Did my new job at Champs today and they have floor to ceiling mirrors. Thought it would be a breeze; turned out to be a nightmare.
The bottom halves were fine. The top, which has continuous high-intensity lights shine on them were terrible. Reminded me of cleaning windows in the sun on the hottest summer day. If i got a rag anywhere near the glass there’d be an unmanageable lint film that couldn’t be wiped.
I’m thinking use less soap, but i also need serious cleaning power to get all the fingerprints and smears off.
Thanks for the tips so far, guys. Thankfully the store has a ladder ready for me to use. I also like foaming glass cleaner for mirrors, but it was actually just as bad as detergent for these! I’ll have to ask about turning off the lights, which i thought about too. I’ll definitely try the gg4. Been wanting to try TSP actually anyway, so maybe this is a good time to do it.
Weird semi-update: so last night i noticed my glasses were oddly dirty. I washed them, but then noticed that they were still dirty, which never happens. I rewashed to no avail and upon closer inspection noticed that the dirt was the same exact sticky film that was on the Champs mirrors!
This morning i tried over and over to get it off and it was just as stubborn. Finally, after soap, oil, soap, alcohol, more soap they were almost better except a few spots. Tried the little rag that came with the glasses (which i never use) and it took the film off effortlessly. Whew! Relief, cause those were expensive lenses from Germany.
But now I’m wondering… How the heck did that get on my lenses? What the heck is it? Why does nothing work well? And why did the glasses cloth work so amazingly? (And could that material be useful for window cleaning in other circumstances too?)
What do you guys think? (@Henry do you have any ideas? See my first post for context.)
That is for sure a mystery for the character Sherlock Holmes. My guess is the film on your glasses is the same as what you have on the mirrors. The difference is the two surfaces. Your glasses are probably plastic/acrylic. The mirrors however are glass. Your eyeglasses would be much more problematic!
If I am to play the role of the sleuth tell me what type of place Champs is. A restaurant? If so are the mirrors close to the kitchen? What of a fireplace or fryolater?
I am guessing the film is an organic residue. It has been burnt in over time. It would be acidic so an alkali cleaner would help. A TSP, sodiummetasilicate solution, or sodium or potassium hydroxide. Either one of these water based solutions used with an optical microcrystalline silica should help. Just use with caution. Lately I have been experimenting with a nano silicon carbide. Nano silicas don’t do much. The details of these experiments will be in my Insider newsletter.
Just yesterday I have been looking at some different ways to work with these different superabrasive powders. I am going to make some videos today and post on this Forum, my Products blog, and my Products FB Group. I am going to stop spamming other FB Groups. NOT a good thing to do. Sorry about that. I have just been so anxious to get this information out there.
Champs is an athletic shoe and clothing store. The mirrors didn’t feel smooth to the touch near the tops, and the ones with a spot light on them (aimed at the top) were the main problem. I’m wondering if it’s ridiculous to speculate that maybe my soap solution evaporated onto my lenses and caused the same sticky film?
I know your not
Going to do this , nor do I suggest it, but if you feel something with your hand , them something’ needs to be scraped. Yes you could try to figure out a chemical to use that would work , or it just might take a bunch of washers to get it all off
Me I’m putting a new blade on my scraper An lightly scraping. It’s just what I’ve been doing for over 20 years.
Windowgleam. Thanx for bringing that out about sodium metasilicate. There was a time I wanted to use this chem to create artificial hard water spots for testing different glass sealants.
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