Privacy Film

Hello

In a previous post I related my experience with a shattered rear window on our new Boxer based Symbol Plus. 
We've finally got a new window fitted by Autoglass using the glass cover on our insurance - £75 excess compared with a full cost of £400+ 
The new glass is the standard Peugeot green solar to which we now need to fit an "athermic" privacy film - which Autosleeper are providing ready cut. At the moment I've taped a black bin liner over the reverse of the glass to avoid the plywood liner showing.

Does anyone have any experience of fitting these films? I've seen a few YouTube videos which involve spraying soapy water onto the glass and then sliding the film into place and using a squeegy to iron out the bubbles. It all looks a bit tricky but doable. The alternative would be to find a company which specialises in doing this sort of thing, but the companies that show up in Google searches all look a bit back-street. Can anyone recommend a reputable company in NW England?

Many Thanks
Des

Yes I've done similar putting a tinted film on large windows.  It's not difficult.

It seems tricky at first, but the key really is a liberal spray of soapy water.

If you don't use enough it will stick and you'll need to start peeling it off again which risks messing the whole thing up.  A nice even coating and it will sit on the soapy film and give you time to work it into position and then squeegy out the bubbles and excess water.

Put plenty of kitchen towel roll or tissue around the sides when pushing the water out as it will others drip all over everything.  Start in the middle and squeegy outwards in straight lines.  Don't push too hard on the film as you don't want to stretch it, it's only meant to gently squeeze the excess out and get rid of air bubbles.

Once done it will dry and be stuck nicely in place.  It's not difficult at all, just takes some patience and like I say, make sure you give it a nice liberal coating of soapy water (only needs to be a weak solution by the way).

Thanks for the responses...

I tried applying the initial film supplied by AS and got into a bit of a mess. I think the main mistake I made was assuming that a brand new glass would be pristine clean when actually I think it had quite a lot of deposits including grease etc. I also fell foul to the wind again, which took the flimsy film (minus its backing) and put some creases into it. The result was a number of bubbles that I was unable to remove.

Undaunted (stubborn more like it!) I decided to have another go. The film used by AS is called Suntek Carbon 5% and is available from a number of national distributors.  Fortunately I'd made a template of the original film so was able to cut out a new one - leaving a small tab on the backing film for easy removal this time. The biggest job was cleaning off the residual glue from the initial attempt. I tried various solvents but discovered the best solution was very hot soapy water. 

Anyways, this time I made sure the glass was scrupulously clean and dust free. I also obtained a purpose made squeegy with a hard and soft blade. I applied lots of slightly soapy water and was able to get an excellent bubble free fit. The problem I now have is that in bright sunlight and from the right angle, there are lots of streaks between the film and the glass - which contrasts with the perfect finish on the adjacent pane. I'm not sure what causes this. Could be a residue of fairy liquid, or water, or maybe the adhesive? I've tried a hair drier and lots of squeegying but nothing makes any difference. I'll leave it a day then have one last shot and if I get the same result I'll have it done professionally.

DesG wrote:Thanks for the responses...

I tried applying the initial film supplied by AS and got into a bit of a mess. I think the main mistake I made was assuming that a brand new glass would be pristine clean when actually I think it had quite a lot of deposits including grease etc. I also fell foul to the wind again, which took the flimsy film (minus its backing) and put some creases into it. The result was a number of bubbles that I was unable to remove.

When i bought my van it came with no privacy screening to sides and rear and like you, i also toyed with the idea of 'diy' job after watching a few YT vids but eventually chickened out and sourced a pro out. As you said some seem a bit 'back street' but i wouldn't have let that put me off. Many can easily shift anything up to a dozen vehicles a day and that's a wealth of experience so i don't care what their premises looks like and if void of fitted carpets and potted plants, you can bet their price will be right.

I got two quotes. One for a complete window out job and refitting - very expensive! The other quoted 'in situ' at £140 and after seeing the prep and application, i'm glad i went with them.

An update....

I came to have a final attempt at replacing the privacy film today only to find that the streaking/smearing  between the film and the glass seemed to have disappeared. The windows had been in the full sun yesterday afternoon and I'm assuming the heat was enough to either burn off any residual moisture or else set the adhesive. Not sure exactly what happened, but the good news is that the finish is perfect :-)

Thanks for the advice. And whilst I appreciate what BulletGuy says, I think it's perfectly doable (certainly for a single pane) provided you make sure everything is clean and give things time to settle down!

Des