U.S. patent application number 11/809487 was filed with the patent office on 2008-12-04 for method for restoring acid etched glass.
Invention is credited to Martin Giles, Timothy M. Sullivan.
Application Number | 20080299874 11/809487 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40088844 |
Filed Date | 2008-12-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080299874 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sullivan; Timothy M. ; et
al. |
December 4, 2008 |
Method for restoring acid etched glass
Abstract
A method for restoring acid etched glass includes grinding the
glass and then applying an acid resistant polyester film over the
glass. Grinding may be performed in steps going from course to fine
grinding pads, and stopping with a 400 grit pad, leaving a somewhat
cloudy appearing surface. The polyester film fills in small
irregularities in the cloudy glass surface thus eliminating the
need to polish the glass.
Inventors: |
Sullivan; Timothy M.;
(Corona, CA) ; Giles; Martin; (Malmoe,
SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AVERILL & VARN
8244 PAINTER AVE.
WHITTIER
CA
90602
US
|
Family ID: |
40088844 |
Appl. No.: |
11/809487 |
Filed: |
June 1, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B 7/241 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
451/41 |
International
Class: |
B24B 1/00 20060101
B24B001/00 |
Claims
1. A method for restoring etched windows, the method comprising:
cleaning an etched region of the window; grinding until the etched
region becomes a cloudy region; and applying a window film over the
cloudy region.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein grinding comprises grinding with
a grinding pad driven by an electric hand held grinder.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein grinding comprises grinding with
a variable speed electric hand held grinder set to a low speed.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein grinding until the etched region
is a cloudy region comprises: selecting a first grinding grit based
on the depth of the etching; grinding with the first grinding grit
until the etching is removed; if a course grit was used, selecting
a finer second grit to remove scratches from the first grit;
continuing grinding until the etched region is a cloudy region.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein grinding until the etched region
is a cloudy region includes a final grinding step of grinding with
a 400 grit pad to create the cloudy region.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein applying a window film over the
cloudy region comprises: preparing a water and soap solution;
wetting an area overlapping the cloudy region to be covered with a
film with the water and soap solution; laying the film over the
wetted area; and smoothing the film against the window.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein applying a window film over the
cloudy region comprises applying an acid resistant window film over
the cloudy region.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein applying a window film over the
cloudy region comprises applying a polyester window film over the
cloudy region.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein applying a window film over the
cloudy region comprises applying an approximately 6 mil thick
polyester window film over the cloudy region.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein applying an approximately 6 mil
thick polyester window film over the cloudy region comprises
applying an approximately 6 mil thick polyester window film
comprising at least two laminated layers over the cloudy
region.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein applying an approximately 6 mil
thick polyester window film over the cloudy region comprises
applying an approximately 6 mil thick polyester window film
comprising three approximately two mil thick laminated layers over
the cloudy region.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein applying a window film over the
cloudy region includes smoothing the film against the window using
a squeegee.
13. A method for restoring etched windows, the method comprising:
cleaning an etched region of the window; grinding with an electric
hand held grinder set to a low speed until the etched region is a
cloudy region including a final step of grinding with a 400 grit
pad to create the cloudy region; preparing a water and soap
solution; wetting an area overlapping the cloudy region to be
covered with an acid resistant polymer window film with the water
and soap solution; laying the film over the wetted area; and
smoothing the film against the window using a squeegee.
14. A method for restoring etched windows, the method comprising:
cleaning an etched region of the window; grinding with an electric
hand held grinder set to a low speed until the etched region is a
cloudy region including a final step of grinding with a 400 grit
pad to create the cloudy region; wetting an area overlapping the
cloudy region to be covered with a window film with a water
solution; laying the film comprising three approximately two mil
thick laminated layers over the wetted area; and smoothing the film
against the window using a squeegee.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to restoring glass and in
particular to restoring acid etched glass.
[0002] Tagging has long been a problem both due to the damage to
property and to the gang related tagging. Glass dipping solution,
and glass etching creams, are available at local craft stores. The
solutions and creams are made of chemicals, for example,
hydrofluoric acid or ammonium biflouride. When the solutions or
creams are applied to glass, the glass surface is eaten away
leaving a course etched surface. While city ordinances have been
proposed to limit the sale of the etching solutions and cremes,
such solutions and creams also have legitimate uses, making control
difficult.
[0003] In addition to acid etching, taggers and other vandals are
known to use sharp objects, for example rocks, scribes, and the
like, to etch windows.
[0004] Unfortunately, even mildly etched glass is very expensive to
replace or repair using known methods. Large windows are more
popular to etch, and also more expensive to replace. Etched glass
may be polished to remove etching, but such polishing is expensive,
and the etching may be repeated as soon as the glass has been
restored.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention addresses the above and other needs by
providing a method for restoring acid etched glass which includes
grinding the glass and then applying an acid resistant polyester
film over the glass. Grinding may be performed in steps going from
course to fine grinding pads, and stopping with a 400 grit pad,
leaving a somewhat cloudy appearing surface. The polyester film
fills in small irregularities in the cloudy glass surface thus
eliminating the need to polish the glass.
[0006] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is
provided a method for restoring etched windows. The method
comprises cleaning an etched region of the window, grinding with an
electric hand held grinder, set to a low speed, until the etched
region is a cloudy region, wetting an area overlapping the cloudy
region to be covered with a film with a water solution, laying the
film over the wetted area, and smoothing the film against the
window using a squeegee. The grinding includes a final step of
grinding with an approximately 400 grit pad to create the cloudy
region, and may include earlier steps of grinding with more course
pads. The film is preferably an acid resistant polymer window film
and preferably comprises three approximately two mil thick
laminated layers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0007] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the
present invention will be more apparent from the following more
particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the
following drawings wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1A is a window with acid etching.
[0009] FIG. 1B is the window with a cloudy region resulting from
grinding.
[0010] FIG. 1C shows the window with a polymer window film over the
ground surface.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a method for restoring an acid etched window
according to the present invention.
[0012] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
components throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The following description is of the best mode presently
contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is
not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the
purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the
invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with
reference to the claims.
[0014] A window 10 with acid etching 12 is shown in FIG. 1. The
acid etching 12 is commonly the result of taggers and is created by
applying a solution or cream glass etching chemical, for example,
hydrofluoric acid or ammonium biflouride. Although the window 10
may be polished to remove the etching, such polishing is time
consuming, expensive, and the acid etching may be repeated.
Further, each time a window is polished, material is removed, and
therefore, a window may only be polished a limited number of times.
Windows with scratches or etching created by rocks, sand paper,
scribes, and the like, face the same issues.
[0015] The window 10 is shown in FIG. 1B after grinding the region
containing the acid etching 12 resulting in a cloudy region 14. The
window 10 may be ground using a 400 grit pad to produce the cloudy
region 14, or may be ground with a series of pads starting with a
course pad, and finishing with a 400 grit pad, for example with a
240 grit pad, a 320 grit pad, and finishing with the 400 grit pad.
The use of such course pads is advantageous when the acid etching
12 is deep, and use of the 400 grit pad alone would require an
unnecessarily long grinding to remove the deep etching.
[0016] FIG. 1C shows the window 10 with a window film 16 over the
cloudy region 14. The window film 16 has a filling quality which
dispels the cloudy appearance of the cloudy region 14 and provides
a clear window appearance. Additionally, the window of window film
16 is resistant to the chemicals used for acid etching the window
10. Although, the window film 16 may be cut or scratched it may be
simply replaced without requiring grinding the window again.
Further, because the window film is not susceptible to acid
etching, taggers are less interested in vandalizing windows covered
with the window film 16.
[0017] An example of a suitable window film 16 is an approximately
six mils thick polyester film, for example, three approximately two
mils thick laminated layers with a delayed tack adhesive backing.
The layered film is preferred because the layers tend to resist
cutting better than a single layer film. The Such window film is
available from Madico in Woburn, Mass. and sold under the name
LCL-600.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a method for restoring an acid etched window
according to the present invention. The method includes cleaning
the glass surface when necessary, for example, when etching
material is present on the glass, at step 20 and grinding the glass
surface with an appropriate grit grinding pad at step 22. Cleaning
is generally necessary when residue of the etching solution or
creme remains on the window. Grinding is preferably performed using
an electric hand held grinder and more preferably a variable speed
electric hand held grinder used at low speed, or a low speed
electric hand held grinder. The grinding pad is preferably selected
from a range of pads including a 240 grit pad, a 320 grit pad, and
a 400 grit pad. The grit of the pad is selected based on the depth
of the etching, with a courser pad selected for deeper etching.
Selecting too fine a pad, will not cause failure, but will require
more time and effort to remove the etching. When the etching is
deep, and a course pad is used to remove the etching, the course
grinding is followed in steps by grinding with finer grit pads. For
example, deep etching may be removed with the 240 grit pads, the
rough surface created by grinding with the 240 grit pads may be
smoothed by grinding with the 320 grit pads, and a somewhat rough
surface left by grinding with the 320 grit pads may be ground with
the 400 grit pads to create the cloudy surface 14.
[0019] Following the grinding, the glass may be inspected at step
24 to determine if the etching has been removed. If the cloudy
surface 14 has not been created, the grinding is continued at step
26 until the uniform cloudy surface 14 is created. A film layer is
applied over the cloudy surface using the following steps: a water
and soap solution is prepared at step 28, the area to be covered
with the film is wetted with the water and soap solution at step
30, the film is placed over the wetted area at step 32, and the
film is smoothed against the window at step 34. The smoothing is
preferably performed using a squeegee.
[0020] While the invention herein disclosed has been described by
means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous
modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled
in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set
forth in the claims.
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