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Help Needed for Applying Window Film please?
As the song goes…l had a bad day!!!!
We had what should have been a simple job to apply window film to an old style racing car as a visor.
We order the material from Hexis at what seems an incredibly dear price. Oh what a nightmare, and try as we might we can not get it to settle properly. It looks dreadful it has like a pitted horrible dirty appearance. We took it off and started again three times, despite mass cleaning, preparation, heating, nothing has worked.
Anybody have any idea’s as to what we have done wrong, Hexis have been incredibly unhelpful. Is there a better vinyl or are we just doing something wrong?
Thanks for any help
Lee 😕 -
10 Replies
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first question mate, when you ordered film, exactly what did you ask for. not trick question… just need to start some place 😀
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Lee can you be a bit more specific, was the visor very curved or compound, have you got a pic ar a diagram to explain?
Peter -
The car was a classis Alpha Romeo. The windscreen was sharply curved at corners. However l have to say that once we figured out the best way to lay it that getting the vinyl to lay flat and conform to the windscreen was not the problem.
We haven’t taken any pictures as the Customer needed his vehicle back. How embarassing the first job we have spent all day on, and after all this we weren’t happy with it and had to tell our Customer he could have it for free.
From a distance it looked fine. To try and explain a little better it looked as though there were little tiny bubbles underneath the vinyl. But there were definetly no bubbles there.
The film was Automotive Window Film in charcoal
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are we talking window film or vinyl mate, sorry to pester you. makes a difference though… 😕
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Sounds like you have got contamination under the film. Especially as it sounds like you have fitted it on the outside of the screen, the film is not outside weatherable and will scratch very badly if it is on the outside.
Even though you think you have your glass as clean as possible, if you try to install window film on the outside the glass will be both pitted with small marks and believe me by the time you remove the release liner and get your tint into position, if you are not experienced you will get contamination between the tint and the glass.
I always install visors on the inside of the screen ( window film ) but on the odd occassion I do a visor with vinyl I fit that to the exterior.
Bob
ps if you have a window tint guy near you it may be best to get him to do the next one, should only cost £15 to £20 for a visor
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hi bob, this is what i am trying to establish mate, is it film as in tint, or is it vinyl. im thinking its the polyester film when it should be the vinyl for these type visors. well thats what i use anyway… like you say the polyester stuff is for interior.
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it was automotive window film because he was racing it at the weakend and needed to see through the visor 🙄
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Lee,
Did you apply to the inside or outside ?
Bob
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Lee, like everyone else I’m guessing but it sounds like you have used a window tinting film and fitted it like a vinyl. I am guessing you applied it dry to the outside of the windscreen.
With a tinting film you have to fit it to the inside, First heatshrink it to fit the curve of the windscreen, remove the backing film and apply wet to the inside of the windscreen.You have to apply tinting film wet because the adhesive is water activated, yes it will stick to a degree without water but not properly.
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Sorry to hear that Lee…Definately sounds like contamination. However, if it was fitted externally it could well have been pits in the glass caused by normal wear and tear , or if internally it could have been pits due to grinding splatter hitting the glass.
You’d think that by covering this up with tint, you’d be able to mask it a bit…WRONG…It often makes it look worse.
Window film is extremely unforgiving. Totally unlike vinyls which can be stretched and creased to some small extent.
Looks like you’ve had a baptism of fire (poor sod). I did do a demo once here of how to install some tint, maybe you could have a squiz at it before having another crack at it.
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