Single pane commercial but with auto tint

[lorenzotint]

I only do flat glass, and I use an HP 4 auto film where a reflective film won't work. I have even put it on north facing dual pane glass where privacy is an issue. There is still a lot of single pane glass out there, and if a smoke film is what the customer wants, then thats what they get. It's not a good heat blocker, but that's not what I sell it as. It's a good glare and light blocker. A lot of property managers will not let you put a reflective film on their properties I use it for interior privacy, and it works well sometimes as a one way film. I tell them up front, what the film will do. They get no glass breakage, or color change warranty.

If anything gives this industry a bad name, it's the large amount of piss poor installs, adhesive breakdown, and color change on all the cars out there.

It's great to read posts from tinters that are in tonch with the real world. Single pane glass of all sorts....out there.

[vquestfilms.com]

Huh? Well guys I guess I have no clue then... and the people that I talk too in these high rises with purple windows must live in some other world.

I've got dealers R&R'ing over half a million sq ft of color failed film on commercial properties, how many cars does that equate too?

There are plenty of neutral Flat Glass Films out there from dark to light approved for single pane and some even for IGU's that come in widths clear up too 72" and some of these product have no dyes. Since they are readily available then why not use the right film for the intended purpose?

[TomTint]

Glass breakage and lack of warranty aside... the thing about using auto films on commercial buildings is that many automotive films (I'm not infering EWF 2-ply HP films will) will fade or turn purple which creates a very visible issue for our industry. A lot of these films only come in max 60" widths so on 72" windows you see alot of seams.

I spoke with a buildiong engineer who went this route and now he is the proud (or more accuratly, not-so-proud) manager of a purple high rise. He hates window film now, will not recommend it, in fact he warns his contacts against using it on thier properties. The film not only experienced color failure, it never performed to the level that was actually needed which meant that there was little to no energy savings.

What we end up doing is creating a bad repuatition for window film when we make the choice to install film that is not ideal or even designed for the intendended application. Let's not do that. Glad to hear that the OP is going to take the 'safe route'.

Was the building owner responsible for the decision as to what film went on in the first place? I can see a number of different ways a dyed film ends up on a project like that. One of them being a owner getting 100 prices on a job and not knowing what or who he is eventually dealing with. Possible bait and switch ( but submittals and mock up usually eliminates this) or a owner looking for a quick fix and not realizing what a mess they will have on their hands in a few years

[vquestfilms.com]

Glass breakage and lack of warranty aside... the thing about using auto films on commercial buildings is that many automotive films (I'm not infering EWF 2-ply HP films will) will fade or turn purple which creates a very visible issue for our industry. A lot of these films only come in max 60" widths so on 72" windows you see alot of seams.

I spoke with a buildiong engineer who went this route and now he is the proud (or more accuratly, not-so-proud) manager of a purple high rise. He hates window film now, will not recommend it, in fact he warns his contacts against using it on thier properties. The film not only experienced color failure, it never performed to the level that was actually needed which meant that there was little to no energy savings.

What we end up doing is creating a bad repuatition for window film when we make the choice to install film that is not ideal or even designed for the intendended application. Let's not do that. Glad to hear that the OP is going to take the 'safe route'.

Was the building owner responsible for the decision as to what film went on in the first place? I can see a number of different ways a dyed film ends up on a project like that. One of them being a owner getting 100 prices on a job and not knowing what or who he is eventually dealing with. Possible bait and switch ( but submittals and mock up usually eliminates this) or a owner looking for a quick fix and not realizing what a mess they will have on their hands in a few years

I always assume that if I am talking to one party then I am getting only 50% of the story. So according to the customer, he is not at fault. Are there dealers out there that will bait n switch, heck yeah. The truth lies therewithin...

My point is that the professionals should know the right choice. And the consummate professional will make the right choice. The industry as a whole (including all of us) needs to educate everyone else.

[hoosierwindowtek]

Huh? Well guys I guess I have no clue then... and the people that I talk too in these high rises with purple windows must live in some other world.

I've got dealers R&R'ing over half a million sq ft of color failed film on commercial properties, how many cars does that equate too?

There are plenty of neutral Flat Glass Films out there from dark to light approved for single pane and some even for IGU's that come in widths clear up too 72" and some of these product have no dyes. Since they are readily available then why not use the right film for the intended purpose?

Being that 20% Neutral films absorb more energy than 20% Non Reflective auto films, and being that many people like non reflective windows and being that Modern non-reflective films are color stable, I think there are times when they are the right choice.

Those times are the vast minority, but they still apply.

[vquestfilms.com]

Huh? Well guys I guess I have no clue then... and the people that I talk too in these high rises with purple windows must live in some other world.

I've got dealers R&R'ing over half a million sq ft of color failed film on commercial properties, how many cars does that equate too?

There are plenty of neutral Flat Glass Films out there from dark to light approved for single pane and some even for IGU's that come in widths clear up too 72" and some of these product have no dyes. Since they are readily available then why not use the right film for the intended purpose?

Being that 20% Neutral films absorb more energy than 20% Non Reflective auto films, and being that many people like non reflective windows and being that Modern non-reflective films are color stable, I think there are times when they are the right choice.

Those times are the vast minority, but they still apply.

There are a lot of films that are advertised as 'color stable' or warrantied against fading, etc... Most automotive films only need to survive accelerated testing to the equivalent of 7 years to get a 'lifetime warranty.' Some may last longer others do not. However, unlike a vehicle a building is stationary and these films will react differently. Between this and the fact that you are often limited in roll size and there is no glass breakage warranty, there are just much better options available.

I can drive a phillips screw into a board with a hammer but it is much better to just use a screw driver or a screw gun.

[hoosierwindowtek]

The glass breakage point is a good one, but sometimes that's the reason to use auto film. If you need super dark, and reflective is out of the question, then it's safer than using blackout film or a very dark neutral film. These are times when getting the customer to take responsibility might be key.

About the only time I'd use it anyway is on an entry door that's tempered.

As far as how long the film lasts, If anything, my experience has been that films last longer in a building than they do in a car.

As I said, though, there are very few times when I'd use a non reflective film for flat glass.

I definitely agree with you that it should not be used in a major installation, just maybe a couple windows. It's great for interior applications occasionally too.