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Australia, Canberra
1 Level
777 Review
49 Karma

Review on Enhance Privacy And Aesthetics With BDF S15 One Way Mirror Silver 15 Window Film - 48In X 24Ft by Jim Raju

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Overall very good at reduction in glare/heat, but very difficult to get perfectly smooth

Overall I would recommend this film as I live in a house that was suffering from huge single-pane, east-facing, rear-sliding door that soaks up a lot of early day southern California heat and makes it difficult to keep the house cool. Once the film was applied there was a noticeable difference in the temperature and glare. The outside is like a mirror during the day, and then when it gets dark the effect is reversed and the inside is a mirror. The main drawback, and I don't consider it major because our overwhelming concern was heat/glare reduction, is that if you are very particular about it looking clean and smooth and perfect, you are almost certainly going to be disappointed, because it is very difficult to apply without any bubbles/wrinkles/pulls/lifted corners, especially the larger surface you are covering. And since mostly people with single pane windows are going to be ordering this product, it means the windows are probably older and not in the best maintenance. NOTE: PREPARE THE WINDOW! Take a razor blade to the entire window to remove paint droplets, grime, residue and anything else that may have stuck to the window over the years, pay attention to the corners. Then clean the window twice to make sure the surface is a clean and smooth and flat as possible. This step is crucial to getting a better application.The squeegee they pack with it should be twice as large to help speed the process (which is important because you have to get the film applied in a relatively short amount of time or the soap solution starts to dry and makes it difficult to remove bubbles/pulls). As with most of the other reviews, I can't recommend enough to spray, spray, spray lots of the soapy water solution before AND during application on the window, on the adhesive side of the film, and the other side of the film as you are applying and squeegeeing it down. And keep spraying more on while you continue to squeegee to keep the squeegee from sticking to the film and pulling/stratching the film which causes you to have to rework and entire area. Also its crucial to squeegee from the middle of the window out in all four directions, not top to bottom or left to right, etc. NOTE: you can pull the film back off the window in the middle of application if absolutely needed, but if you do, make sure to spray the window and film back down again to help re-apply. I do not recommend doing this unless you absolutely have to, in order to fix a crease/fold/large bubble because when you pull the film back and press it back down, you may cause more bubbles/folds.Even after doing all of this very carefully, like we did, you will most likely still have quite a few small bubbles/pulls/lifts which are not very visible from the inside during the day, but very visible from the outside. Good luck.

Pros
  • EXCELLENT DAYTIME PRIVACY. Provides great intended privacy during daytime only; the mirror-effect is reversed at night since the interior will be exposed to more light than the exterior. The side with the most light will have the mirror-like appearance.
Cons
  • One-way mirror films may not be legal in certain areas, particularly if they obstruct visibility for emergency responders or violate building codes

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