Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
I’ve got a window that I’d like to frost and it appears there are a couple ways to go about this (spray or a film). Has anyone done this and what’s recommended?
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I usually use Gila window film that sticks on (not cling) and I've literally installed like hundreds of feet worth of the stuff saving my business thousands of dollars in installation costs (I think it was like $50-100 a window installation cost and they charge a margin on the film). Life skills wise, I'd rate it a "do our own oil change" level of difficulty. This same skill can be used to install window tint in cars, although I haven't attempted this yet.
Gila's's rice paper one looks nice and it's one I've installed before, but maybe you have a different "frost" look in mind. IMO it's cost effective and relatively simple to do (although it does take a little extra time to do it nice and proper if you're a stickler for detail). I think it's around $25-35 for a decent amount depending on length and you can get it at Lowes, Home Depot etc. and sign up for their newsletter to save $10 on it if you've never done that before.
The trick is to basically clean the window, then use a spray bottle with water and baby shampoo solution in it and soak the window (or use windex, or Gila window application liquid). You spray both sides generously, squeegee the liquid to the side so there's no air bubbles trapped between the film and window, then use a sharp utility knife (I recommend Olfa) to trim the film perfectly to the shape of the window. That way it's a perfect fit to the window with no bubbles.
The reason you want to spray so much stuff on the window is to create a layer of liquid that doesn't allow the glue on the film to stick to the window. You spray on both sides so you reduce the risk you scratch the film when you push out the air bubbles. Once in position, the sun evaporates the water and the film will stay properly in position due to the glue.
One of my early mistakes was not realizing that a good application of window film is based more on being trimmed to perfection and not applied to perfection. This meant I re-positioned the film several times thinking it would look better rather than just focusing on no bubbles and trimming it to perfection. The other mistake was not enough liquid on the window and the film can stick before I push out all the bubbles. I usually will have to mop up a bit of liquid on the floor after I'm done applying the film.
You might want to budget in wasting a single sheet of film for "educational purposes" ($20-30 worth of film), but once you've done it right once, it's pretty straight forward. I watched the Gila application video and just followed it. By the 3rd film application attempt, I was pretty happy with how well it looked and I considered it a learned skill at that point.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB
There's a video in the product link above that's around 8 mins, but explains how to install the film. IMO I would avoid static cling stuff and always go with adhesive.