Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Has anyone safety coated their own glassware?

SuperOxide - 21-3-2023 at 14:04

I have a few glass vials with samples in them that if they were to break, it would be a bit of a hassle to put it lightly (eg: white phosphorus sample, liquid mercury, other elemental samples, etc). I'd like to find a way to coat them with a clear plastic so that if they were to drop and the glass were to break, it would still hold its form and not leak. Much like the PVC coated safety bottles (example).

Does anyone know of an effective DIY method of accomplishing something similar to that? Most of the "Plasti-Dip" stuff is actually rubber (example).
I was thinking maybe something like this "Shatterproof Film for Glass" which is made out of Polyethylene Terephthalate. That would probably work better than the plasti-dip rubber stuff, but since the vials I'm trying to coat have sides and bottoms, I would probably have to apply it separately to the bottom, which makes me think that if it did break, it could just come apart.

Maybe just using a very thin layer of clear coat epoxy would suffice? Im not sure, I don't have a lot of experience with epoxy. And I know some brands tends to turn yellow after some time and even delaminate.

Cathoderay - 21-3-2023 at 16:27

Are the vials for display or do you remove material from time to time?

If for display only you might cast the whole thing in a block of clear plastic.
Unless you cover the cap with some kind of plastic also the threaded section can break off with the cap.

You might try wrapping the vials with clear packing tape, I've done that when making a DIY vacuum chamber. It helps keep the glass fragments together.

SuperOxide - 21-3-2023 at 22:11

Quote: Originally posted by Cathoderay  
Are the vials for display or do you remove material from time to time?

If for display only you might cast the whole thing in a block of clear plastic.
Unless you cover the cap with some kind of plastic also the threaded section can break off with the cap.

I remove the material from time to time. Like if I get a better sample, or if the sample degrades, Ill have to open it. Plus, I don't really like the idea of sealing it in a plastic block. Part of the fun is being able to actually hold the samples and interact with them (when possible). here's some pictures of the element sample set I'm mainly talking about. But obviously safety coating glass can be handy for more than just those.
Quote: Originally posted by Cathoderay  
You might try wrapping the vials with clear packing tape, I've done that when making a DIY vacuum chamber. It helps keep the glass fragments together.
I thought about that, and it would probably work, albeit a little ghetto, lol. But again, using something like tape or plastic strips means there will be places that can come apart easier. It would be ideal if it was one cohesive layer.

I just bought a can of this to see if it'll work or not: Krylon K01305 Clear Coatings Aerosol UV-Resistant Clear Gloss. It's only $13, so I didn't mind trying it out.

However, after submitting an order for that, I found a video that reviews a product that does exactly what I'm looking for: Mixing and applying Flex-Tec Anti-Shatter glass coating. It's a pretty impressive product, the only thing that sucks is that it's a bit expensive. $90 for a 1.5 pound kit. But if I need it that bad, then I probably will shell out the money (some of the samples in the vials cost more than that, lol).

If anyones interested, I can post results when I have them.

j_sum1 - 21-3-2023 at 23:07

Quote: Originally posted by SuperOxide  
If anyones interested, I can post results when I have them.


Yes, please do.