The performance of ClearShield is verified by independent testing organisations, laboratories, universities and major glass companies.
First we will look at how ClearShield-protected glass measures up against unprotected glass. Contact angle and Hydrophobicity.
Hydrophobic glass (water repelling) has a higher contact angle compared to unprotected glass. The contact angle is an estimated measure of the water repellence on that glass.
A contact angle of greater than 90° indicates hydrophobicity.
ClearShield is a polymeric resin that will make the surface of the glass more hydrophobic. Typically, the contact angle on the surface of ClearShield Glass can be measured at 104°.
Typically, this measurement is used as a broad indicator of the effectiveness of the initial application for product development and quality control purposes. Another test typically used for that purpose is also the abrasion test.
However, those measurements are not reliable indicators for long-term durability and fitness for purpose of glass surface protection. Measures vary greatly depending on parameters and abrasion material used, and are not always repeatable.
The Corning Museum of Glass, New York State, USA, comments that ‘many factors influence the rate of corrosion and no laboratory test to date is capable of predicting service behaviour under all conditions’.