is it safe to use clr on glass?
tinted glass?
float glass?
What is the active ingredient, CLR here was changed to remove phosphates, if it is the phosphoric acid CLR then you can use it on glass , not on tinted glass not sure why you would have hard water staining on tinted side of the glass, I don’t know what float glass is.
If the active ingredient is not phosphoric acid then disregard this information.
What is your intended use for the CLR as a glass cleaner?
i wasnt sure whether the tint was on the outside or the inside of the
glass. from what i gather…you are saying the tint is always on the
inside…so that makes sense. i believe the clr i have is phosphate free. bc
it says safer for the environment in a couple places. oh… float glass is
glass that has one side that is bonded w/ a very thin layer of tin. im
thinking most glass today is what was once called float glass. not today
its probably just called plate glass. for some reason they float the glass
during manufacturing on a liquid foundation that is tin based as the glass
is cooling. im not an expert. not sure why they bond one side of the glass
this way.
my intended use is to clean hard water stains on glass… calcium, lime, etc
There are way better ways to remove hard water staining from glass then using CLR.
Do a search here in the search option, there are dozens and dozens of threads on this subject.
Good luck out there!
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I often use Unger RubOut. It’s none acid.
I know it’s not working great on hard water stains who has been there for a long time, but it’s very safe to use.
Often when I clean windows at residential I can see that the customer has hard water stains at their shower glass door. I ask them if they want me to try a part of the door and they then can decide if they want to pay extra for the whole door.
They always order the whole glass door. It works great. Easy way to earn more money and to get a great reputation.
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Just an FYI, tint can be put on the outside facing glass. To my surprise I found this out while doing a few waterfront properties. Extra care should be taken because more contaminants are found outside than inside, and window tint is quite vulnerable. I have even run across plexiglass installed to cover real glass which is a difficult animal at times; really? Why on Earth? Anyway, you can feel the difference between glass under your touch and window tint, so address the task accordingly.
If the tint is on the outside it has been incorrectly installed. However not all external films are a tinted film, many provide other protection to the glass whether it be from harsh weather conditions to anti graffiti protections.
Wow those tint salesmen advising to use it over internal tints.
As a window cleaner I would recommend the opposite, they claim no weathering for 5-7 years that is not much and if they are in hard water area the hard water cannot be removed the tint needs to be replaced, sure its great as a sales person of tint coz your gonna have repeat customers, but in my eyes those would not be happy customers, where as I often clean windows that have had internal tint on they for well over 10 years and tint to still be in perfect condition, where others who DIY jobs after 10 years are degrading.
I have never seen external film that didn’t distort the view after 12 months, and IMHO unless you are having graffiti problems or another source which is causing damage to the glass I would STRONGLY recommend against using external films for several reasons, a few of these are due to the cleaning of them is more difficult , they wear out your rubbers faster, they can breakdown and leave crap on your washer, then in your bucket.
The worse thing about them is the look, they look very bad in comparison to a normal piece of glass, not very clear.
All of that is true, but they do sell the stuff. I tell my customers about the many reasons interior tint is a better choice. It is always after they have spent a bunch of buck$ with the exterior. :-/
Float glass is pretty much how glass is made now. The process is what makes it even, smooth and consistent. They dont do it to bond tin to the glass its just a side effect of the manufacturing process. Plate glass is just a plate of glass and is typically float glass as well.
So one side is the tin side and one is the air side. You can safely use acid on the air side, not the tin side. Tin side + acid = frosty glass.
this makes sense that the tinted side is on the inside. thanks for the info
thats what i gathered upon further reading. float glass is just an old term
for standard glass today. in other words…most glass is “float” glass.
quick question: is the tin side also referred to as the “tinted” side? are
they one in the same?
