Glass finishing: a comprehensive guide to finishing solutions

There are several reasons for coating glass. These range from decorative necessities to the implementation of specific functional characteristics.

Between creating a decorative frame on all four sides and applying a special coating to a solar panel, the finishing process and equipment used will be completely different. Our solutions cover all requirements for glass panels.

Products By - Materials

Glass finishing

Discover the different finishing technologies required for glass

Go to products

What is meant by industrial glass finishing?

Industrial glass finishing refers to a set of processes and treatments applied to raw glass or glass sheets to enhance their aesthetic, functional, or technical properties. The goal of industrial glass finishing is to improve the appearance, strength, and performance of the glass, making it suitable for a variety of applications.

The building industry is the primary sector requiring glass finishing solutions. These may be for decorative purposes where glass panels are used indoors, such as mirror backs, wall panels, tables, doors, partitions, splashbacks and shower stalls; or outdoors such as architectural facades, architectural elements, cantilever roofs, solar panels and a new generation of windows with special thermochromic coatings that can switch between transmitting and blocking solar heat. Other sectors such as the automotive industry or the aerospace industry also require glass finishing solutions.

technologies

Which technologies are used for glass finishes?

Whatever the aim, we have developed equipment dedicated to glass coating which focuses on high-quality application uniformity, transfer efficiency and ease of use. A number of these contain special patented solutions.

Working with leading global glass manufacturers, we have acquired the experience and knowledge to implement the most appropriate equipment or complete finishing lines to achieve a specific goal. Key stages of the glass finishing process include:

Roller coating is an excellent means of achieving a uniform layer of paint and ensures superior transfer efficiency.

Spray coating caters for decorative needs, especially when the resulting effect features more than one colour.


Drying systems for which there are different types (low, medium and high temp.) according to the lacquer to be dried.

Cooling systems which use ambient or chilled air to dry glass panels, thereby enabling their handling.

IoT & control software solutions manage all stages of the process to enhance productivity and quality of the final product.

In which industries are glass finishing solutions used?

Integrated finishing lines for glass surfaces can be found in diverse sectors and employ different technologies:

Sectors

Technologies

Application fields

Here is a selection of glass finished specific products:

APPLICATIONS

01

Car window

Special water-repellent nanocoatings are applied using a spray coater to car windshields or other car window elements.
02

Solar panels

Requiring special coatings and nanometric thicknesses, solar panels need to be coated on specially-built equipment, which manages these needs and minimises consumption of expensive coatings.
03

Doors and shower stall

Frosted glass effects or water-repellent, anti-drip coatings for shower stalls can be precision-applied using our spray coating systems or roller coating equipment.
04

Furniture components

Depending on shape and size, furniture components are coated using the most suitable finishing machines, which include sanding, coating and drying solutions.
05

Architectural structures

Whatever their size, shape or complexity, within reasonable limits, architectural elements in many different materials can be decorated to enhance their aesthetics, using spray coaters, vacuum coating technologies or on automatic wrapping machines.
06

Mirrors

Framing or coating the reverse side of a mirror can be performed using a roller coater or a specially designed frame-coating solution which handles the panel to coat the glass along all 4 sides.
07

Flat doors

Managed on roller coater and curtain coater lines, doors can also be processed on an overhead line using anthropomorphic spray-coating robots and in-line drying solutions using hot-air ventilation.
08

Raised doors

Overhead spray-coating lines with anthropomorphic robots using 3-gun wrists on each spraying arm. This is one productive solution to finish doors usually destined to use outdoors.
09

Interior coverings

Coating technologies can be adapted to suit different substrates for wall coverings and decorative panels for interior environments.

performances

Not just aesthetics: high-performance hydrophobic glass surfaces

Shower doors, car windshields, glass roofs for bus shelters are all typical applications where a transparent, spotless glass surface is not only an attractive one, but also a functional one, requiring hydrophobic properties. Other applications which benefit from water-repellent surfaces include solar panels to avoid accumulation of particles which reduce solar-cell efficiency and ceramic tiles to avoid limescale build-up.

Automation

Glass finishes: applying water-repellent coatings to glass

Until recently, special hydrophobic products were applied to glass surfaces manually. This remains a possibility, but will never be as economically viable as automatic spray coating procedures, which also ensure consistent quality and correct parameter settings to achieve optimum results.

Tested extensively on our PRIMA spray coater, we have established the optimal parameters to apply hydrophobic products in a factory-based scenario. One litre of water-repellent coating will cover approx. 40 square metres of glass and can be applied at low pressures.

Foto800x1000-Water

We have developed several solutions that allow for glass finishing and decoration

Machines

Framecoater

Materials:

  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Curtain and Roller Application

Glasscoater

Materials:

  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Curtain and Roller Application

Multicoater

Materials:

  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Curtain and Roller Application

Prima EVO

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Wood
  • Fibre Cement
  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Spray coating

Mito

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Ceramic
  • Wood
  • Fibre Cement
  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Spray coating

Glassoven

Materials:

  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Ovens

Glasscool

Materials:

  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Ovens

Solarcoater

Materials:

  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Curtain and Roller Application

Case studies

Case study

We have helped hundreds of companies around the world achieve their quality, efficiency, and productivity goals. Here are their stories.
We have helped hundreds of companies around the world achieve their quality, efficiency, and productivity goals. Here are their stories.
01

Improved solar panel coating for China’s CSG PVTech Co. Ltd.

02

From order to installation in 2 months for Arbor Nova

03

Helping HIB boost production volumes of automotive componentry

WHITEPAPER

How to optimise roller coating technologies for a growing variety of products and substrates

Download the White Paper

Mockup-RollerCoating-ENG

Learn More

MAGAZINE

We have helped hundreds of companies around the world achieve their quality, efficiency, and productivity goals. Here are their stories.
We have helped hundreds of companies around the world achieve their quality, efficiency, and productivity goals. Here are their stories.
01
    Automotive

How many car parts can we help you coat with our technologies?

02
    Coating Technologies

There is more to glass than meets the eye

03
    Roller coating

Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand

Experience spanning over 60 years.

A network of finishing experts sharing skills in all areas and all industries, Cefla Finishing is a hub of expertise, a trusted source and partner who can help you achieve your business objectives.

Tell us where you want to go and our finishing experts will help you get there.

Contact us

Connect

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

01 What are the advantages of roller coating?

High flexibility in terms of output rate and choice of cycles/processes according to the line make-up.

Zero solvent emissions thanks to 95% use of products with high dry residue (UV) content.

Possibility of using the roller technique for any application on all flat surfaces.

02 What are the advantages of spray coating?
Firstly, spray coating ensures all sides of the piece are covered. Secondly, the product shape is unimportant and, since it is not a contact-type coating, different tolerances between products are compensated for automatically.
03 What are the advantages of drying?
Let's talk about the advantages of the whole finishing process, which includes lacquer application and drying. The "finished" item ends up with improved resistance and protection from external agents, as well as a better aesthetic presentation.
04 On which materials can I spray coat?
Any material, bearing in mind two conditions.
  • That the coating must match the substrate material to ensure proper adhesion.
  • That the piece being coated must be able to pass through the machines/systems.
05 Which coated materials need drying?
All coated materials need drying. The type, duration and method of drying differ according to the nature and quantity of the applied lacquer.