The ABCs of Coloured Glass

What’s the first thing that you think of when you picture glass? Is it the windows in your kitchen, the cups in your cupboard or perhaps the glasses on your face? The truth is, glass is all around us and it comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and even colours.

But where exactly do these different colours come from and what are they all used for? For a crash course on this transparent topic, here are the ABCs of coloured glass.

A Is for Applications

Just like transparent glass, coloured glass has an almost unlimited amount of applications. Its attractiveness, durability and great value make coloured glass a regular feature both inside and outside commercial and residential buildings.

Here are just a few of our favourite applications:

Splashbacks: A kitchen, laundry or bathroom splashback plays the very practical role of protecting your walls from messes caused by food, soap and other sources. A glass splashback is perfect for this purpose because of its durability, heat resistance and easy to clean surface. By choosing a coloured glass splashback, you’re also choosing an attractive addition to your kitchen, bathroom or laundry. Contrast or complement your existing interior design and create a statement that truly redefines your room.For a touch of personalisation or professionalism, you can have images, graphics or logos printed onto your splashback. This is a perfect addition for houseproud homeowners or commercial kitchens.
Architecture: High-rise buildings truly stand out when their façade is finished with architectural glass. Glass cladding is available in an incredible range of shapes and colours, and it is redefining commercial building design around the world. Famous examples of glass facades around the world include The Shard in London, the Louvre Pyramid in Paris and Federation Square in Melbourne. The newly opened Perth Stadium will also feature some glass-based architecture that sports and events fans can enjoy.

B Is for Breakage

When it comes to glass, especially coloured glass, breakage isn’t something you want to worry about. Unfortunately, coloured glass breakage and damage is a fact of life, especially if you invest in the wrong product.

As well as physical damage, coloured glass can suffer from both delamination and discolouration, and this becomes more of a risk with lower quality products. Discolouration is exactly what it sounds like while delamination can be seen when the glass surface starts to flake.

When shopping for coloured glass products, it’s essential to invest in high-quality glass that’s backed by a warranty. At WA GlassKote, we offer a 10-year unconditional warranty against delamination and discolouration, as well as an Australian-first 1-year conditional warranty against breakage!

C Is for Construction and Coating

The way that coloured glass is made is both fascinating and crucial to the quality of product you receive. You can’t just colour glass with normal paint, and this leaves you with three main methods to create coloured glass products:

Adding minerals and pigments to molten glass – this involves adding colour to the glass during the manufacturing process. Unfortunately, this process creates a very limited range of colours and it can be prohibitively expensive to create.
Laminating glass with coloured material – this involves laminating two or more pieces of glass with coloured material sandwiched in between. Unfortunately, this process is also expensive and the quality of both the glass and the colours may be compromised.
Colour coating one surface of glass – when it comes to durability, appearance, colour range and glass quality, you can’t go past the colour coating solution offered by GlassKote. Colour coating offers the highest value of any glass colouring process on the market.

Now You Can See Coloured Glass in Action

To learn more about coloured glass for your application, explore our FAQs or visit the team at WA GlassKote. We are Perth’s largest coloured glass specialist for commercial and residential applications. Visit us online or give us a call today on 08 9303 9256.