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Blacking out windows

klingsdesigns

New Member
I have a customer that has double pane windows. He wants to apply something to the inside of the windows that cant be seen through at all. They are for rooms with tanning beds in them.
What do you guys recommend.
 

2B

Active Member
paint or some opaque vinyl


privacy film is an exterior application film.
NOTE: if there is any lighting inside the tanning room it will cancel the privacy properties. whenever you see the interrogation rooms in TV / Movies there is a reason it is always dark in the viewing room.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Why not suggest something sensible, cost effective and not so permanent ??

Portable tall room partitions/dividers. They'll be far less expensive then you painting or putting up vinyl. I've heard of some of those vinyls, actually causing the glass to crack or break, due to certain conditions.
 

2B

Active Member
Why not suggest something sensible, cost effective and not so permanence ??

Portable tall room partitions/dividers. They'll be far less expensive then you painting or putting up vinyl. I've heard of some of those vinyls, actually causing the glass to crack or break, due to certain conditions.

following this same thought do some block-out 2 side banner, and hanging it
 

klingsdesigns

New Member
He wants some sort of vinyl. I would be worried about putting black vinyl on the inside. I am pretty sure it makes the heat build up in the two pane windows and can shatter.
 

klingsdesigns

New Member
We were also thinking about printing on control tac and having it look like your looking out the window at a beach type theme.
 

idsignsil

New Member
We have done this for many times for a particular tanning salon company. We just use a black high performance opaque vinyl on the outside. The we put large graphics for the salon over that.

This has been on the glass facing east since 2010.

Don't judge me for the graphics, customer had this long before I started.
 

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klingsdesigns

New Member
We have done this for many times for a particular tanning salon company. We just use a black high performance opaque vinyl on the outside. The we put large graphics for the salon over that.

This has been on the glass facing east since 2010.

Don't judge me for the graphics, customer had this long before I started.

When you install these are you applying dry or wet?
 

idsignsil

New Member
We do it dry, but I don't see why you couldn't do it wet. As long as you are not using anything with air release, you can apply wet.
 

gabagoo

New Member
...and don't ever think that 3ml is dark enough and opaque enough. At night and even during the day you can see through the stuff.
 

rjssigns

Active Member
Be extremely careful about what you're doing. IG panels(insulated glass) can only have a certain opacity of film installed. Solar gain will expand whatever gas is in between the panes and pop the glass. This is absolute fact.
One of our good friends makes his living as a commercial tint installer.
A high school in the next town is a perfect example. All the windows in the library popped in grand fashion. They went with the cheap guy who new nothing about solar gain calculations and proper film selection.

If the application is for interior away from direct sunlight(you didn't specify) you can do whatever you want.
 

MikePro

New Member
just throwing it out there, but, hopefully your county/city will even allow such a thing. half the towns I put up graphics in Wisconsin, allow only a certain % of window coverage per Fire Code.
 

Kottwitz-Graphics

New Member
He wants some sort of vinyl. I would be worried about putting black vinyl on the inside. I am pretty sure it makes the heat build up in the two pane windows and can shatter.

My concern would be the shattered window. Have you thought about frosted on the inside, and a window perf on the outside. Frosted comes in several different colors, and you can't see through it. I used it at the local ymca for their work out rooms.
 

klingsdesigns

New Member
I think if we do it. I am going to install black oracal 751 to the outsides of the windows. The owner didnt like the idea of frosted.
 

watchdaride

New Member
cant blackout on the inside . Windows wont explode like people think but the seals will break and moisture will get in between the glass and look like crap .
 
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