What film?

GLG · June 15, 2015

Hello, been tinting since 1993. Lots of cars. I will tint commercial and residents now and then. Not a great deal. Question I have is I have had three jobs wanting people not to be able to see in but they want to see out. Interior windows. Have over head lights on both sides. I have used sv10 with auto 15% on opposite side. Mirror look but cust has issue seeing out. And people can still see computer screen. I use comm/ress film and was told to use auto film on back to make mirror look.

What other options do I have. Both jobs they r not happy. I told them they can't have both, they have to give up one. If I go lighter,sv30 with 38% on other side, will that help? Or will people still see through? Thanks for any help.

WearTheFoxHat · June 15, 2015

With any "one way mirror" installation there ALWAYS has to be some playing with the light physics.

The "Suspect "side ALWAYS has to be the brightest and the "Witness" side ALWAYS has to be the darkest.

You cannot have monitors for example facing the direction they are not to be seen.

If the site is not able or willing to make accommodations to these purposes there is nothing more film can do than make the one side reflective and the other darker.

Its up to the site to do the rest.

GLG · June 15, 2015

Thanks. Just wanted to be certain. I explained the light and was told inside the room would be darker, but is equally the same on booth side.

suntint · June 16, 2015

If I had a dollar for every time I needed to explain this to a customer . . . Still get calls all the time for this.

Some films work better for this than others. A few manufacturers have a silver reflective film with a dark opposite side that works out to be about a 5% film, that I've found to be the best. Even with this you need a big difference in light levels for this to work. Basically I explain all this to customers and tell them I can't guarantee this will work on interior glass - that it's up to them to adjust the light levels.

aussietinter · July 6, 2015

An alternative might be to use a perforated vinyl. They can either leave the outside white, or have a light colour image printed onto it. This is less reliant on the balance of light than a transparent/tinted film.

southcentraltinting · July 20, 2015

good idea Aussietinter. I install perforated vinyl on vehicles and then add 5% to the inside, trucks for instance. Most of the time you cannot see in day or night because the vinyl obstructs the view. I wonder how a chrome perforated vinyl would look on the "suspect" side due to its reflective nature on the other side of the glass.