Reverse Rolling without a Roller

This week's tip is by: Exact-Oh

I've been playing around lately:

For those of you who pull panels, try reverse rolling without using a roller. I have been trying this and it works really nice. You can flatten the rolled tube, and it fits right into the channel at the bottom of the window. Then roll it out, position, and apply. It works excellent. Oh yeah, I have abandoned the roller use on all other windows too. With a quality film, it should be rigid enough alone. Begin applying this edge to the window. Flatten the bottom of the tube to fit inside the gap between the door metal and the glass. Don't be too concerned about position at this time, just get it close to the rear edge. Keep it far enough away from the rear edge to avoid contamination from felt and such. And though it is extremely difficult to see in these pictures (and while actually doing this), the liner is rolling off on the outside of the piece that I'm applying. Shown here removing the liner. Then just position the film and apply as usual.

It is a very easy process that just takes a little practice. The only way that I have mucked up film using this process is by having the film stick to the glass too early. I always use my handy spray bottle with extra concentrated slip solution when applying film this way. Remember, the film is going on dry, so the solution you spray on the window needs a little extra slip to compensate.

Learning the process of reverse rolling has saved me a lot of time and steps during application. I am a double-cutter, so it does add the extra step of cleaning the exterior of glass on the opposite of my cutting side, it saves more time in the long run.

Good luck.