“Excuse me but when was the last time you had your house painted?” – The question I have to ask at least once a month. See painters are amazing at what they do, but painters and gals don’t mix. Heaven knows that I can’t paint a wall to save my life; but when a painter slips and gets paint on your glass they immediately reach for a razor. This is why Painters and Glass don’t mix.
That damage happened 2 months ago, the painter is long gone and we are standing in your kitchen while I point out the fine razor scratches along the edges of your glass. This is where I explain that painters don’t have knowledge of glass cleaning and removal of paint and other contaminants is a trained profession with specific tools.
The most typical glass that scratches is tempered. Tempered glass is very much like the glass in your car. We’ve all seen a smashed car window, how the glass breaks into smaller pieces to protect you in case a part of your body were to go through the glass. We don’t get cut when we go through a window, we get cut when we pull our arm or leg back through. This is why tempered glass exists, it is built with tiny imperfections not visible to the human eye, but ready to crack if the stresses reach the breaking point.
Razors scratch glass by grabbing dust and dirt particles that fall into these imperfections and drag them across the surface. Leaving permanent scratches. Now this is exacerbated by the cheap razors that painters buy, often costing no more than a $1 for a 5 pack. It’s just sharpened metal right? Well you’d be surprised to learn that window cleaner’s razors often cost $2+ each blade!
Our razors are super fine and made with extreme care in Western European factories to make sure the edges are microscopically perfect, compared to the 5 for a $1 razors which are often jagged and uneven. These jagged razors have a much bigger chance of catching the imperfections in the glass and drag them causing scratches. Now you can try and go after the painter for this damage but realistically it would be very difficult to prove in court and in the long run a terrible process. If you are planning to have painting done around your windows make sure you instruct your painters to NOT touch the glass, even if they get paint on them. Sure your window cleaner will have to charge a small surcharge for the paint, but it’s better than having to your windows ruined. Trust Time Machine ATX as your number one Window Cleaners in Austin, TX. Have a question about glass damage? Give us a call we offer glass inspection services as well 512.363.6420. Time Machine ATX, the Best Window Cleaning in Austin since 2014.
