Spandrel and Back-Painted Glass

Discover Our Range of Opaque Glass Options

Glasswerks offers a full selection of non-vision glass products, including spandrel glass, ceramic frit-coated glass, silicone back-painted glass, and more. We proudly serve customers in Southern California and Hawaii, as well as in the Las Vegas, Nevada area with our quality opaque glass product offerings. Our spandrel and back-painted glass products are ideal for a wide range of applications, especially as fixed windows and wall cladding. These glass products are most often used as monolithic building exteriors, creating a seamless all-glass look while masking the internal building structure.

There are two primary methods for rendering glass opaque: a ceramic frit-coating process and a silicone back-painting process. Each type of spandrel and back-painted glass product has key advantages, features, and applications.

Ceramic Frit-Coated Glass Products

Frit consists of finely-ground glass, mixed with colored pigments, which can be chemically fused to glass to render it translucent or opaque. The process for fusing frit to glass involves coating or silkscreening one side of the glass with frit and tempering it by heating the coated glass up to almost 1,150℉. This extreme heat chemically fuses the frit onto the glass, creating a light-blocking coating that is incredibly durable, colorfast, and fade resistant.

This ceramic-coated glass is environmentally-friendly and features an array of options for colors, patterns, and styles. Spandrel glass is frequently used as a component in an insulating glass unit (IGU) on building exteriors when a uniform, “all-glass” look is desired. Other applications include curtain walls, wall cladding, storefronts, furniture, and many others.

Silicone Opacification

Another method for rendering glass opaque involves the use of an elastomeric film of water-based liquid silicone rubber, which can be applied to any glass substrate by spraying, roll coating, or curtain coating. Unlike ceramic frit coating, silicone is applied to glass without the use of heat and can be applied to annealed or heat-treated glass.

Once dry, this silicone coating becomes a rubber-like film that can—when specified—be thick enough to qualify for fallout certification, meaning the coating will hold glass in place in the event of breakage.