INTRODUCING INDUSTRIAL GLAZING

BETTER THAN BILCO’S POWDER-COATED PAINTING

Bilco took a bold step forward about 10 years ago when they decided to offer their B and C models in powder-coated paint. Yes, it’s far better than the pre-primed red, but it has limitations. 

Now in 2023, one of their leading installers, Confident Home Remodelers, is taking a bigger and even bolder step forwards. We are now offering all Bilco units, not just the B and C models, with industrial glazing. There is no comparing this glazing to any “paint”. We won’t ever use that word to describe this product.

The glazing is not a traditional two-part epoxy mix either. It’s a three-part mix, with an optional fourth component if it’s brushed on instead of sprayed. We buy the mix from a chemical glazing supplier. Hey, we’re in New Jersey, and this is the leading State for all things chemical. If the change to glazing is going to happen to the cellar door industry, it makes sense that it would happen in New Jersey. We are at the cutting edge of this change.

1. Several customers that we’ve installed Bilco’s powder-coated units have complained, sometimes only months later, that rust is coming through. 
2. We’ve been using Rustoleum primer and Rustoleum paint on units other than the Bilco B and C, with the same result. Rustoleum paint also has a very long cure time, several days, and this is a serious limitation. The finished product is “soft”, and it easily mars or scratches.
3. Nobody else is doing it. All other installers are either painting the cellar doors, or buying Bilco’s powder-coated units

Chance was on my side when a customer contacted me to rebuild the basement stairs on an investment house he owns in Teaneck, New Jersey. During the appointment, I asked “What do you do for a living”. He responded that he supplies industrial glazing. “Sounds like something I might need for my steel Bilco doors”, I said. His eyes perked with interest. I rebuilt his basement stairs.

The previous stairs were so narrow. The left stringer became rotten with termites because it was secured to the foundation wall, and it was NOT pressure-treated wood. Just one tiny crack is all the termites need to get in. The right stringer was lined up to that turquoise board. The old stairs were so narrow, barely 24” wide. I secured the new right stringer into a ceiling joist, gaining 6”. What, nobody does that. You know why? No carpenter does it because no carpenter thinks of it. I think outside of the box, and I did it. Problem solved. He was so happy that we did another project, a shorty rear door.

A week later I arrived at his factory with a few cut pieces of spare Bilco parts. He glazed them, and then let them sit in water for a week prior to testing them using various scientific tools and other methods. 

1. ADHERENCE: One test was called “adherence”. Using some complicated tool with tiny diamond bits, he scratched the sample in a tiny crisscross pattern. He reported that adherence is 100%. This far outperforms any paint. The glazing absolutely will not peel or flake off, ever. It can’t be chemically stripped either. If you really want to remove the glazing, you’d have to sand it off with a rotary sander. I’m telling customers to be sure they want the glaze for the Bilco, because once it’s glazed, that’s it, it’s glazed forever. And if a customer changes the color plan of the whole house, it can be glazed over as another color. Theoretically a glazed Bilco can be painted, but why do that? 
2. MOHS HARDNESS: Minerals and other substances can be rated using the Mohs Hardness Scale. Most people have heard that a diamond is the hardest substance, nothing can scratch it, and it rates a 10 on the hardness scale. Here’s two sources listing some common substances, and their ratings on the hardness scale https://geology.com/minerals/mohs-hardness-scale.shtml and https://simplicable.com/materials/mohs-scale 
3. RUST TEST: He has a large steel object with his industrial glazing sitting outside his factory for 2 years. I saw it. It’s not rusting. I suspect that this industrial glazing is going to be a miracle solution for Bilco’s in coastal areas. Bilco’s at the shore rust out very quickly due to salt in the ocean air. Glazing is not going to help any steel object that’s already rusted internally, but a new Bilco, once glazed, should never rust. That’s straight from the mouth of the glazing supplier.

• 1    Talc
• 1    Vinyl composite tile
• 1 – 1.3 wood
• 1.5   Ice
• 1.5   Plastic
• 1.5 to 2 Gypsum 
• 1.8   Calcium
• 2    #2 Pencil 
• 2 to 2.5 fingernail
• 2 to 2.5 Halite (rock salt)
• 2.5   Galena (lead ore)
• 2.5 to 3 Silver
• 2.5 to 3 Gold
• 3    Calcite / Coral
• 3   Automotive paint (the hardest paint commonly sold)
• 3.5   Copper penny
• 3.5 – 4 Dolomite 
• 4    Fluorite
• 4    Iron, Nickel
• 4    Limestone, sandstone, marble
• 4.5 = Our Industrial Glazing
• 5   Obsidian / Volcanic Glass
• 5 – 5.5 Glass
• 5   Concrete
• 5.5   Knife
• 6   Granite
• 6.5   Steel nail 
• 7   Porcelain
• 7   Quartz
• 8   Cubic Zirconia
• 8.5   Masonry Drill bit
• 9   Ruby
• 10   Diamond

On the first install, I had to scrape some partially hardened concrete off the bottom of the glazed Bilco unit with a steel chisel. The chisel took it off without scratching the glazing. I simply couldn’t believe it. That chisel would have massacred any paint.

I’ve already sold four Bilco glazing contracts. The first one was just recently installed in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The homeowner moved in a few days prior. He chose a dark grey for the glazing color. We did the glazing at our shop in Maywood, two days before the install. It’s important to glaze before the install, so there are no untreated surfaces. The sad history of the cellar door industry has been that unpainted surfaces in the cement rust out the fastest, and they rust from the inside (from moisture) faster than from the outside surfaces directly in the weather.

Here’s the old wood unit. Very sad, very leaky, and a security hazard.

The demolition uncovered multiple problems. We knew it would be bad, but it was much worse than either myself or the customer envisioned.



1. The foundation was not level, and many stones were loose
2. We were startled to find a water line (red) and right next to it is an exposed electrical line
3. The front top slate was not level. This picture is actually showing it after we leveled it.
4. We wound up using four 55-lb bags of Cement-All. It’s not cheap, at about $26 a bag.
5. The lattice to the left needed to be straightened and secured
6. The gate to the right needed to be removed and remounted, and the bottom piece was falling apart
7. Boards above the Bilco were rotten, and needed to be replaced. Lots of custom-carpentry.

Here’s a close-up of the foundation. It was as bad as any we’ve ever seen. Many rocks were loose, and had to be reset with Cement-All

Here’s the glazed unit, installed onto the new foundation. We had to come back a second day, just for a few hours, to do the final carpentry, including 

FINISHED INSTALL. We created a little triangular shelf, using PVC boards, to cover the water and electrical lines. Above the Bilco, and over the top flange, we cut a 1x8 PVC board. This will stop any water infiltration. PVC never rots. Everything was caulked and sealed as well.

The next Bilco, to be installed in Englewood, we already glazed it an emerald green. Every square inch is glazed, on all sides. It’s ready to install. If you are guessing that the Englewood customer is Irish, you would be correct. Two other Bilco’s, both to be glazed “China White”, are pending delivery. We are off to a strong start with the new Bilco Glazing business plan. We are not yet set up for spray glazing them, but that’s also part of the plan. Every Bilco has underlying defects with the red factory priming, so spray glazing still won’t make them perfect, but it will save on labor, both time and energy. And we’ll have a product that never rusts.

For more information, and to review all of our blog postings, see www.confidenthomeremodelers.com  We install cellar doors throughout Northern New Jersey, and a bit into Central Jersey. We might be further expanding, stay tuned….