best way to apply contravision

[Robert Lambie]

i would say "completely bone dry" no moisture at all…
clean the windows with meths, isoprop or the like and make sure the windows are degreased.
you shouldnt have issues with initial tack as there is little initial tack with this stuff due to the holes. (try a spare bit on your office window to get a feel for it)

water will trap in the holes and be sealed due to the lamination and it will be impossible to squeegee any residue out.

i would also trim it a mm or two back from the rubber window moulding because this stuff has a tendency to lift after an hour or so if not completely flat. if it does lift it can cause bother because it does not like to go back down due to the low tack.
i am guessing but in this cold weather ide advise fitting indoors and a gentle heat with a heat gun to help adhesion. (not too much in one spot though incase you crack glass, not that i have heard of it on a vehicle but definitely seen it happen on a window)

[Shane Drew]

I agree with Rob, definitely dry.

Only thing I do is run a 12mm edge of clear around the outside of the print/window so it doesn’t lift with moisture later.

Being laminated, you’ll end up with half moons on the edges which will fill with water, and eventually lift the edge

[Jason Xuereb]

Don’t use a heat gun you will stretch the film and cause the circles to turn in ovals and it looks distorted from the inside of the window.

[Shane Drew]

quote Jason Xuereb:

Don’t use a heat gun you will stretch the film and cause the circles to turn in ovals and it looks distorted from the inside of the window.

I use a heat gun, but very carefully, some of the spears on a curved back window can be more trouble then they are worth. Need a bit of heat to encourage them to stay down 🙂

[Jason Xuereb]

I just use pressure 🙂

[Phil McGovern]

Cheers Guys, ill get on with it then thanks for the advice

[Peter Normington]

better by far, print onto your choice of white digital, then cut into strips like 2mm gap, 5mm stripe on your cutter, better job and cheaper,

Peter

[Shane Drew]

quote Peter Normington:

better by far, print onto your choice of white digital, then cut into strips like 2mm gap, 5mm stripe on your cutter, better job and cheaper,

Peter

we have a shop do that here, and I use it as a selling point for one way vision.

If the client uses the rear wiper a lot (and they usually do even though you ask them not to), one of the stripes can lift eventually, and then its missing bits…. a few cars floating around my area with that look now, so when you mention it, people say ‘oh, I’ve seen that… looks horrible’. I get the one way vision job every time…. but I’m a fair bit dearer as you say.

Real beauty is that I don’t talk ill of the other shop, but their reputation is tainted as a result of pointing out who did it.

[Jason Xuereb]

What if they laminated it with optically clear? Then its not going to lift.

[Shane Drew]

quote Jason Xuereb:

What if they laminated it with optically clear? Then its not going to lift.

yes it is… half moon problem still applies. I do all my stuff in optically clear. Still edge it. My opposition don’t edge, and they have problems galore.

That is why I started doing it in truth.

[Jason Xuereb]

I edge seal all my laminated installs.

I don’t edge seal non laminated ones.

[Shane Drew]

quote Jason Xuereb:

I edge seal all my laminated installs.

I don’t edge seal non laminated ones.

So you do edge optically clear laminated owv then? I’m confused….

I don’t edge seal non laminated either

[Jason Xuereb]

Hey Shane,

If the one way vision is laminated I use a strip of laminate to seal all the edges.

If the print is un laminated I don’t do this.

Hope that’s clear.

[Gavin MacMillan]

I think Jason was saying you could laminate the striped version with optically clear to save it lifting. This would be fine but I still prefer the look of one-way to the gapped version.

Why do you lamninate one way at all? It’s a fairly short term film and the gaps are too small to allow the lam to adhere to the glass so it will go funny over time. I suppose a liquid laminate would make sense but only to stop abrasion as the film is way shorter term than the inks or maybe I’m missing something?

G

[Jason Xuereb]

Gavin,

Have you driven a car in the rain without laminate? Can’t see a thing.

[Gavin MacMillan]

will the same thing not happen to laminate over time? If it’s not touching the glass it’ll corrode?

[Jason Xuereb]

Not if the install is properly sealed along the edges. The laminate is optically clear and you can see through. If you don’t seal it properly what will happen is moisture etc will get in under the laminate and kind of fog up the window.

that’s even worse then rain. I learnt the hard way lucky it was on our vehicle.

[Gavin MacMillan]

I’ve only got one vehicle done that this would be an issue on, it’s un-laminated and it’s pi**ing down here so I’ll go and have a look at it. Certainly had no feedback from the customer (other than loving the job when first done) but that doesn’t mean much