An overview of new sol-gel technology is given: Nano-Clean is presented, along with the property enhancement this new technology brings to glass surfaces, specifically porcelain enamel coatings. Various methods were used to apply thin property enhancing coatings on glassy substrates: chemical vapour deposition, physical vapour deposition, & sol-gel processing. Sol-gel has a number of added benefits compared to other processes, including low energy input necessary for curing. Processing of sol-gel may be accomplished by spraying, dipping, flow coating, spin coating, roll coating or silk screening. The coatings produced should be handled carefully to avoid cracks & other defects during the drying process. The resultant surfaces may be hydrophobic or hydrophilic and have specific properties. Anti-grafiti, anti-fogging & coloured coatings are possible.
