SOIL-RESISTANT COATING FOR GLASS SURFACES

摘要

A glass article which has a water-sheeting coating and a method of applying coatings to opposed sides of a substrate are described. In one embodiment, a water-sheeting coating (20) comprising silica is sputtered directly onto an exterior surface of the glass. The exterior face of this water-sheeting coating is substantially non-porous but has an irregular surface. This water-sheeting coating causes water applied to the coated surface to sheet making the glass article easier to clean and helping the glass stay clean longer. In one method of the invention, interior and exterior surfaces of a glass sheet are cleaned. Thereafter, the interior surface of the sheet of glass is coated with a reflective coating by sputtering, in sequence, at least one dielectric layer, at least one metal layer, and at least one dielectric layer. The exterior surface of the glass is coated with a water-sheeting coating by sputtering silica directly onto the exterior surface of the sheet of glass. If so desired, both the interior surface and the exterior surface can be applied during the same pass through the same sputter coating apparatus while the glass maintains a constant orientation wherein the interior surface is positioned above the exterior surface.