Clean Your Glass

Mar 11

Believe it or not, this is a subject I want to talk about. Why, because it can make a big difference in your final project.

I especially like to talk about it as there are so many options and articles about how to clean your glass.

By trying several methods I can say that there's isn't just one way! I've been very successful with multiple products.

The product is one component:
Dishwasher soap and water - yes, that works at home and in the studio.
Alcohol - works, can dry out your fingers and damage a nice manicure.
Window cleaners - multiple vendors - all work, although best not to have ammonia in it.

What you use to spread/wipe up the product - important!
Basic paper towel do a good job.
Blue workshop towels appear to do a better job.
Microfiber towels also do a good job.
The biggest thing is the towels have to be clean! Paper towels eventually fall apart, easier to remember to grab a new clean towel. The workshop towels and fiber towels last a long time, you can easily forget not to continue to reuse them for cleaning your glass. The microfiber towels can be washed and reused, but that requires I remember to take them home.

Probably the biggest element is where did the dirt come from?
Grease is much harder to remove.
Residue from stickers.
Paint, used frequently as a control number from the glass manufacturer.

You'll find some products work better for the specific job.

Ultimately, it comes down to you remembering to clean your glass. Fingerprints are the most common enemy of glass artists. Whether it's our own fingers or dear friends that just love to touch glass and don't know you just spent a great deal of effort to clean your glass before it goes into the kiln or you just cleaned after getting the flux off.