Review on Black Window Film For Sun Control And Privacy - BDF NA05 N05, 36In X 24Ft by Aaron Richardson

HOW IT LOOKSWe were looking for a tint that was non-reflective from the outside (not mirrored) and dark enough to block the hot afternoon sun on a garden window on the south-west side of our house. This tint is reflective when viewed from the outside, but it's not a silver mirrored finish. It's more like a mirrored bronze finish. It is difficult to see anything through the tint in full sun when looking from the outside. I would say that it provides complete privacy in normal daylight & minimal privacy at night if there is light in the room.When viewed from the inside of the house looking out in natural daylight, it's like wearing a good pair of sunglasses. On rainy days, it looks another shade darker.INSTALLATIONThis is a 2-person job. I've included a photo of the tools we used. You'll need a tiny bottle of baby shampoo & a good spray bottle for the soapy solution. This is as good as any premixed solution you may buy, which is really unnecessary if you make your own. Keeping the glass and the film wet is critical to the success of this project. Our film came with a good utility knife & a palm-size plastic squeegee that turned out to be indispensable! It has a felt edge that slides easily over the surface of the film, and it's the right size for running along the edges and into tight corners.The biggest challenge to hanging the film was separating the clear backing from the film. It's basically invisible and nearly impossible to detect on the back of the film. This backing has to be removed to expose the adhesive, so we bent a tiny corner of the film several times to loosen up the clear backing. The instructions recommend using 2 pieces of tape to separate the backing & the film, but regular Scotch tape will not hold. Just carefully hold the film with your fingertips & work a corner loose. We cut an extra inch all the way around the film when we measured it out. Even if you have to crunch up a corner, there will be enough leftover to trim.Just make sure that the glass is super-clean before you start. Anything that gets stuck to the back of the film is there to stay. The good news is that fine debris (e.g. hair, lint) is not noticeable.I was impressed that the film is thick enough to avoid tearing while you're working it onto the glass and squeegeeing out the bubbles.Helpful Tip: Put down a beach towel in your work area to catch any soapy spray on the floor.HEAT REDUCTIONWe noticed an immediate difference. The room definitely feels cooler. Reducing the heat was our #1 reason for buying this tint. We've added cellular shades to increase the heat reduction in the room.UPDATE: We've had the tint up for about 6 weeks, and we love it. It definitely reduces light & cuts down on heat.