Overhead glass has one practical enemy: cleaning it. Self-clean coatings solve most of that — a microscopic titanium-dioxide layer that breaks down organic dirt in daylight and lets rain sheet it away.
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We glaze lanterns with self-clean units as a standard option across every system we supply, usually combined with blue or neutral solar control in one coated unit.
Self-clean glass works in two stages. The photocatalytic layer uses daylight to break down organic grime — pollen, traffic film, bird-mess residue — loosening its grip on the surface. Then the hydrophilic property makes rainwater sheet rather than bead, rinsing the loosened dirt away without spotting. The result isn't never cleaning; it's rarely cleaning — an occasional hose-down in dry spells replaces ladder work. The coating is fired into the glass at manufacture, so it doesn't wear off or need reapplying, and it pairs in the same unit with solar-control tints, which is how most of our lantern glass now ships.
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Yes, within honest limits. Daylight breaks down organic dirt and rain rinses it off in sheets, so the glass stays presentably clean with almost no intervention. Heavy bird soiling or long droughts still occasionally want a hose.
No — it's pyrolytic, fired into the glass surface during manufacture rather than applied afterwards, so it lasts the life of the unit with nothing to renew.
That's the standard pairing — one sealed unit with the self-clean layer outside and the solar-control coating within. Most lantern glass we supply ships exactly that way.
Usually — if your frame takes standard sealed units we can manufacture self-clean replacements to size and fit them in situ, upgrading the glass without touching the structure.
The self-clean layer itself is virtually invisible. Any tint you see comes from the solar-control side of the unit — blue is the popular choice, neutral keeps the glass colour-true.
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