Covering large windows with vinyl. Safe?

[threeputt]

Had heard that using paint on glass causes uneven heating of the glass and can cause the glass to crack. So is it the same with vinyl?

I want to "wrap" my windows? Mine are floor to ceiling jobs about 60" wide and I'd like to use them to advertise my wraps.

Or do you need to leave, say, 5" of exposed glass around the perimeter?

Basically is it being done? Is it safe?

 

[omgsideburns]

well if it cracks at least the pieces will still be stuck together..

 

[Debbi]

I covered about 90% of a very large floor to ceiling window with no problems. I was trying to block the late afternoon sun from heating the showroom. Covered it with oracal vinyl and used it for advertising space. Up throughout the summer and still up months later. Had to use scrapers and orange peel to get it off when we moved.

 

[btropical.com]

Put any type of tint on the inside so both sides are covered so if it cracks the vinyl and tint will keep glass together .

 

[Circleville Signs]

Why not use window perf for this? Then there won't be any issue at all.

Gary

 

[threeputt]

Why not use window perf for this? Then there won't be any issue at all.

Gary

Window perf is a possible idea, but it doesn't quite have the impact that solid does.

 

[threeputt]

I'm a bit gun-shy of doing this because about ten years back painted the bottom portion (up about 36") solid grey and three of the 6 windows cracked.

So was just wondering if anyone else had done the window thing besides Debbie.

 

[TheSellOut]

How old are these windows? Are they single or double paned?

 

[Just Me]

i have oracal vinyl on my store front getting ready to do the neighbors here with it also. no issues with mine so far

 

[threeputt]

Heath: My windows are real thick plate glass.

Outlaw: You say, "so far". Have you gone an entire year? Four full seasons on it?

 

[JoshLoring]

How old are these windows? Are they single or double paned?

Heath was ahead of me..
You can only use vinyl on single pane. If you wrap double pane it will heat the inside air and shatter.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

things i've noticed.

i have a huge bank of windows completely sheeted out at a companies headquarters (approx 80 windows that are 4' X 18') been sheeted out in white since about 1999...no issues.

i had another large window (50" X 14') that was sheeted out in black that has no issues that is subjected to constant sun

and i had a drycleaners windows that were painted black and popped and then crackedthe first summer....

these are just a few examples. i was taught many many moons ago that if i was to paint out a background on a window that i was to leave a border of exposed window and not right up to the gasket...never made sense but i have seen many windows that other ppl have done that have popped that had no border....i say popped because it almost always appears that the window seperates at the gasket that holds it in place and then cracks out

so my thoughts although there is no science is that the vinyl windows are not retaining the heat like painted windows.

i got to a point where if i am going to sheet out a window i am going to advise the client and have them sign away any and all liability on my part...and then i will do whatever they want me to do

 

[trik]

5 0r 6 years ago when we were doing commercial window tinting, our vendor informed us that if you use "limo" tint on a commercial window pane it will shatter, as that tint is made for automotive glass, and it because as some have mentioned above the dual pane, it heats up the gases and will blow out the seals or shatter the glass. Single pane should be fine. Perf does work as we have done several that way.

Good luck!

 

[threeputt]

Ok, I'm gonna do it. Thanks everyone for your comments. Especially Dan for his very thorough observations.

 

[B Snyder]

Full coverage, south-west facing, 4560GTX with 210 gloss laminate. Took this pic last week. I installed it over a year ago. So far, so good.

 

[Mal]

Whoa! Never even thought about this issue. I've never put large areas of coloured vinyl on window glass before but I've done a lot of Etch Lite film work. That never caused any issues, knock on wood. Only issue we ever had was bored bar patrons waiting for cabs that would pick at the etch film, leaving it ratty and ruined..

 

[lil Details]

putting vinyl solid on the outside should be fine with the plate glass. If it is tempered you could do almost anything to it and be safe. The lighter the color of the vinyl the better you will be.

I would say that solid would be better than a gap around the edges. The main cause of glass breaking here would be an UNEVEN thermal stress and the edge would be different than the overall glass. Tempered glass will stand a 200 deg F difference from edge to middle whereas non-tempered is about 50 deg F and you have the chance of the glass breaking.

Vinyl on the outside is going to be a totally different animal than window film on the inside. Keep it as light colored as possible....