Your film arrives cut to each window, so installing it is clean, wet, slide, squeegee. Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the first window and less for each one after; a room takes an afternoon. You need the $9.99 tool kit or the same tools, a spray bottle of soapy water and, for anything wider than about three feet, a second pair of hands.
What arrives
Each piece is cut to the width and height you entered, as a rectangle, circle or half-circle, and rolled in a tube. Unroll the film on a clean table and match each piece to its window using the sizes on your order before you start. Leave the clear liner on until the moment you install. A piece with both sides over 46 inches comes as an uncut sheet, because that's the limit of our cutter; you'll trim it on the glass (below). Store film rolled loosely, away from heat and sun.
Tools and the solution
- Squeegee, hard card, razor knife and spray bottle: the home tool kit, or your own.
- Mild soap or baby shampoo and water, distilled if your tap water is hard. Half a teaspoon of soap per quart of water. That one mix cleans the glass and floats the film.
- Lint-free cloths, a towel for the sill, and a razor scraper for the glass (for the glass only, never for the film).
- A helper for large pieces, to hold the film while you peel the liner.
When and where
Work on cool glass out of direct sun: early morning or a cloudy day for a sunny window. The room should be between about 45 and 90°F. Close the doors, lay a towel along the sill, and in a dusty room mist the air or the floor; airborne dust is what ends up under film. Do one window at a time. If a window has a room-side low-E coating (rare; the window label will say), don't scrape it, and ask us before filming it.
1. Clean the glass
Most bubbles start here. Spray the glass with the solution and scrape it gently with the razor scraper in one direction, right into the corners and along the seal, to lift paint specks and grit. Wipe with a lint-free cloth, then spray the glass again generously just before the film goes on. Wet glass is what lets you position the film.
2. Peel and spray
Stick two short pieces of tape to opposite sides of one corner, one on the film and one on the liner, and pull them apart to start the liner. Peel the liner off while spraying the sticky side of the film as it appears. Dry adhesive picks up dust and sticks to itself, so keep it wet the whole way. On a big piece, one person peels while the other sprays and holds the film.
3. Place and slide
Lay the film on the wet glass, sticky side to the glass. It floats on the water, so slide it until it sits centered on the pane with an even hairline gap at the frame. The piece was cut to the glass you measured, so there's normally nothing to trim; the small gap lets the water out and keeps the edge from lifting against the frame.
4. Squeegee from the center out
Spray the outer surface of the film so the squeegee glides. Make one firm stroke across the middle to anchor the film, then work from the center outward, overlapping each stroke, until the water and bubbles are gone. Go lightly at first and firmer as the film grabs. Keep spraying the surface if it gets dry.
5. Finish the edges
Wrap the hard card in a cloth and run it along all four edges to push out the last water. If the film touches the frame anywhere, trim a sliver with the knife, using the card as a straight edge, and never cut into the seal. Dry the edges with the cloth so water doesn't wick back under.
6. Big windows and uncut pieces
An uncut sheet goes on the same way, oversize. Squeegee it, then trim it at the glass edge with the knife guided by the card, leaving the same hairline gap. A window wider than any film can be done in two pieces: butt the edges together, never overlap them, and squeegee each piece before placing the next.
Curing
Leave the film alone for three days. Haze and small water pockets are normal at first: that's water drying out through the film, and it clears on its own in days, longer in cold weather. Don't press or pick at them. After three days you can clean the film with mild soap and water or an ammonia-free cleaner and a soft cloth. Never use abrasives or razor blades on the film.
Fixing problems
- A speck of dust under the film. Within the first hour, lift that corner with the card, spray, rinse the speck off and squeegee again. After that, leave it: a speck is invisible from a few feet away, and lifting cured film stretches it.
- Water pockets. Wait. They shrink and vanish as the film dries.
- A lifted edge. Spray a little solution under it, press it down with the card wrapped in a cloth, and leave it closed for three days.
- A crease. Creases don't come out. Contact us for a replacement piece.
- The film grabbed before it was in place. Lift it immediately, spray both the glass and the adhesive, and lay it again. Once the water is squeegeed out it stays where it is.
Common questions
Inside or outside?
Inside, for every film except the Sentinel Plus exterior films, which are made for the outside and go on the same way.
Can I install in winter?
Yes, indoors, as long as the glass is above about 45°F. Cold slows the adhesive, so the haze takes longer to clear.
Frosted film in a bathroom?
Same method. Keep the room dry for the three curing days, then steam is fine.
Can I take it off later?
Yes: see how to remove window film. Heat softens the adhesive, the film peels, and the residue washes off.
I haven't ordered yet. How do I measure?
Measure the visible glass, width then height, and enter each window as it is. We cut to exactly what you enter.