Whats the best type of film to use?

[Tints'r'us]

Hello guys,

I've got a hostel on a main road, an the office is downstairs on street level at the front, so visible to everyone walking/driving by. I dont want to put blinds or curtains because that will looks tacky, so I am in a state of confusion between reflective (mirror) or just completely limo black.

I dont need anything that helps with heat reduction or anything of that sort (I am in London, and we dont get to see much sun here!), however I do want it to look good.

A few questions (and apologies if some are stupid):

1) Because the office is in use 24hours, during the day will a limo black film make it a lot darker inside, like a car?

2) In your opinions, what would look better, black film or relfective?

3) At night when the light are on inside, with both the darkest limo film and the reflective, will everything be completely visible from the outside?

4) Which film do you recommend?

I am a car tinter and have never had any interest or any reason to learn about commercial tinting, so any help would be grateful.

Thanks a lot!

[Roach]

1. It depends on how the artificial lighting is setup inside but that film is dark and will reduce the visible light coming in.

3. Yes... At night when the lights are on inside, people will be able to see in the windows.

[TintDude]

Where's #2?

[Roach]

It's hanging out with #4.

[Guest Dropdown]

I wouldn't suggest blackout unless you really don't want to be seen ever and you don't want any light. If being seen at night is a concern than don't chose reflective either for the reasons already mentioned.I'd suggest a frosted film. It will give you the privacy you need day and night but will still let in plenty of light. There's several different types of frosted film and the most common one will still let people see your silhouette from the outside if you are very near the glass inside, especially with the lights on at night. You could chose a frosted film with a denser grain and that could be your solution. If your windows are tall you could even run the film just high enough that you eliminate line of sight yet still have a clear area at the top of so you can see outside. Get some samples and compare! (Insert happy face or somethin.... haha)

[painted600rr]

wheres the photos?

[Guest Mario]

My suggestion, use reflective. During the day no one will see inside(unless they post their nose to the glass).

During the night you would need to mount some type of light(flood, etc...) on the outside to offset the light inside. Therefore causing a mirror effect at night as well.

-M