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Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

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Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

Glassprimer™ glass paint and products are often featured in home decorating plans, but they aren’t designed just for homes! The Glassprimer™ product line is right at home in commercial settings, too! Glass is used heavily in office spaces, hotels, medical facilities and retail spaces, and is valued for its durability, flexibility and availability.

Decorating with commercial glass

Whether you’re working with a residential or commercial space, glass is an excellent medium for decorating and can be incorporated in a number of ways. In the commercial space, glass is found in windows, doors and curtain walls, all of which can be decorated or enhanced with glass paint.

UV-inkjet printing directly on glass can also be used on interior or exterior glass. The UV-inkjet printing technique can be used to enhance signage, and allows photorealistic imagery in a wide range of colors to be applied permanently to the surface of any glass. UV-inkjet printing does not require any additional curing or special surface preparation, making it a highly cost effective option for commercial glass installations.

Glassprimer™ molecular surface activator is a special glass surface primer that allows UV-inkjet printing and commercial urethane paints to bond directly to glass similarly to Glassprimer™ glass paint. The Glassprimer™ molecular activator enhances the durability of UV-inkjet printing and opens a range of branding and marketing opportunities using available glass surfaces in any commercial space.

Glassprimer™ glass paint can also be used to create a frosted effect on interior or exterior glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior resistance to UV light, and can be applied directly to interior or exterior windows. Used as a cost-effective alternative to true frosted glass, glass paint can improve the usability of offices and conference rooms by reducing distractions while still permitting natural light to penetrate the space.

In commercial glass applications, glass paint can be used to complement glass walls, glass partitions and frameless glass doors. Glassprimer™ glass paint will not interfere with operable windows or aluminum-framed glass doors.

Glass paint is an ideal complement for commercial decorating applications. If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Scott Snyder, via FreeImages.com

Exterior glass paint projects

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Exterior glass paint projects

Exterior glass paint projects

The last couple of posts have gotten us thinking about working with glass paint outside. Glassprimer™ glass paint provides superior UV protection and is extremely durable. That’s part of what makes Glassprimer™ glass paint ideal for exterior painting projects. Glassprimer™ glass paint can also be tinted to match virtually any color, so no matter what projects you have in mind, Glassprimer™ glass paint can be part of your painting plan.

Why use glass paint on exterior projects?

One of the first concerns about choosing a paint for outdoor use is its UV resistance. Glassprimer™ glass paint has that covered! Everyone likes sunlight, but it’s very harsh! Colors tend to fade quickly. The fading is one of the first signs of aging. Yellowing is also a sign of failure, and as you probably have observed, it doesn’t take long for a surface to yellow in the sun. Glassprimer™ is specially formulated to resist the impact of UV light, and will stand up to sunlight for years. It will also perform in temperatures up to 350° F! It’s tougher than ordinary, polymer-based exterior paint, so it’s a natural choice for exterior surfaces.

But what if you don’t intend to paint glass? Glass paint can protect a variety of surfaces other than glass. It’s designed especially for glass, but you can apply it to glass, plastic, metal, stone, masonry and other common exterior surfaces and get the same great results. Its nano-bonding properties mean that you can get great, long-lasting coverage on a range of porous and non-porous surfaces.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a low-VOC paint, so its easier to work with and more environmentally friendly than other kinds of exterior paints. Glassprimer™ glass paint cleans up with acetone, which is readily available in home improvement and hardware stores. Additionally, we produce a water-based version of Glassprimer™ glass paint that offers the same great nano-bonding technology, high UV resistance and low VOC content as our solvent-based paint, but cleans up with water.

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Dmitry Belopolsky , via FreeImages.com

JHU makes a special kind of glass paint

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JHU makes a special kind of glass paint

JHU makes a special kind of glass paint

Usually, when we talk about “glass paint” on this site, we’re talking about Glassprimer™ glass paint. A new kind of “glass paint” is making waves because it’s actually made from glass! This new “glass paint” is actually a high-tech coating, and is intended for metal surfaces to keep them cool in high heat conditions. This coating isn’t made by Glassprimer™; in fact, it’s not in production at all. It was developed at Johns Hopkins University, and was originally presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in late 2015.

Glassprimer™ glass paint has some qualities in common!

One of the biggest problems with metal surfaces is that they heat up in the sun. This causes problems for buildings with metal roofs, ships and “working” metal surfaces like bleachers. If you’ve ever sat on metal bleachers in the sun, you know how uncomfortable they can get! The accumulation of heat on these surfaces makes metal difficult to work with outdoors, prematurely ages them and can require additional energy to cool them off. The newly developed coating from JHU is glass-based. It rejects light and allows the surface temperature of the object to remain at the same temperature as the surrounding air! The coated metal is actually cool enough to touch.

Glassprimer™ glass paint isn’t made from glass; it’s made for glass, and its formulation is designed to make nanoscopic modifications to the surface of the glass that allows the paint to create a permanent bond with glass. Nonetheless, it does have some qualities in common with JHU’s glass coating.

The new coating and Glassprimer™ glass paint are both UV-resistant. Being able to stand up to the intense energy of the sun means that Glassprimer™ glass paint will last for a long time, without fading, peeling or cracking. Ordinary paints break down in sunlight, so Glassprimer™ glass paint is a great choice for projects where sunlight will be a major factor.

Polymer based paints tend to give off a lot of volatile organic compounds (VOC), which make them unpleasant to work with, and can cause health problems in confined spaces. The JHU coating is mostly inorganic, which means few VOCs. Glassprimer™ glass paint is also a low-VOC paint. You can work with it comfortably in enclosed spaces, and it doesn’t emit noxious odors during application or drying.

JHU’s glass-based coating will have some fantastic industrial applications once it hits the market. In the meantime, Glassprimer™ glass paint is already here and offers some outstanding benefits for a wide range of surfaces. If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Ozgur Ari, via FreeImages.com

Summer painting tips for glass paint

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Summer painting tips for glass paint

Summer painting tips for glass paint

There’s no doubt about it – summer rocks! And with summer fast approaching, you may be planning your seasonal home improvement projects. If glass paint is part of your summer home improvement plan – and we at Glassprimer™ certainly hope it is – here are some tips for helping you get the best possible results from your glass paint projects.

Paint like a pro with glass paint

Here are a few tips to help make your summer glass paint plans a success!
Nothing takes the place of surface prep! Don’t cut corners by not doing proper surface preparation for glass paint. Use isopropyl alcohol and fine steel wool (#000). Dry the surface with ordinary paper towels until the surface squeaks. Work in a clean, dry area with good ventilation.

Right time, right temperature! Check the weather before you start painting! Glassprimer™ glass paint is intended to be applied at temperatures above 40° F. That’s not hard to achieve during the summer, but you should watch the dew point, especially if you’re working in the morning. The glass surface should be at least 3° F above the dew point when the glass paint is applied to it.

The drying time for Glassprimer™ glass paint is based on ideal temperature conditions of 75° F at 50% humidity. If the relative humidity is much higher than 50% (or much lower) and the temperature is much higher or lower, the drying time of the paint will be affected. If the relative humidity is super high – 70% or better – you may want to wait until the relative humidity drops a bit to start painting. A large amount of moisture in the air will affect how the solvents dissipate – which affects how the paint dries and cures. The closer you are to the 50% ideal humidity, the better drying results you can expect.

Good things come to those who wait. With glass paint projects, time is of the essence, but that doesn’t mean rushing through each step. Allow each coat the appropriate amount of time to dry, adjusting for variations in temperature and humidity. With spray application, you may need to wait as much as 5 hours between coats. Roller and brush applications aren’t as precisely controlled, so you may need to wait even longer to get a completely dry coat. Do not paint wet paint! You’ll simply increase the drying time. And wait until the paint is cured – typically 24-72 hours – before installing the finished glass paint piece.

If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Petria Follett, via FreeImages.com

Glass paint: hiring it done v DIY

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Glass paint: hiring it done v DIY

Glass paint: hiring it done v DIY

If you don’t have a lot of experience with painting, you may think that a glass paint project is too much to handle. You may be trying to weigh hiring it done v do-it-yourself. Exactly how much work is involved in a glass paint project? What tools are required? How much time will it take?

Glass paint is easy to work with

With the right tools and the right approach to the project, you can easily complete a glass paint project as a DIY job. Beyond that, working with glass paint isn’t really any different than working with any other kind of paint. So what tools do you need and what’s the right approach to the project?

Glass paint will work on any kind of glass. Whether you’re working with tempered glass or plate glass, glass paint will create the same permanent bond with the glass surface. Ordinary glass tends to have a green cast, and the thicker the glass, the more noticeable the green tint will be. Glass isn’t tinted, but iron in the glass creates the color when the glass is manufactured. If a green tint isn’t a bother, then use ordinary glass. If the green tint will be problematic, choose low-iron glass instead. Low iron class is also marketed under the name “Starphire” glass. This glass is made with low-iron components, which minimizes the greenish tint.

With a glass paint project, surface preparation is one key to a successful outcome. Fortunately, the surface preparation for glass paint is easy. Use alcohol, fine grit steel wool and inexpensive paper towels. (Pro tip: don’t use “lint-free” paper towels!) Dry the surface until it’s “squeaky clean.”

Apply glass paint with a good quality mohair roller, brush or preferably a high-volume, low-pressure sprayer. Apply in thin coats, and allow each coat to dry fully before applying the next coat – at least 4 hours. Plan to use between 3 and 8 coats for the best results. You can clean rollers and brushes using acetone. You can also use acetone to clean up small drips, overspray or repair smudges or imperfections on the glass surface.

Once the paint is cured, you can install your glass paint project on any surface using paint-can style mirror mastic, neutral-cure silicone adhesive or double-sided mounting tape. The adhesive will not show through the glass paint project.

Working with glass paint can really be that simple, and the results can really distinguish your home! If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Michael Zimmerman, via FreeImages.com

Can you use latex paint on glass?

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Can you use latex paint on glass?

Can you use latex paint on glass?

You may wonder whether you can use an ordinary paint on glass. Will ordinary paint dry? Will it stick to glass? The short answer is that latex paint (and other kinds of paint) will dry on glass. But drying on glass isn’t the same thing as sticking to glass. If you want the paint to hang around temporarily, you can use any ordinary paint. If you want the paint to stay put, you’ll need to use paint that’s specially formulated to bond with glass. That’s the big difference between glass paint and ordinary paint.

Latex paint on glass won’t last long

Latex paint is good for a lot of things, and can work well it many situations, but painting on glass isn’t one of them. Latex paint on glass won’t tolerate being handled very well. Because the paint can’t bond to the glass surface, even gentle handling can disturb the paint.

In addition to not being very rugged, latex paint will absorb humidity from the air. This reabsorption of moisture will cause the paint to lift away from the glass. If the paint is only meant to be temporary, this may not be a big deal to you, but it also means that you don’t want to use latex paint on glass in areas where paint flaking or peeling is undesirable, such as the kitchen.

A better solution is to use a paint that’s specially formulated to adhere to glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint uses nanotechnology to create a permanent bond with the glass surface. Once cured, Glassprimer™ glass paint will not peel, flake, crack or bubble, and will last for years. Glassprimer™ will work on any kind of glass, and can be used to create opaque and translucent effects. It’s also a cost-effective alternative to frosted glass.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: phaser4, via FreeImages.com

Creating privacy with frosted glass

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Creating privacy with frosted glass

Creating privacy with frosted glass

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the use of interior doors made of glass, or doors that incorporate glass. Glass paint is a natural decorative medium for glass doors, whether they’re in a commercial or residential setting. Today, we’ll look at ways to use glass paint to create privacy.

Frosted glass on a budget

The great thing about frosted glass as a decorative medium is that you can use it anywhere. Typically, you see frosted glass in the bathroom, but frosted glass can be used in both residential and commercial spaces. It can certainly be used on windows, but it can also be used for purely decorative purposes.

True frosted glass is created by sandblasting ordinary glass, or by etching a glass surface with chemicals. Because the frosting process requires additional, specialized handling, frosted glass is expensive. You can create a frosted effect on window glass using glass paint. The great benefit of using glass paint to create frosted glass is that you can use any color to create the frosted effect. With mechanically produced frosted glass, you have no control over the color of the finished product. When you use glass paint, however, you choose the color you apply to the glass, so you can create frosted effects that aren’t possible with traditional frosted glass.

You can use frosted glass to improve your view. If you have a window that provides an aesthetically unpleasant view, but you also value the light the window provides, you can frost the window using glass paint. You no longer have the unpleasant view, but you still get the benefit of light from the window.

You can also use glass paint to create a frosted effect on a glass-paned room divider. The glass paint will allow you to create translucent panes of glass in any color that can effectively divide a room and provide some privacy.

In a commercial setting, you can use frosted paint to eliminate the distraction of “fishbowl” conference rooms, workspaces or offices. By backpainting the glass with glass paint, you can create a light frosted effect that increases privacy, decreases distractions and still transmits adequate light into the space. Likewise, if you have a conference room that typically overheats due to a southern or western exposure, using glass paint to frost the windows can help make the room more comfortable.

If you’d like more information about working with glass paint to create a frosted glass effect for a fraction of the cost of true frosted glass, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Leszek Soltys, via FreeImages.com

Decorating Interior Doors With Glass Paint

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Decorating Interior Doors With Glass Paint

Decorating Interior Doors With Glass Paint

When you think of decorating with glass inside your home, the kitchen and bath are naturals. Glass is an excellent working surface and can be used to decorate walls and cabinet faces, as well as countertops and dining furniture. Another place in your home décor where glass is right at home is in doors.

Glass interior doors are uncommonly elegant

In many homes, interior doors are made of solid wood, so you may not immediately think of the decorating potential of glass in doorways. Whether the doorway is wood-framed or frameless glass, it will make a statement that a solid wood door simply can’t.

French doors are probably the most common “glass door” installation in residences. French doors are often found in offices and libraries or master bedrooms, but glass is versatile enough to be used in any room – even the bathroom!

You can decorate glass panels with glass paint to create a frosted or etched glass look on any doorway where privacy is desired, or to make a more aesthetic presentation. For example, a glass door on a kitchen pantry, utility room or closet can be backpainted to enhance the décor of the room.

You can also use glass paint to add decorative framing to a glass door, or just a splash of color to the glass panels in a door to give your home a unique touch.

In commercial settings, glass doors can be painted, or enhanced using UV inkjet printing. Using Glassprimer™ glass surface molecular activator as a primer, you can apply inkjet printing, adhesives or urethane coatings to achieve a permanent bond between the glass and your preferred coating. Your printed or applied images will stand up to the wear and tear you can expect in a commercial space.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint or Glassprimer™ glass surface molecular activator, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Barun Patro , via FreeImages.com

Is Glass Paint Food Safe?

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Is glass paint food safe?

Is glass paint food safe?

Glass paint is often used for decorative purposes. It can be used virtually anywhere around the house, but it plays particularly well in the bathroom and kitchen. One question people have is whether or not glass paint is food safe.

Most paints are not food safe

Food safety is especially important. Food can inadvertently absorb substances from paint that are not intended for human consumption. Some surfaces can also retain bacteria that can cause food-borne illnesses, so using surfaces that have been demonstrated as safe for contact with food is essential.

Most paints are not designated as food safe. Glass paint is no different; it’s not designated as being “food safe.” As a decorative medium, glass paint is used in the kitchen to create backpainted surfaces. The painted surface is mounted toward the wall, countertop or other substrate, and does not ever come in contact with food. This is true whether the backpainted surface is used as a backsplash, a stove surround, a countertop, or for cabinet facing.

Usually, food safe dishes that have been painted are glazed following the paint. The glaze, which is food safe, is cured and creates a permanent barrier between the paint and the food. Most ceramic glazes are dishwasher safe, and will not deteriorate over time.

The ability to clean and sanitize a surface also plays into the determination of whether or not a substance is food safe. Glass paint is certainly tough and can stand up to a variety of household cleaners, many of which are used in the kitchen, but we do not recommend complete immersion in water for surfaces that are painted with Glassprimer™ glass paint.

Glassprimer™ glass paint can stand up well to humidity. Immersion in water will not destroy the permanent bond between the paint and the glass, however dishes are commonly cleaned by water immersion. Because we do not recommend that surfaces painted with Glassprimer™ glass paint undergo water immersion, that makes cleaning dishes, glassware or other objects that regularly contact food difficult!

In addition, food is presented at a variety of temperatures. Glassprimer™ glass paint is heat-resistant only to a maximum temperature of 350 degrees F, which is below the cooking/serving temperature of certain foods. When used in the kitchen, care should be taken to avoid direct contact between the painted glass surface and food intended for consumption. Glass paint should be used for decorative purposes only.

If you’d like more information about glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: , via FreeImages.com

How paint works, and why Glassprimer™ is different

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How paint works, and why Glassprimer™ is different

How paint works, and why Glassprimer™ is different

There’s nothing mysterious about paint; paint has been around for a long time. “Cave paintings” are really paintings; they’re made from a mixture of materials that, when combined, form a crude kind of paint. And given that some cave paintings are 50,000 – 100,000 years old, the paint used by the earliest artists must have been pretty durable. What is paint? What does it contain, and what does ordinary paint tell us about Glassprimer™ glass paint?

Glassprimer™ glass paint is unique

Paint contains three basic elements: color, binder and solvents. The color is what we’re really after when we crack open a can of paint, but the binder and solvent play important roles in how well our paint projects turn out.

Paint colors typically come from a class of chemicals known as salts. As colorants, salts are pretty versatile. They can be transparent, opaque or metallic and control how we perceive light reflecting off of the crystalline structure of the salt. Salts can be combined to create virtually any color.

Salts are solids, so even though they come in some pretty magnificent colors, there’s no good way to transfer the color from the salt to another object if the salt stays in its crystalline form. That’s where the binder comes in. Binder is like a kind of glue. It makes the colored crystals stick to each other, and to some other surface.

If you just mixed the colored salts with the binder, you’d have a mess. The binder’s job is to make things stick together. If you’re trying to spread the binder over a surface, you’re going to be disappointed by the outcome because binders are sticky, not spready. Think about how unpleasant it is to spread white glue on something. The glue doesn’t coat your surface evenly. It pools in some places and is too thin in others. That is exactly what you’d get if you just put binder and color together. You would never get an even coat.

Enter solvents. Solvents dissolve things. The term “solvent” conjures up images of toxic chemicals that burn your skin and eyes, and irritate your lungs. Fortunately, not all solvents are so unkind! Water is a solvent because it can dissolve things. In fact, water is used as a solvent in some paints.

Mix a solvent into the color and binder, and now you have paint! (Incidentally, the same “recipe” works for ink.) The solvent makes the paint and binder easy to spread. It also helps create an even coating of the pigment and binder. When exposed to air, the solvents evaporate, and when they’re gone, they leave behind an even coat (hopefully) of color and binder. The binder cures, and the color is firmly stuck in place.

If you’re trying to paint on glass, an ordinary binder won’t work because it can’t get a good grip on the glass. You can paint on glass, and the paint will dry on the glass, just as it would dry on any other surface. It just won’t stick. The binder can’t interact with the surface of the glass, like it can interact with drywall, wood, masonry and other porous surfaces.

Glassprimer™ glass paint uses nano-scale technology to bond the pigment with the surface of the glass. In the case of Glassprimer™ glass paint, the paint actually modifies the molecular surface of the glass, which allows the paint to bond permanently with the glass. The paint does not simply dry on the glass; it actually becomes part of the glass. This ability to become part of the glass surface is what differentiates glass paint from ordinary paints.

If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
Photo Credit: Darek, via FreeImages.com