How old is Glass Polishing?

Glass Polishing has experienced a remarkable revival in recent years

When you look at older windows from before the 1950's you will invariably find that the surface (or the reflection) looks wobbly. Why is that? The reason is connected with the fact that in the late 1950's Pilkington's in the UK commercially developed the float glass process. By means of this method perfectly flat glass could be produced. Prior to that time all manufacturing processes resulted in somewhat uneven glass. To make it useful for everyday use it had to be - yes you guessed it - the glass had to be polished. That was a very labour intensive process and therefore many engineers around the world were looking for a better way.

That better way was perfected and patented by the Pilkington brothers in the early 1960's. Since then, glass polishing had become almost extinct, except for specialized applications like telescope manufacturing. However, with the increased focus on the environment in recent years it has become attractive to repair glass rather than replace it. Other factors, like availability of better abrasives and the popularity of ever increasing window sizes have driven a broader interest in glass repair, particularly in the UK.

In Australia, with its thriving building industry and addiction to waterfront living a small but significant niche industry has developed in recent years. Glass polishing companies now are operating in the major cities and beginning to spread into country areas.

While many people in the building industry still have not heard of glass scratch removal as a viable option to outright replacement, it is certainly filtering through.

We are looking forward to this trend continuing!