Window films are a product of a mistake. Nothing extraordinary. Many useful things have arised as a fallout in a development of something else. The first use of a solar window foils is dating to 60. years of a past century. Around that time, it wasn't too much related to a motorism. Firstly, it was designated to use on large flat windows, on skyscrapers and on buses. The film should have perform two tasks: to harden the glass and to stop overheating the interior. Simply the same as we use it on our cars today. Window films boom have started sometimes in the eighties. The initiators were mainly american companies. Until today, there are only two companies behind the Atlantic which produce the so called basic film. Other companies offering solar and security films use this basic film. Adding color and adhesive films is their own job. It's sure that every company have it's own technology of these processes. But on the other hand, there aren't much differences, because the conditions of guarantee (e.g. a color stability) are the same in most of the cases.
Installation is described and documented by photos below in this news item. Only to remind - even if you consider some stage of an installation easy, it can end as a disaster in home conditions. So only about what not to do. Never try to save money and buy a "no name" window films in Poland, on marketplace and so on. Many of you surely know disgusting purple windows, which occurs when this cheap film is used for a few years. On the other hand, the film can be easily destroyed or harmed because of a low quality material. Particularly if you have small children or you use to transport larger things in your car. You have to make peace with a fact, that you have to pay for a quality. You shouldn't try to install the film yourself. It is highly presumable you'll damage it. Also, you can't make the certificate of a window film. Every professional company have to issue a certificate with every installation. Policemen can ask for it on every policing. The important detial is also certificate sticker, situated under the film on every window. They have their code starting with 27 MD XXXX. 4-digit number represented by XXXX is unique for every brand.
On older cars, there is usually a problem with scratched and otherwise damaged windows. In some cases, we recomend to replace that window with a new, or at least a better one. This should not be obeyed. Scratches on the windows will be even more visible after putting on a film and they will impair the whole image and also a well done work. For someone it's needless to say about positives of window films, but the majority of readers isn't aware of them. Intimity, lower possibility of being blinded by cars behind you through the interior mirror. In comparison with metal plated windows also advantage of strenghtening of the glass and a real protection against breaking the glass by a thief. Another great advantage is that plastic and also fabric parts of the interior are getting old slower thanks to a UV filter present in the film. Finally, another benefit against metal plating is that the development continues and the producers offer more and more perfect products.
Just like metal plated windows, intensity of darkening is directly proportional to thickness of the film, respectively to its colour layers. Most of the producers offer average 5 to 7 levels of darkening, starting at 5% light transparency (which you cannot have on your rear window) and ending with 70% light transparency, which is an invisible darkening for a humans eye. UV filter in a quality based film filters up to 98% of the UV rays. Legislative about car window films is considerably disunited in Europe, however some things are unified. One of them is impermissibility of film installation on the windows of the front doors. You have to count with a possibility of loss of a registration book as well as license plates.
So, have you decided yet? After a view into a topic, we would like to present you a whole installation process, so also those technically based can see the application process is not suited for Do It Yourself gadgeteers.
Are you curious for some of the real products? Motors with installed window films look something like these:
E.g. german company Folia Tec offers as much as 14 types of windows films:
The most visible car window films advantages:
- Reducing bright sunlight
- Increasing comfort and concentration of a driver and front-seat passenger
- Filtering harmful UV radiation
- Lowering the possibility of being blinded
- Protecting against scratches
- Protecting seat fabric and the whole interior against bright sunshine
- Increasing safeness (higher resistance of the window against breaking)
- Prolonging time for thief to get in a car
- Protecting against wandering persons(HI-FI, valuable things etc.)
- Offering privacy
- Enhancing an overall car exterior design
- They are color-stable for long time
For better perspective, we have divided window films into cathegories below:
Standard auto window films
- They are made of multiple quality based layers of colourful polyesters
- Various light transparency
- Blocking UV rays
- Exclusive films with metallic effect
- Coloured polyester layers are completed with a metallic layer consisting of chosen metal particles
- Effective blocking of UV radiation and damping warm solar rays
- Special technology of multi layer polyester films
- More, upright oriented, laminated layers(normal films consist of one thicker layer)
- Ensuring high car and passengers protection.
Here, we have prepared a simple presentation of security car window films:
And here, you can download a short animation of the function of security films(SWF flash format):
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Here is a program from a company Folia Tec, which can help you to choose a film for your car (EXE file, installation):
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You can download also a complete films catalog by Folia Tec here (PDF document):
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Besides classic whole-window films, we offer also a possibility of application of solar, anti-sunshine straps on the wind-shield. Most of the drivers know the feeling of a sun shining in their eyes, especially in the afternoon and early evening hours. This dramatically lowers your visibility in front of you. Most of modern cars is fitted by dropping glare shields, but they are frequently misused for other reasons like a storage space for documents, photographies, glasses, handsfree etc. It causes a disabling of their original function in many cases. And another fact is they are not protecting in the whole width of the window, so the sun rays can leak into your eyes.
A second way of the protection is a serially coloured, tinted upper part of the wind-shield. But most of the cars don't have this and when they do, it is often insufficient. This is the reason why prestigious producers offer also special, antireflexive straps made of polyester foil. They can be installed from the inside side of the upper area of the wind-shield. They can be ordered in many colour and quality level versions. They are also approved for use in cars in European Union.
These are the figures showing those anti-sunshine straps for the wind-shield:
Installation: solar window films mounting - a battle with sunshine
A window films mounting is quite challenging (approximately 2-8 hours of work). You have to be considerably skilled and mainly, you have to be extremely patient (this is for those thinking about doing it themselves:-D) In our sompany, we use films of a variety of brands and tones. In next few lines we'll try to show you, at least a bit, auto window films installation. There is needed a fine cooperation of two men.
Foils are mounted with a water with detergent. We have it in a sprinkler bottle. We put an unmounted window(e.g. the door one) on the table, so its upper side is about 10 cm above the table(it has to be sloping to allow water to run away). We splash the window and we clean it with a blade. We splash it again and put the film on it, so the sticky side is on the window. We slice off e.g. the left and the right side, move the film to the right for about a 5 mm and cut off the right side. Now, we move the film back so there is the same space on each side and the upper side directly below the radius of the window. We justify corners into a curve and bottom about 2 cm below dirt from the outer isolator.
We open the film in the corner and let it hold. We splash the window, we clean it with a pallet knife and splash it again. Then we unglue a protective layer of the film and at the same time we splash it. We take the film on the sides(the best is to hold it from a side and from the bottom) and we put it on the window. After centering the foil on the window, we clean it with a rubber pallet knife. Then we push water away from the middle to the sides. We use a card with toilet paper on it for this action. After drying the window(in summer on the sun, in winter with a hot-air heater), we put it back on a car.
Rear, respectively bonded windows have to be prepared from the outer side. We splash the window and put the film on the window so the sticky side is away from the window. On bonded rear windows, which are usually curved, we have to cut the film very precisely, we let about 1 cm up and down from last insulator. We stretch the film to the sides, so it is aligned and then we press it to the window. We have to do this in various directions until the films sits on the window. We cut the film up and down and then we can stick it to the window. The process is the same as sticking side windows.
After reading this text, you can think you will know to do it yourself. However, there is one error. And that is, you need a certificate and stickers with codes. That's why we recomend you to have films applied in a professional company with a certificate.
Foils are mounted with a water with detergent. We have it in a sprinkler bottle. We put an unmounted window(e.g. the door one) on the table, so its upper side is about 10 cm above the table(it has to be sloping to allow water to run away). We splash the window and we clean it with a blade. We splash it again and put the film on it, so the sticky side is on the window. We slice off e.g. the left and the right side, move the film to the right for about a 5 mm and cut off the right side. Now, we move the film back so there is the same space on each side and the upper side directly below the radius of the window. We justify corners into a curve and bottom about 2 cm below dirt from the outer isolator.
We open the film in the corner and let it hold. We splash the window, we clean it with a pallet knife and splash it again. Then we unglue a protective layer of the film and at the same time we splash it. We take the film on the sides(the best is to hold it from a side and from the bottom) and we put it on the window. After centering the foil on the window, we clean it with a rubber pallet knife. Then we push water away from the middle to the sides. We use a card with toilet paper on it for this action. After drying the window(in summer on the sun, in winter with a hot-air heater), we put it back on a car.
Rear, respectively bonded windows have to be prepared from the outer side. We splash the window and put the film on the window so the sticky side is away from the window. On bonded rear windows, which are usually curved, we have to cut the film very precisely, we let about 1 cm up and down from last insulator. We stretch the film to the sides, so it is aligned and then we press it to the window. We have to do this in various directions until the films sits on the window. We cut the film up and down and then we can stick it to the window. The process is the same as sticking side windows.
After reading this text, you can think you will know to do it yourself. However, there is one error. And that is, you need a certificate and stickers with codes. That's why we recomend you to have films applied in a professional company with a certificate.
A simple picture gallery of window films installation:
  
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What is your opinion on car windows films?
TUNING FORUM - Windows tints sticking
