THE ONLY RECOMMENDED SEALANT TO BE USED WITH
Pilkington (ActivTM) & Saint-Gobain Glass (SGG Bioclean®)
World`s first ISO 11600 approved sealant for Self-Cleaning Glass
Soudal, the Belgian manufacturer of specialty chemicals for the construction industry has been at the forefront of sealant and PU foam technology for several decades. With the arrival of self-cleaning glass, yet another challenge was tackled in the Soudal laboratories.
Cleaning Function
Self-cleaning glass is available from Pilkington (ActivTM) as well as from Saint-Gobain Glass (SGG Bioclean®). These glass types have a dual functionality which uses the forces of nature to help keep the glass free from dirt, thus dramatically reducing cleaning efforts and cost. The functionality is based on two principles:
A photoactive surface coating reduces the adherence of dirt and dust particles
The hydrophilic coated surface lets raindrops form a sheet of water which flushes away dirt from the window surface.
Unfortunately, the latter property also limits the installation of these glass types to silicone-free sealed frames. Silicone sealants are hydrophobic and can contaminate areas of glazing up to 10 cm inside of the frame and effectively mask the self-cleaning mechanism, so raindrops ‘pearl’ on the surface and no longer wash away dirt particles. This leads to an unattractive ‘picture frame’ effect where the edge of the window becomes dirty whereas the center area will remain clean.
