermarket tint that has been applied there will be an edge all the way round the glass where it meets the rubber, usually about a mm from the edge. More often than not the tint will be on the inside as they are prone to scratches.
If you’re unsure, ask the client if it has been tinted.
Some tinting places will cut the silicone and place their film then re-caulk it, they did that here at the office I work at. Makes it harder to tell that there is tint (other than the mirror effect and the fact it’s basically night time in here all the time). The easiest way to tell is by running your finger on the glass, regular class, your finger won’t catch or skip as easily as it would on the film from tint. Hope that helps.
I’ve just been doing some tinted windows today. If you’re able to open the door/window, compare the glass to the sky or natural light- if its tinted it’ll appear darker or coloured. Also the applicator and/or squeegee on some tints will drag more than on natural glass.