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Current Events/News: Advantage Online: 2002 Archives

IDENTIFYING GLASS TINT

Figure 1-Because of reflections, glass will pick up colors from items around it and its true tint color may be difficult to determine. Figure 2-Using the white paper test makes the tint color of the glass jump out at you, but it can still be difficult to tell whether the glass is blue or green. Figure 3-This blue and green glass placed side by side shows the subtle difference between the two tints and illustrates the difficulty of determining the correct color. Figure 4-With the white paper behind them, comparing the colors to each other makes it quite apparent which glass is blue and which is green. Figure 5-When compared to clear glass it is readily apparent that this glass is tinted, but its true color is difficult to determine. Figure 6-When compared to a glass that is known to be bronze, it becomes obvious that this glass is tinted gray.

White Paper And Color Samples

When ordering glass that has more than one possible tint color, a technique that may be used to help identify the color is the white paper test. For this test, one piece of white paper is held behind the glass and a second piece is held in front of the glass, offset from the first piece. The paper held in front of the glass is used as a white standard for comparing the tint color. The paper behind the glass provides a pure white background. With this method, the tint color becomes much more apparent (see Figure 2).

Or does it? The glass shown in Figure 2 is available in green and blue. Is the glass tinted green or blue? In cases like this, it is helpful to have glass samples of known tint colors for comparison. With both blue and green tinted glass held in the opening, it is again difficult to tell which is green and which is blue (see Figure 3). When the white paper test is used, the difference in the color is apparent, and now it can be seen that the glass on the left is green and the glass on the right is blue (see Figure 4).

Other colors that may be difficult to determine without comparing to a known sample are gray and bronze. When glass is checked with the white paper next to a clear sample it’s apparent that it’s tinted, but it’s difficult to tell whether the tint is gray or bronze (see Figure 5). When the same glass is compared to a glass that is known to have a bronze tint, and the white paper test is used, the difference in the two becomes apparent and the glass in question can be labeled as gray with confidence (see Figure 6).

Conclusion

The potentially difficult problem of identifying the tint color of a glass can be easily solved with the use of two sheets of white paper and a few samples of glass with the tint color known. This tint identification method is one of the lessons taught in the I-CAR Movable And Stationary Glass Program 1. Watch for it in your area.

Page Last Revised: Friday, December 13, 2002
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