Window Tinting, Overlap help and advice please?

[Jonathan feeney]

quote Jonathan feeney:

Hi everyone ,

I have a job to cover two massive windows in black vinyl then cut lettering on top ,the issue I have as the window is 2.5m high and 1.9m wide the vinyl needs to have a seem/Overlap on it I’ve done one and it’s pretty noticeable and the customer has made comment on it is there anything that can be done to hide this ?also I’ve used oracal 651 for this and it was a nightmare and had a lot of bubbles what else could I use for this install ?

Thanks in advance guys

[Ewan Chrystal]

Don’t quote me on this and someone with more experience may know better but my understanding is black is a big no no on glass as it absorbs heat and may cause the glass to crack

[Jonathan feeney]

I had this understanding too Ewan but the customer was adamant ,his windows are tinted as well so they are already black im hoping to talk him into letting me just letter the other window up with out putting the black on

[Danny Miller]

I’m by no means a pro on window installs but how about using knife less tape for the join, that way you can have a tiny overlap or even a butt join. In regards to the bubbles try a air release vinyl. I’m not sure if it can be used on Windows , but kpmf do a low end wrapping vinyl that may work , will cost more then the 651 through

[David Stevenson]

There’s a spray called "right on" available in the UK which you spray onto the glass before you apply your material. It allows you to squeeze out the bubbles then evaporates after a few minutes. Although I tend to agree with Danny that a low cost wrapping vinyl would do your job, possibly better than the "right on" . I’m not a big fan of wet installs as you need to be certain you get all the liquid removed before it damages the adhesive.

[Iain Pearson]

Did you use any water to apply the vinyl ?
Simple truth is, if you have to flood coat the whole window but have to use more than one piece of vinyl then your client will have to accept that there will either be a butt join or an overlap.
An alternative would be to get the vinyl printed in one piece but that would be costly and need 2 to fit

[Jonathan feeney]

Hi Iain I done it dry

[Iain Pearson]

We always use wet application when flood coating – eliminates all bubbles

[Stuart Miller]

As Iain says for large areas on glass I would always wet apply.
As for black on windows, it depends on the glass type. If Toughened glass no problem.
If laminated or single pane annealed then there is a risk of Thermal stress casuing cracking and customer should be warned.
Always going to be a join on a big window and again customer should be warned in advance and discuss what sort of join is wanted. Vertical or Horizantal? Overlap ot butt join.
The choice is dependent on the criteria of the customers needs. In window film shop windows I usually do a but join using the factory edge of the film as this is the least obvious and usually vertically in the centre of the window. As this is usually a light fil and for UV fading protection if the film overtime shrinks a little the gap will hardly be noticed.

Black Vinyl on the other hand is possible more likely to shrink and the gap may be more noticeable from the inside as a bright ligt gap so would probably be more inclined to overlap join that.
As long as you discuss with client the options beforehand then they know what to expect and have made that choice for youbefore the installation.

As others have mentioned a but join can be done with factory edge, or running a knife down an overlap or using knifeless tape through an overlap.