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flipping hydrophobic glass!

Crystalalan

Well-known member
Messages
760
Location
Christchurch, Dorset
Hi everyone.

Been waterfed poleing for 3 months now but still can`t quite get the hang of successfully cleaning hydrophobic glass. Still getting white spots. It`s driving me mad. I use a 35cm flocked gardiner brush with 4 x 1.4 ml pencil jets and a flow rate set at 25. I`m rinsing very thoroughly. Was thinking about getting some 50 degree fan jets do you reckon that would do the trick? I don`t want to resort to tradding them

 
I prefer four 100 degree fan jets on hydrophobic windows.

I mostly rinse on, making a nice sheet and bring the water with me down.

Pencil jets can due to the nature of the spray push contaminants upwards if you don't start properly.

 
I dint think fan jets will make any difference, good scrub especially the frames and closers at the top then rinse the top frame then re clean glass then just rinse glass without causing any splashes on the frames or walls should be ok ?

 
Hi everyone.

Been waterfed poleing for 3 months now but still can`t quite get the hang of successfully cleaning hydrophobic glass. Still getting white spots. It`s driving me mad. I use a 35cm flocked gardiner brush with 4 x 1.4 ml pencil jets and a flow rate set at 25. I`m rinsing very thoroughly. Was thinking about getting some 50 degree fan jets do you reckon that would do the trick? I don`t want to resort to tradding them


I have 4 50% fan jets and I think they are great for rinsing, much better than 1.4mm jets as I have both. You should be set at 1.8 lpm or less if it suits.

 
Just to throw some confusion into the issue. I swear by 100 degree fan jets.

Couple of swipes across the sill. Couple of swipes across the top frame

Agitate vertically on the side frames and glass with slightly overlapping strokes to loosen the dirt. Couple of fast sweeps across the top of the glass to build a head of water. Rinse on the glass. Bring it down quickly as a continuous curtain of water the full width of the glass.

Light and quick does it. No scrubbing unless there's obvious ingrained dirt ie bird or spider muck. No need to kill the brush. I get ages out of the brushes.

Rinse on. Finish with a couple of sweeps across the sill. 20 - 30 seconds on average size window.

Very rarely a problem. Same technique on every type of window and glass.

What I see with several other wcs near me : too much scrubbing and faffing about.

 
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Just to throw some confusion into the issue. I swear by 100 degree fan jets.

Couple of swipes across the sill. Couple of swipes across the top frame

Agitate vertically on the side frames and glass with slightly overlapping strokes to loosen the dirt. Couple of fast sweeps across the top of the glass to build a head of water. Rinse on the glass. Bring it down quickly as a continuous curtain of water the full width of the glass.

Light and quick does it. No scrubbing unless there's obvious ingrained dirt ie bird or spider muck. No need to kill the brush. I get ages out of the brushes.

Rinse on. Finish with a couple of sweeps across the sill. 20 - 30 seconds on average size window.

Very rarely a problem. Same technique on every type of window and glass.

What I see with several other wcs near me : too much scrubbing and faffing about.
This is my experience as well

 
Just beware of bounce back. Not always the answer upping the flow. I agree with Davy G. Don’t faff. Don’t start on sill first though this will just load the brush with rubbish. 
Starting with a couple of swipes across the sill before doing the window is an important and successful part of my technique.

Reason : The sill is almost always the dirtiest part of the unit. The couple of initial swipes breaks through the crust and allows the water to start loosening the dirt. Then, on to the window as I've described. Finish on the sill, where some of the dirt will have been loosened by the first swipes and the water having had a few seconds to soak in.

Makes no difference if dirt is loaded onto the brush, it will soon wash out and is easily brought down. If the sill is left entirely till last it will likely be passed on to the next window anyway. ?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I offered to do the windows upstairs from me but the windy came back again. He uses a wfp and I have noticed marks on my windows from it. So I now realise that it does leave marks on glass below so my complainers do have a point. ?

 
well abit of both but mostly vertical lines from the top. It looks terrible in the sunlight
Avoid cleaning the top frame and use the brush to "cut in" just below the top seal. I have found almost without exception, on new or old windows, that any protruding seals will bleed spots in vertical lines.  It will happen on hydrophobic and hydrophillic but more problematic on the former.  If seals are recessed behind the frame or enough to be tucked away then you won't get issues.  

If they are compartment type windows (one above, one below) then you have two options.  Option 1 is to cut in and wait for the drips to stop dripping on the lower compartment then cut in again (doable on a hot day as it doesn't take too long).  Option 2 which is my go to is to wrap a microfibre around a super scraper and hold it on with a cheap clamp from poundland.  Then i can physically dry any top seals that bleed out before cleaning the glass below. A pain and takes a bit more time but gets a decent result for the customer.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I offered to do the windows upstairs from me but the windy came back again. He uses a wfp and I have noticed marks on my windows from it. So I now realise that it does leave marks on glass below so my complainers do have a point. ?


You should ask him to clean yours! Classic windie getting another windie to clean his own windows - do it!

 

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