Your questions - our answers
How exactly does the unique GLASSRESQ procedure work? Can glass scratches be polished without leaving any residue? What scratches actually need to be removed? Find answers to the most important questions about restoring damaged glass.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
GLASSRESQ removes defects from any kind of glass surface. Our clients include insurance companies, architects, general contractors, construction principals, property managers, shop owners, private individuals, and many more. Our unique GLASSRESQ® techniques restore damaged glass surfaces instead of replacing them, saving our clients up to 90% of the costs of installing a new pane. In order to ensure we are always near to our customers and ready to respond quickly, our specially trained GLASSRESQ technicians are active throughout Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and the USA. We work on projects of all shapes and sizes, from individual damages to a shop display window through to complex restoration as part of construction project acceptance.
Yes. Our specialities are: removing glass scratches, repairing graffiti damage, removing corrosion and limescale deposits on glass, repairing chips caused by stones or pebbles, eliminating spark damage and sealing glass surfaces.
Our technique can be used on all glass surfaces. For example: shop display windows, sliding glass doors, glass facades, glass separating walls, or glazing. We also restore car, train, tram and bus windows, shop display cases and mirrors. We work in numerous varied locations, from private homes, banks and offices, industrial and commercial buildings, to hotels, ships and construction sites, to public transport.
Our technique is not based on mechanical removal of ridges on the glass surface, but on plastic deformation, called a flow.
At an operating temperature of up to 400 °C (water evaporation, moisture from crystalline water, disintegration of carbonates and sulphates, chemical reaction of alkalis), a plastic deformation, known as a flow, starts to occur on the glass surface. However, the temperature through the processed glass surface is just 40–60 °C (thanks to the cooling effect of the suction module). Using tools with diameters of 1500–2000 mm and the blended technique is essential to avoid marks or overheating (these appear as surface distortion or ripples).
Using a constantly switching, blended working method, several scratches or damage areas on a large glass surface can be treated simultaneously at each stage of the process.
Our experience with over ten thousand successful ESG glass restorations (over 4 m² per glass) has proven that this glass can be treated more quickly and easily than float glass (particularly regarding the tension ratio around the edges).
Mechanical processing in the form of polishing is typically the final stage of glass manufacture, giving the glass its clear, flawless transparency. In other words, polishing is standard practice during glass production. Our procedure smoothly integrates with this process and is therefore perfectly designed for glass as a working material.
The acceptable tolerances for nominal glass thickness are set out in standards and processing guidelines. For example, DIN 572 Part 2 specifies a tolerance of +/- 0.3 mm for float glass 8 mm thick. Since the typical depth of a glass scratch is between 0.02 and 0.05 mm, polishing the scratch away barely affects the flatness of the glass pane, which remains well within the acceptable tolerances for glass manufacture. (“Glasschäden”, published by Fraunhofer IRB Verlag).
The GLASSRESQ® procedure rules out optical defects in the form of distortion. In order to prevent distortion, we use techniques such as a methodical transition from the ground surface to untreated areas. In general, our glass treatment is not visible or disruptive to a normal observer and conforms to construction industry guidelines for determining visual glass quality.
No. GLASSRESQ’s system is complete in itself and comparable to a permanent dry process; this means that troublesome or class H hazardous glass dust particles (fine particles) can be vacuumed off.
You can carry out the initial visual inspection yourself. Here are a few tips. During the inspection, you’re essentially checking the transparency of the glass. That means that the visibility of what is behind the glass is the deciding factor, not the front view. Stand 3 metres away from the glass (per Swiss norms; in the EU 1 metre applies). Direct your field of observation from inside to outside; or in accordance with the usual use of the room. Carry out outdoor checks under diffuse daylight, i.e. not under direct sunlight. When you’re inspecting glazed areas indoors, use the same lighting as they will have when in use.
We will be happy to carry out a free initial inspection for you, if you prefer.