What Google Can Teach You About Building Film Installation
Window film is a self-adhesive material that can be applied to new or existing glazing to solve a number of problems. Solar control, privacy, decorative and anti shatter films are already around for a long time, specialist films for example anti graffiti and anti fog films will also be being generally used in today's' market.
In its simplest form window film is a thin sheet of polyester, adhesive and then 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 films are also accessible in three ply. A metalized or dyed layer can sometimes be added between these sheets of polyester to add colour or tint and a scratch resistant coating may be found on almost all films to protect from daily wear and tear.
Window film can be fitted to most type of glazing, they may all be fitted to flat glass but some films could also be fitted to raised or patterned glass according to the flexibility of the film and also the type of pattern, in the event the pattern is too raised the film may not be successfully installed, however there is normally a flat side to all patterned glass. Another problem type of glazing can be compound curves found on the windscreens of cars. This really is because the glass is curved in two directions, the film can be effortlessly 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 accessible for this, they are often a thinner material and also are specially made to be heat shrinkable more so than a standard window film.
You can find three technologies that provide different performance characteristics, they are; dyed, deposited and home filming sputtered.
Dyed films are usually on the cheaper end of the market but these films should not be disregarded, as you can find some great dyed films on the market. The bottom end of the market is glue tinted, glue tinted films possess the dye mixed with the adhesive (scratch resistant coating (not absolutely present), polyester sheet(s), adhesive mixed with dye, backing liner). They are usually sold on the Asian and South American market but remain sold in Europe. These films are not usually particularly colour stable, as there is very little protection for the dye, as such they can fade very quickly. Since the dye is mixed with the adhesive the colour isn't always uniform and the colour can be moved during installation.
A greater type of dyed film is just one that has the dye sandwiched inside two sheets of polyester, this film is significantly more colour stable as 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 very often be supplied with just as much as a decade warranty.
Among the common misconceptions with dyed film is the fact that it can disperse heat into 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 within the glass and because 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 sort of glazing and you should make certain that you check on it's suitability before installing as installation on the wrong type of glazing can 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 also 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 within an even layer. The density of the metal deposits can be controlled easily by altering the speed of the movie through the chamber.
Sputtering will be the most complicated process for creating window film. This process is also accomplished in a vacuum although the metallization in this particular 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 known as "atomic billiards") causes groups of atoms to dislodge in small bursts and scatter uniformly through the film.
The advantages of sputtering are that around 30 different types of metals may be used; various metals may be chosen to subtract specific radiation from the solar spectrum. The metalized coating will be much lighter; a sputtered metal can be created in a layer one-hundredth of the thickness of a human hair.
The result of sputtering is a highly reflective layer that has very little mirrored effect, heat absorption or colour shift and thus warranties are often 10 years to lifetime. Sputtering is the most costly process to achieve and as a result sputtered window film will be at the larger end of price range
