What to Know Before Tinting Flat Glass

Tinting flat glass comes with many decorative and functional benefits. Flat glass tinting involves residential and commercial window tinting. It can protect you from UV rays, enhance security and privacy, and reduce glare when done right. Knowing what to expect before you apply flat tinting glass is paramount. Luckily, you have come to this post. Here we look at everything you need to know before tinting flat glass. Read on!

Benefits of Tinting Flat Glass in Your Home or Office

There are many reasons why people consider tinting flat glass, including but not limited to enhanced privacy, security, and protection from solar heat and glare. Some window films can make your glass impact-resistant, while other types help retain heat in winter. The best way is to research the different products and features according to your needs and seek help from a reputable window tinting company. That said, he’s a detailed look at the benefits of tinting flat glass.

Solar Protection

One of the benefits of flat glass tinting is that it helps block ultraviolet rays that can harm your furnishings, fabrics, and electronics. These ultraviolet rays also pose a significant danger to your health. Depending on the window tint you choose, flat window tinting can provide up to 99% protection from ultraviolet rays. Ideally, tinting your home or office windows protects your carpet, electronics, and furnishings from fading and breakage from prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays.

Enhanced Privacy

One of the primary reasons people invest in flat glass tinting is privacy and security. As with cars, adding tint to your flat windows prevents people from peeping into your home or office.

People with flawed characters usually look through windows to check if someone is inside or if there are any valuables they can steal. Luckily, with tinted windows, they won’t be able to see inside as the light hitting the glass will bounce back, making it difficult for them to see inside.

This will not only help enhance your privacy but also prevent burglary. Another critical thing to know about privacy film is that it can serve a decorative purpose—it comes in different colors and patterns. Some options to consider include stained glass, etched patterns, and opaque frosted. You can also opt for clear films if you want to boost the security of the glass without aesthetic changes.

Security

Alongside solar protection and privacy, tinting flat windows can add an extra layer of security to you and your property—from intruders to robbers to neighbor’s children throwing items on your glass to natural calamities, including fires, storms, and earthquakes.

Tint makes your flat glass stronger and keeps it intact when force is applied to it. For instance, the tint will prevent the glass from shattering during a natural calamity, thus preventing chances of injuries. In the same way, tinting your windows makes it difficult for burglars or robbers to gain entry into your property. Yes, robbers will need extra effort to break tinted glass, which will give you more time to respond. This increases their chances of getting caught, or they just give up after realizing it’s harder than they thought.

Reduces Glare

Using computers or watching TV near windows on sunny mornings or afternoons (depending on the sun’s direction) can be impossible due to sun glare. Luckily, you can avoid this unnecessary strain by installing tint film on your flat glass.

While you may think that you can prevent the sunlight from getting into your house by having curtains and blinds, this could bring darkness, prompting you to use artificial lighting. In turn, this will mean more power bills. The best thing about flat tinted glass is that it reduces the sun’s glare while allowing natural light into your room.

Curb Appeal

Alongside sun glare protection, tinting flat windows will make your house more noticeable and attractive. Adding tint to your flat windows is a simple way to increase your home’s value. After all, other ways to add value to your home, like changing the paint or structural remodeling, will require a lot of money. Planning to resell your home? Consider tinting your flat windows to create an aesthetic appeal that lasts for many years.

Saves Money

Last but not least, installing the right tint in your flat glass will help save money on energy bills. It does this by rejecting the sun’s heat during the summer and keeping the heat inside during colder months. This reduces the need to use your air conditioner to achieve indoor comfort, which reduces the cost of utility bills.

Cons of Installing Tinting in Flat Glass

Nothing is 100% perfect, and flat glass tints are not exceptional. That said, here are the downsides of flat glass tinting:

Possible Warranty Restrictions

Before tinting your flat windows, determine whether installing window tint will interfere with your warranty. Many manufacturers won’t cover damages if windows are modified or if the damage to the glass is due to the tint applied.

Types of Flat Glass Tint

Flat window film comes into two main categories: adhesive and non-adhesive. Consider the pros and cons of each when choosing the best tint for your project.

Adhesive

This thin 2 mm polyester film holds strongly to the glass. It’s ideal for a permanent, protective solution and is more affordable than cling film. However, it is hard to install and more difficult to remove, meaning it cannot be reused.

Non-adhesive cling

This is a thicker vinyl film (about 8mm). Unlike the adhesive one, it is easy to install and remove. Non-adhesive film can be reused, although it is less transparent than adhesive films.

Other Flat Window Tint Film Subcategories

These additional options come in both adhesive and cling varieties. The only exception is security films, which always fall in the adhesive category.

Solar Films

As stated earlier, one benefit of flat glass tints is protecting against glare and harmful ultraviolet rays. Well, solar film tint is responsible for this. Solar film can block up to 99% of UV rays and about 80% of solar heat, reducing glare and cooling costs significantly.

The solar film comes in different types, including:

• Ceramic
• Neutral
• Dual-reflective
• Spectrally-selective
• Among others

Decorative Film

Decorative films add aesthetics to your current home. They help upscale the look of your current windows and work well on frosted glass, stained glass, and textured glass. But the decorative film benefits don’t end there—they also provide privacy due to their frosted or patterned nature. Depending on your needs, you can choose any of these decorative films:

• Color frost
• Matte frost
• Pattern
• Specialty
• Gradient
• Textile
• Nature

Privacy Film

Privacy films mainly prevent viewing from the outside. It may also reduce outside views and incoming natural light. Types of privacy films include:

• Frosted
• Reflective
• Colored
• Cloaking

Safety and Security Films

This type of flat glass tint film will come in handy if you need extra security and safety for your home or office. Security tint film makes your glass shatter-resistant to reduce the chances of your window shattering when force is applied to it. In addition, safety films protect from heat and harmful UV rays.

When Not to Apply Tint on Flat Glass

Window tinting installation is a significant investment. Due diligence is necessary before applying tint on flat glass. However, don’t apply window film under these circumstances:

• Your clear glass is thicker than ⅜ inch
• The single-pane window exceeds 100 square feet
• Applying window tint in direct sunlight as it causes the application solution to evaporate
• Applying tint when the outside temperature is below 40°F to prevent solution freeze

As a rule of thumb, the window tint film should only be installed when all the work in the building is complete. This should be the case whether installing in a new or renovated building to prevent potential damage during the construction and trapping of dust and particles like carpet fibers and wood dust between the glass and the film.

How to Choose Flat Window Tint Film

With the different types of flat glass tints, choosing the right one can be a challenge, especially if it’s your first time installing window film. Among other things, you need to consider how compatible the window tint is with your flat glass. Window tints for homes are often designed for basic flat glass or annealed glass. If you’re unsure which tint film is suitable for your windows, it’s best to talk to tint professionals in your area. That said, these tips will help you choose the right tint style for your windows:

• Opt for security window tint film if your house is located in areas that experience heavy winds from hurricanes or thunderstorms
• Install solar film if you have large windows that expose your furnishings, furniture, and upholstery to direct sunlight to prevent discoloring and fading
• Use decorative privacy film to increase your home’s appeal
• Invest in a static cling window if you rent your space or redecorate often

The flat glass tint you choose will determine the results you get. To be safer than sorry, work with a reputable window film company to advise on the process. Scorpion prides itself on many years of experience in the residential and commercial window tinting world and automotive tinting. Contact us today, and our professional tint installers will answer all the questions regarding flat glass window tinting and help with the installation.