What is sandblasted glass?

Sandblasted glass is produced by bombarding the glass surface with small hard particles to create a frosted aesthetic. Sandblasting can weaken the glass and creates a feeling prone to permanent staining. Maintenance-friendly etched glass has replaced most sandblasted glass as the industry standard for frosted glass.

 

What is acid etched glass?

Acid-etched glass is exposed glass surface to hydrofluoric acid to etch a silky frosted surface – not to be confused with sandblasted glass. Etched glass diffuses transmitted light and reduces glare, making it an excellent daylighting material. It is maintenance-friendly, resisting permanent stains from water and fingerprints. Unlike sandblasted glass, etched glass can be used in demanding applications such as shower enclosures and building exteriors. Should there be any requirement to apply adhesives, markers, oil, or grease to the etched surface, testing must be done to ensure the removal is possible.

 

What is low-iron glass?

Low-iron glass is also referred to as “optically-clear” glass. It features superior, near-colorless clarity and brilliance. The visible light transmittance of low-iron glass can reach 92% and depends on the quality of the glass and thickness.

Low-iron glass is excellent for back-painted, color-fritted, and color-laminated glass applications because it renders the most authentic colors.

Low-iron glass requires unique production using raw materials with naturally low levels of iron oxide.

 

How can the thermal performance of a channel glass wall be improved?

The most common method to improve the thermal performance of the channel glass wall is to improve the U-Value. The lower the U-Value, the higher the performance of the glass wall.

The first step is to add a Low-e (low-emissivity) coating to one side of the channel glass wall. It improves the U-Value from 0.49 to 0.41.

The next step is to add a thermal insulation material (TIM), such as Wacotech TIMax GL (a spun fiberglass material) or Okapane (bundled acrylic straws), in the cavity of a double-glazed channel glass wall. It will improve the U-Value of uncoated channel glass from 0.49 to 0.25. Conjunction use with a Low-e coating, thermal insulation allows you to achieve a U-Value of 0.19.

These thermal performance improvements result in lower VLT (visible light transmission) but primarily maintain the daylighting advantages of the channel glass wall. Uncoated channel glass allows approx. 72% of visible light to come through. Low-e-coated channel glass allows approx. 65%; Low-e-coated, thermally insulated (added TIM) channel glass allows approx. 40% of visible light to come through. TIMs are also non-see-through dense white materials, but they remain good daylighting products.

 

 How is colored glass made?

The colored glass contains metal oxides added to the raw glass batch create glass with color extending through its mass. For example, cobalt produces blue glass, chromium – green, silver – yellow, and gold – pink. Visible light transmittance of colored glass varies from 14% to 85%, depending on the hue and thickness. Typical float glass colors include amber, bronze, gray, blue, and green. In addition, Laber glass offers an almost unlimited palette of specialty colors in rolled U profile glass. Our exclusive line provides a rich, unique aesthetic in a palette of over 500 hues.