What happens on installation day
Access, preparation, the order panes are done in, and what the glass looks like immediately afterwards.
Most people have never had window film fitted before, so the day itself is a bit of an unknown. Here is exactly what to expect, including the part at the end where the glass looks slightly wrong and that is completely normal.
None of this is complicated. It is just easier when nobody is surprised.
Before we arrive
We will have already agreed which panes are being done, because that was settled at the measure and written into your quotation. What helps on the day is access to them.
Clear the sills and move furniture back from the glass. We need room to work on both sides of each pane, which usually means an arm's length of clear floor in front of it. If something is heavy or fragile, leave it and tell us; we would rather move it carefully with you than have you lift it alone.
Take down blinds and curtains if they are in the way. Many can simply be raised or pulled aside. Where they need to come off their brackets, let us know in advance so we can allow for it.
Think about parking. We arrive with rolls of film, water and tools, and being able to park near the door makes a real difference, particularly in the inner suburbs.
Pets and small children are better elsewhere. There is water involved, blades in use, and doors opening and closing. It is nobody's idea of a relaxing environment.
The preparation, which is most of the job
If you watch us work, you will notice that the actual film handling is a small fraction of the time. The majority goes into preparing the glass, and that is exactly as it should be.
Every pane is cleaned thoroughly, not in the way you would clean a window before guests arrive, but properly: the whole surface, right into the corners and hard against the frame edges, until there is nothing left on it. Then it is cleaned again.
The reason is simple. Anything still on the glass when the film goes down is trapped under it permanently. A speck of dust becomes a small permanent mark. A smear becomes a visible patch. There is no fixing it afterwards, so the only answer is not to let it happen, and that means being thorough rather than quick.
This is also why we are careful about dust in the room generally. If something is being sanded or swept nearby, we would rather reschedule than fit film into a cloud of it.
Fitting the film
Each piece is cut oversize from the roll, then trimmed to the pane with the frame as the guide, so the edge follows your glass rather than approximating it.
The film is floated onto the wet glass on a slip solution, which lets us position it precisely before anything is committed. Then it is squeegeed from the centre outwards to push the solution and the air out from underneath.
There is water involved, and some of it runs. We lay protection on sills and floors before we start, and we mop as we go rather than at the end.
We generally work elevation by elevation or room by room, finishing one area before opening the next. It keeps the mess contained and it means you get your house back in sections rather than all at once at the end.
How long it takes
It depends on the number of panes, how easy they are to reach and which film is being fitted. High glazing, awkward access and large single sheets all take longer than a row of ordinary windows.
Your written quotation gives the expected duration for your job, worked out from your actual pane schedule rather than from an average. If something on the day changes that, we will tell you while it is happening rather than at the end.
What the glass looks like straight afterwards
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is the thing that worries people.
Immediately after fitting, the film can look slightly hazy or milky. You may see small pockets of moisture, a faint cloudiness, or a very slight texture across the surface. On some films this is quite noticeable.
That is normal and it is temporary. It is the remaining slip solution between the film and the glass, and it disperses on its own as the adhesive settles. The haze clears and the pockets disappear without anybody doing anything.
How long that takes depends on the film and on the weather. Warm dry conditions speed it up, a cold damp week slows it down. Because it varies, we will tell you what to expect for the specific film we have fitted on your glass rather than quoting a general figure.
What not to do while it settles
Do not clean the glass yet. This is the single most important thing. The film needs to finish bonding first, and cleaning it early can move it.
Do not press on the pockets. Pushing at a moisture pocket to flatten it usually makes it worse and can mark the film. Leave it entirely alone and it sorts itself out.
Do not tape anything to it, or run a blind hard against it. Give the surface a few days of being left in peace.
We will tell you when it is safe to clean, and that instruction is specific to your installation rather than generic advice.
Looking after it afterwards
Once it has settled, treat it like any window. A soft cloth and a non abrasive cleaner. No scrapers, no blades, no scouring pads, nothing gritty, and nothing ammonia based unless we have told you the film tolerates it.
The thing to remember is that the film is now the surface you are cleaning, not the glass. It is tough and it carries a scratch resistant coat, but a blade will still go through it in a way it would not go through glass.
Before we leave
We walk every pane with you. If anything is not right, that is the moment to say so, while we are still standing there with the tools in the van.
We will also tell you what the glass is going to do over the next few days, so that when it looks a little hazy on the second morning you already know that is the film settling rather than something to worry about.
Tell us about the glass.
We confirm what suits your windows, then put a written quotation in front of you.
