How To Care For Your Window Film

1. Installed film has a discrete time for full adhesion to be effected since installation utilizes a detergent solution in the water to float the film onto the glass: the excess water will remain between the film and the glass. The time to achieve full adhesion is often referred to as “the adhesive cure time”. Visual and adhesive cure time is related to thickness of the film and various metallic coating the film.  

 2. Inspection for optical quality can be made before full visual cure is attained. It should be noted that effects during cure, such as water bubbles, water distortion, and water haze are not to be regarded as defects. 

3. The glass with applied film shall be viewed at right angles to the glass from the room side, at a distance of not less than 6 feet (2 meters). Viewing shall be carried out in natural daylight, not in direct sunlight, and shall assess the normal vision area with the exceptions of a 2 inch (50mm) wide band around the perimeter of the unit. 

4. The installation shall be deemed acceptable if any of the following are unobtrusive (effects during visual cure should be disregarded): Dirt Particles, Hair and Fibers, Adhesive Gels, Fingerprints, Air Bubbles, Water Haze, Scores and Scratches, Film Distortion, Creases, Edge Lift, Nicks and Tears. 

5. The inch (50mm) wide band around the perimeter shall be assessed by a similar procedure to that in 3 and 4, but a small number of particles is considered acceptable where poor frame condition mitigates against the high quality standards normally achieved. 

6. Edge gaps will normally be 1/32-1/8 inch (1-8mm). This allows for the water used in the installation to be squeegeed out. This ensures that film edges are not raised up by contact with frame margin. Contact with the frame margin could lead to peeling of the film. 

7. For thicker safety films the edge gap will normally be 1/32-1/16 inch (1-4mm), with 1/32-1/8 inch (1-5mm) being acceptable for films of > 7 mil (175µ). Combination solar control safety films will also fall within this standard. 

8. An edge gap of up to 1/16 inch (2mm) is recommended, especially for darker (tinted, metallized, tinted/metallized, and sputtered) films, to minimize the light line around the edge of the installed film. 

9. Splicing of films is necessary when larger panels of glass are treated, where both length and width of the glass exceed the maximum width of film. This line should be straight and should be parallel to one edge of the frame margin. Film may be overlapped, spliced or butt jointed. 

10. Certain films with special high performance coating may have lengthened cure times. Consult the manufacturer for cure times of these films. 

IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT YOUR FILM  

• Do not touch film for one full week or clean for one full month • Drying time is 30 days • All water bubbles will dry (cure) during this period • Haziness will disappear once the film has cured, 30 days. After one month, glass cleaners may be used, do not use abrasive cleaners or scrapers.

Your satisfaction is our most important goal.