Solar Film

[P4dstar]

Just been contacted by a commercial client. They have had a solar film added to the outside of the windows at of one of their offices. The brief is quite simply that the supplier said they should let us know. I imagine we'll just crack on with a soft brush but would appreciate any advice from anyone who has dealt with this before.

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Solar film scratches really easy don’t use nothing abrasive.
Soft brush and a good rinse should be ok.

 

[matt1458]

I’ve fitted this stuff in a past life (and still offer to do it now) as above it’ll scratch so soft as you can and depending on the frames it’s probably been cut tight to the edge so don’t go too nuts in the corners in case it peels. If it’s been under 30 days since it was done I’d avoid it altogether as the glue may still be curing.

Also unless it’s mega dark so reflects a massive of amount of light, most decent solar films are fitted to the inside

 

[Pjj]

I’ve fitted this stuff in a past life (and still offer to do it now) as above it’ll scratch so soft as you can and depending on the frames it’s probably been cut tight to the edge so don’t go too nuts in the corners in case it peels. If it’s been under 30 days since it was done I’d avoid it altogether as the glue may still be curing.

Also unless it’s mega dark so reflects a massive of amount of light, most decent solar films are fitted to the inside

Is this the same as the vandal proof plastic coating they put on windows to stop the glass going everywhere .we do a speck savers opticians with that stuff and the brush really grips to it ,

 

[matt1458]

Is this the same as the vandal proof plastic coating they put on windows to stop the glass going everywhere .we do a speck savers opticians with that stuff and the brush really grips to it ,

Same principle yep, Solar film is a lot thinner and smoother (a bit like car window tint) so more easily scratched. Those anti-vandal / security films must be a flippin nightmare to clean I’d imagine if they’re fitted externally. They do them up to “bomb blast grade” which are at least 7mm thick.. would be like cleaning a carpet stuck to the window.

 

[Pjj]

Same principle yep, Solar film is a lot thinner and smoother (a bit like car window tint) so more easily scratched. Those anti-vandal / security films must be a flippin nightmare to clean I’d imagine if they’re fitted externally. They do them up to “bomb blast grade” which are at least 7mm thick.. would be like cleaning a carpet stuck to the window.

Yes it grips the brush and it does cause scratches I made them aware of that before taking the job on , they said it’s company policy to have the film and also company policy to them cleaned , I tried doing them trad but it was virtually impossible to squeegee them it gripped the rubber that much , it’s about 3 mm thick the manager said it is blast proof I didn’t believe that but that’s what he said , we have similar film on our fire trucks side windows to stop them being smashed ,in riot situations.

 

[P4dstar]

Thanks chaps. The message I received was "the film is on the outside of the glass. The installer asked if I could let the window cleaner know". This is starting to sound a lot like passing on liability. The job isn't due until December so I've plenty of time to kick it back to them. I think I need confirmation from them if they're happy with our way of cleaning. I've got a Supreme soft flocked Tapertec Hybrid brush that I planned to use. I use these brushes on windows that are 400+ years old, haven't really found a softer one.

We have one client that has added a sort of one way plastic graphic to quite a few windows. It's maybe 1.5mm thick plastic with dotted holes all over it. There's a lot of resistance on it. The above brush glides nicely over it though without causing damage.

 

[Pjj]

Thanks chaps. The message I received was "the film is on the outside of the glass. The installer asked if I could let the window cleaner know". This is starting to sound a lot like passing on liability. The job isn't due until December so I've plenty of time to kick it back to them. I think I need confirmation from them if they're happy with our way of cleaning. I've got a Supreme soft flocked Tapertec Hybrid brush that I planned to use. I use these brushes on windows that are 400+ years old, haven't really found a softer one.

We have one client that has added a sort of one way plastic graphic to quite a few windows. It's maybe 1.5mm thick plastic with dotted holes all over it. There's a lot of resistance on it. The above brush glides nicely over it though without causing damage.

We do a spa Windows with that dotted stuff it’s horrible , we use stiff supreame brushes and it doesn’t damage it as it’s a Matt grey colour , we are out there next week doing it will take some pictures

 

[P4dstar]

We do a spa Windows with that dotted stuff it’s horrible , we use stiff supreame brushes and it doesn’t damage it as it’s a Matt grey colour , we are out there next week doing it will take some pictures

I found the stiff brush, even with hot water, wasn't gliding across the glass and actually cleaning it. I'll grab a pic when we go there again at the end of the month. Would be interesting to compare to the place you're doing.

 

[spruce]

In South Africa Bosch had that film fitted to all front road facing windows in our office block. It was bomb proof. One week end about a year later thieves broke into the bottle across the road and set the store alight. The exploding gas canisters blew out most of our front steel window frames but the glass, although broken, remained intact.

 

[P4dstar]

In South Africa Bosch had that film fitted to all front road facing windows in our office block. It was bomb proof. One week end about a year later thieves broke into the bottle across the road and set the store alight. The exploding gas canisters blew out most of our front steel window frames but the glass, although broken, remained intact.

So I need to be careful not to scratch them but don't worry about smashing them then

 

[Pjj]

Hears the pictures of the spa that we do with this dot plastic coating , note the white bleached areas ware seagulls poo has taken the colour out of the plastic film