1. An additional vitrified and crystalline layerattains greater depth and definition in design. This is without a doubt the biggest difference between the two types of products, and has a very technical explanation. In a traditional application the enamel is applied in liquid form on the piece, and in addition to the glazed components it is also necessary to add a small amount of kaolin, clay, along with organic and inorganic additives that act in rheology of the final liquid, keeping the solid particles suspended and preventing decantation (separation of the liquid part from the solid part). These additional ingredients of the liquid enamel give a small opacity to the product after firing, very small indeed, but when you place a MC product side by side it is possible to observe. With MC technology, the application is made with dry enamel and therefore does not require additives such as kaolin and clay, providing an enormous transparency in the enamel layer which enables a greater enhancement in the product’s design.
2. Uniform, continuous and intense brightness. For MC products, measurements range from 95 to 99 lumens even before the application of waterproofing. The enamel itself is around 85 lumens. After the application of waterproofing, both gain some points of brightness but MC products obtain a higher measurement. This is very easy to verify by measuring with a device called a brillometer.
3. Achieves greater scratch resistance. The hardness of tiles is officially measured using the Mohs scale, which is a very subjective test and depends a lot on the experience of those who are performing the test, as well as the result evaluator. According to the Mohs test, the result for both types of products is the same (Mohs = 3). Our “perception” of greater hardness through micro crystal layer is due to the practically zero statistics of complaints. Therefore, this is a proven advantage based on “know how”, without official evidence of greater hardness.
4. Minimal porosity reduces the possibility of stains. The greater tendency of porosity in enameled products leads to more cases of difficulty in removing stains, whereas in MC such cases do not exist. The measurement of porosity is very complicated, but can be done under a microscope. It is considered a visual characteristic for MC products.
