Lacquered Glass finish shutters for Home Interiors

The interest in Lacquered glass shutters for home interiors seems to have picked up lately in Bangalore. I’ve had a number of folks asking for lacquered glass finish for their Kitchens & Wardrobes and while the finish looks great, it comes with its own set of pros and cons. Before deciding on any glass based finish there are things that home makers need to know and that is what we will discuss in this post today.

Types of Glass Finishes available for Home Interiors: What is important to know first is that there are multiple types of glass finishes (not just Lacquered) available in the Bangalore market today. This includes

1. Regular mirror:
2. Tinted mirror (Grey, Golden etc.),
3. Tinted plain glass (similar to tints for car glass)
4. Ready made lacquered glass (which is basically painted glass) – available in both gloss and matte finishes
5. Switchable Glass: Glass that can be converted from plain to frosted on the click of a switch. Its use is primarily in Commercial applications. For homes – shower as well as room partitions can be done in switchable glass
6. Speciality / Custom Made Finishes:
   • Fabric Infused Glass: This has a fabric inserted between two plain or tinted glasses – recommended for dry areas only.
   • Digital Printed Glass: Custom prints on glass, useful if you want continuity of a theme on the wardrobe etc.
   • Custom Painted Lacquered Glass: On site painting on glass based on custom requirements

Ok I trust that now we are one shade smarter and less “glassy eyed” than where we started. The second thing that one needs to know is that glass finishes intrinsically are

1. Scratch prone: Glass manufacturers hence use a different grade of material for painted glass or use a lamination on top of the glass that is more resistant to scratches, nevertheless it still gets scratches with prolonged usage. This is one of the main reasons application of glass is primarily restricted to vertical applications
2. Brittle: We all know this – Unless thermally treated or laminated, glass breaks easily. Hence the safety aspect of using glass finishes at home need to be kept in mind especially if you have small kids at home. What is also important to know here is the difference between regular glass, toughened (or tempered) glass and hardened glass. Regular glass is …well …regular glass. Toughened glass is regular glass that has gone through a heat treatment process that ensures that DOES NOT make it TOUGHER (confusing why they call it toughened glass then…blame it on the English !!!). The process just ensures that the glass breaks into tiny pieces just in case it breaks and hence causes no harm. Hardened glass is actually the one that is difficult to break, it is quite expensive and is used for exterior facades and rarely used in interior applications We seem to have gone off topic so lets come back…
3. Prone to get smudged or marked with finger prints – The easiest example is the touchscreen on your phone and the smudge cleaning product industry that it has given birth to. Lacquered ,or any other, glass shutters are no different – hence if you plan to have these at home then be ready to swipe and wipe a cellphone the size of a wardrobe. In addition to this matte finishes on glass tend to retain grease and oil marks hence use of matte glass finish in the kitchen should be avoided or minimised.

This post somehow has started sounding “anti-glass” hence let me correct the course here a bit as that is not the intent. Glass if used correctly has the ability to give residential spaces a unique and chic look – this includes wardrobe shutters that don’t just look great but are easy to assemble and install, don’t bend or warp and can be customized in multiple ways based on taste. That said, having the complete picture on use of glass for interior application is important to decide on its appropriate and safe use.

Before I go – you may also want to read the following articles that may be of interest

Signing off

Nandita