The Differences Between Film Installation And The Others
Window film is a self-adhesive material that may be applied to new or existing glazing to solve a number of problems. Solar control, privacy, decorative and anti shatter films have been around for many years, specialist films such as anti graffiti and anti fog films also are being widely used in today's' market.
In its simplest form window film is a thin sheet of polyester, adhesive and after that a thin polyester backing liner. Additional sheets of polyester may be found on many films, two sheets of polyester is called two-ply, some safety and security films are usually available in three ply. A metalized or dyed layer can sometimes be added between these sheets of polyester to add colour or tint and also a scratch resistant coating can be found on virtually all films to protect from every day wear and tear.
Window film may be fitted to most sort of glazing, they can all be fitted to flat glass but some films can also be fitted to raised or patterned glass based on the flexibility of the movie and the sort of pattern, in the event the pattern is too raised the movie may not be successfully installed, however there is usually a flat side to all patterned glass. Another problem sort of glazing may be compound curves found on the windscreens of cars. It is because the glass is curved in two directions, the film can be conveniently applied to glass curved in one direction but if it's a compound curve you will probably need to heat shrink the film, specialist car window tints are available for this, these are commonly a thinner material and also are specially made to be heat shrinkable more so than a standard window film.
You'll find three technologies that give different performance characteristics, these are; dyed, deposited and sputtered.
Dyed films are usually on the cheaper end of the market but these films should not be disregarded, as there are some good dyed films in the marketplace. The bottom end of the marketplace is glue tinted, glue tinted films have the dye mixed with the adhesive (scratch resistant coating (not always present), polyester sheet(s), adhesive mixed with dye, backing liner). These are usually sold on the Asian and South American market but will still be sold in Europe. These films are not usually particularly colour stable, as there is very little protection for the dye, as such they may fade quickly. Because the dye is mixed with the adhesive the colour isn't always uniform as well as the colour may be moved during installation.
A more suitable sort of dyed film is one which has the dye sandwiched inside two sheets of polyester, this film is significantly more colour stable because it is protected through the polyester sheets, and also this provides no problems when installing as the adhesive is clear and there may be no colour shift. These films can frequently be supplied with as much as ten years warranty.
Among the common misconceptions with dyed film is the fact that it can disperse heat in to the property. As dyed films can absorb heat and it's fitted inside it's easy to view why people think this. However most of the heat is held in the glass and since the wind speed outside is so much greater than inside (wind speed averages over 15mph outdoors but only ˝ mph indoors) the external air draws the heat outside. Some heat is leaked into the property but most heat is dissipated outdoors.
As double glazed units allow no air movement in between the glass, interior dyed films aren't always well suited for this kind of glazing and you should make certain that you check on it's suitability before installing as installation on the wrong sort of glazing may cause thermal cracking.
Deposited window film is created by drawing film by way of a tank of metal ingots (usually aluminum or nickel chrome, but sometimes copper). Pressure is then reduced in the tank creating a vacuum and the tank is filled with argon gas. When the tank is filled with gas the metal ingots will be the heated, the heat causes the metal to quit particles, which in turn migrate to the movies surface in an even layer. The density of the metal deposits may be controlled conveniently by altering the speed of the movie over the chamber.
Sputtering is the most complicated process for read review creating window film. This process is also accomplished in a vacuum although the metallization in the process is achieved at atomic level. Electromagnetic fields direct streams of ions from a chemically inert gas (usually Argon) towards the metal. This ion bombardment (often referred to as "atomic billiards") causes groups of atoms to dislodge in small bursts and scatter uniformly through the film.
The benefits of sputtering are that around 30 various kinds of metals can be used; various metals can be chosen to subtract specific radiation from the solar spectrum. The metalized coating is a lot lighter; a sputtered metal may be created in a layer one-hundredth of the thickness of a human hair.
The result of sputtering is a highly reflective layer which has very little mirrored effect, heat absorption or colour shift and as a result warranties are often 10 years to lifetime. Sputtering will be the most expensive process to achieve and as a result sputtered window film is at the bigger end of price range
