What is the difference between the so called self-cleaning glass and DFIs coating?
‘Self-cleaning’ glass consists of a hydrophilic (SEE #13) coating with photocatalytic properties fused into the glass at high temperatures during the manufacturing process. The coating reacts with the sun’s ultraviolet light and water (rain or a water spray). Thus, these two elements (sunlight and water) must be present for the coating to be effective, creating a sheeting action so that water can easily rinse the loosened dirt away. Due to its integral characteristics, there are many limitations to this concept of “self-cleaning”, such as the following: glass must receive both sunlight and water, it is not applicable to all kinds of glass, cannot be applied in the field but rather at manufacturing level only (thus making repair or replacement a lot more expensive), it’s typically more than 4 times, and up to 10 times, more expensive than hydrophobic coatings. By contrast, DFI’s hydrophobic coating requires no ‘activation’ since it chemically reacts during its own process in less than 2
