Keeping aluminium and glass looking new in a coastal climate
Salt-laden air, fine dust and 45°C summers are harder on glazing than almost any European climate. A short, realistic routine that genuinely extends the life of a facade — and the three mistakes that shorten it.
Glazing in the UAE has a harder life than the same product would in most of Europe. Three things are working against it constantly, and none of them are dramatic enough to notice until the damage is done.
What is actually attacking your facade
Salt
Coastal air carries chloride, and chloride is what breaks down the passive oxide layer that protects aluminium and stainless steel. On aluminium it produces pitting — small white or grey spots that spread. On stainless steel grade 304 it causes tea-staining, the rust-coloured surface discolouration that appears within months near the sea and that people mistake for the wrong metal being used.
Fine dust
The dust here is fine, abrasive and gets everywhere. In tracks and gaskets it acts like grinding paste every time a door slides. On glass it is mostly cosmetic — until it rains. Rainwater carries the dust into a slurry that dries into a hard mineral crust, and the longer that crust stays on glass, the more it etches into the surface.
Heat and UV
A dark powder-coated frame in direct sun can reach 80°C. That much thermal cycling, every day, is what eventually hardens gaskets, breaks down sealant, and dries out the lubricant in rollers and hinges. UV attacks anything organic — seals, gaskets, interlayers and the plastic components in hardware.
A realistic maintenance schedule
Most published maintenance schedules are too demanding to be followed, so nobody follows them. This one is deliberately short.
| How often | What to do |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Rinse glass and frames with clean water. Vacuum or brush out sliding door tracks. |
| Every 3 months | Wash frames with mild soap and water. Check drainage and weep holes are clear. Wipe gaskets. |
| Every 6 months | Lubricate hinges, rollers and locks with a silicone-based lubricant. Check and adjust door alignment. |
| Annually | Inspect sealant joints for splits. Check fixings on balustrades and external metalwork. Look for corrosion at cut edges. |
| After a storm | Rinse everything. Wind-driven salt and sand deposit far more in one shamal than in a normal month. |
The three mistakes that cause real damage
1. Abrasive pads and scrapers on glass
Once glass is scratched it cannot be polished out in any practical way — the pane is replaced. Steel wool, scouring pads and blades used on dry glass all scratch. If there is a hardened deposit, soak it first and let the water do the work. Never work a blade across dry glass.
2. Strong chemicals on coated glass and powder coating
Solvent-based and strongly alkaline cleaners attack powder coating and can damage the coating on solar-control glass. That damage is permanent and it usually appears as patchy dullness that no amount of subsequent cleaning fixes. Mild soap and water handles almost everything; anything stronger should be tested somewhere invisible first.
3. Sealing weep holes
This one is done with the best of intentions and causes the most damage. Aluminium window and curtain wall systems are drained, not sealed — they let water that gets past the outer gasket run into a channel and out through small weep holes at the bottom. Those holes look like a defect, and someone eventually fills them with silicone to stop a draught or a leak.
Sealing the weep holes does not stop water getting in. It stops water getting out.
The result is water standing inside the frame, which corrodes it from the inside, saturates insulation and eventually appears as a much worse leak somewhere else entirely. If you see silicone over small holes along the bottom of a frame, that is a problem, not a repair.
Specification decisions that reduce maintenance
Some of this is decided long before anyone picks up a cloth:
- Stainless grade 316 rather than 304 anywhere near the sea or a pool — it is the single most effective anti-corrosion decision available
- Hot-dip galvanising underneath powder coating on external steel, so a scratch does not start rust
- EPDM gaskets rather than cheaper alternatives, because EPDM holds elasticity under UV and heat
- A hydrophobic coating on shower glass, which stops limescale bonding in hard-water areas
- Lighter frame colours in direct sun, which run cooler and cycle less
Signs worth acting on early
- White or grey pitting on aluminium — the coating has been breached
- Rust-coloured staining on stainless — usually grade 304 in a coastal position
- A sliding door that has become heavy — worn rollers or a track packed with dust
- Condensation between the panes of a sealed unit — the perimeter seal has failed and the unit needs replacing
- Gaskets that have gone hard or shrunk back at the corners
- Silicone joints that have split or lifted at one edge
Most of these are inexpensive to deal with early and expensive to deal with late. If something on this list looks familiar, a photograph is usually enough for us to tell you which it is and whether it needs attention now or at the next service.
Talk it through with us
If you are weighing a specification for a real job, send the details. We will tell you what we would specify and why — including when the cheaper option is genuinely the right one.