A cut glass with no finish is sharp and can cause injury. Therefore, the edges of the glass are often finished. In this article, we cover different types of edge finishes.
This does not involve grinding the glass, but only removing the sharp edges. Beveled glass is the most economical finish, excellent for glass where the edges are not visible. Even though the sharp edges are taken off, the glass remains sharp.
Flat poly cut glass, or pp cut glass is the most common finish. It is therefore sometimes called the "standard finish. With flat poly polished glass, the edges are finished smooth by grinding a small bevel of 1 to 2 mm. This eliminates the sharpness of the glass and prevents injury. Flat poly finishing is used for glass panes where the edges remain visible, such as glass furniture and shower walls. Please note that flat poly grinding removes about 2.5 mm from the original glass sheet at each edge, so it is important to take this into account for sizing.
With faceted glass, a (large) bevel is cut into the edge of about 10 to 40 mm. This gives a special classic look to, for example, a mirror or glass table where the edges may be visible. The size of the facet (the bevel) depends on the thickness of the glass and the angle.
Only a faceted finish is still very sharp. Therefore, in practice, a faceted edge is finished with a flat poly finish.
