Back painted glass

Profitable opportunities in a market that’s set to grow

A close working relationship with our customers and a focus on the design and production of products that enable them to access new markets and develop existing ones has always been central to the success of the Selemix brand.

One of the sectors where we are seeing tremendous growth potential is the back painted glass market. Although currently a small part of the light industrial paint market in Europe, back painted glass is already well established and growing in the UK and Ireland as well as South Africa.

First of all let’s deal with the basics. As the name suggests, back painted glass (sometimes also called reverse painted glass) is a type of glass that is painted on its back side. Once installed, the unpainted side of the glass always faces outward.

What is back painted glass used for?

There is an increasing range of commercial and domestic uses for back painted glass including wall panels, partitions, splashbacks, public walkways and airports as well as many bespoke architectural elements.

“Glass has always added a premium, modern appearance to a project and back painted glass takes this a step further by adding colour to match any requirement” says Ian Craig, Technical Business Development Manager CT & LIC, EMEA PPG Refinish.

References from the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium & Highbury Leisure Centre:

Our UK and Irish Selemix team were some of the first to see the potential of this market and have been instrumental in developing the exciting opportunities it offers.

“The Selemix glass system was first developed around 11 years ago” continues Ian Craig.

 “Quite early on we were approached by Mega Glass Ltd, a specialist glass manufacturer who wanted to offer bespoke colour kitchen splashbacks to their house builder clients”.

That early project was a resounding success and led to Mega Glass also choosing Selemix as their paint supplier of choice for the back painted glass that was installed in the washrooms of the widely publicised and highly prestigious renovation of football club Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium.

As the UK and Irish team developed their experience, they began to realise just how large the opportunities for this type of painting are.

“This market is set to grow and grow” says Mark Lucas, Brand Manager CT/LIC, UK & Ireland PPG Refinish. “Back-painted glass is becoming an increasingly popular choice for architects, specifiers and home owners who want a product that will create a striking visual effect and is also functional, durable and easy to clean. And that means there is a downstream demand for the coatings industry”.

So how can job coaters and distributors begin to take advantage of the opportunities?

Mark Lucas offers some advice. “The first step is to realise that the market actually exists. Back painted glass may not be something you are familiar with, but the customer demand is there. Get in contact with your local Selemix team who’ll be able to assist you and then get your sales teams focused on making contact with specialist glass manufacturers and distributors as well as architects and designers who are increasingly specifying back painted glass within their designs.

“And don’t be concerned about any of the technical aspects” adds Gary Saunders, Technical Solutions Manager LIC, UK & Ireland PPG Refinish. “Selemix brand has a well proven system designed for glass painting. It has an amazing bond directly to the glass without any special processes, and we have a set of dedicated ancillaries including our glass adhesion promoter”.

“The quality of the paint is extremely important as the finished glass is most commonly being held in place by an adhesive that is bonded to the painted surface and not the actual glass itself. Therefore, the paint applied needs to be robust and resistant to humidity and extremes of temperature. Selemix ticks all the boxes so that you can be confident you get a premium, quick and resistant solution for your back painted glass projects” adds Ian Craig.

Back painted glass is a great opportunity. It’s a market that is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years and in Selemix, they have the perfect partner for growth.

Back Painted Glass – All you need to know:

^{The images used in this article are owned by Mega Glass © 2021 Mega Glass, Inc.  All rights reserved.}