DIY Solar Window Film
With utility bills on a constant rise and conservation of the environment a growing necessity, it is important to conserve energy. The windows in your home allow heat to transfer between the inside of your home and the outside. Installing solar window tint on the windows of your home will reduce the amount of heat entering your home in the summer and decrease the amount of heat exiting your home in the winter. Although the task of applying solar window tint may seem daunting, the process is straight forward.
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Things You'll Need
- Teaspoon
- Baby shampoo with no conditioner
- Spray bottle
- Distilled water
- Window scraper
- Lint-free rags
- Tape measure
- Solar window film
- Utility knife
- Squeegee
Instructions
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1
Fill the teaspoon with baby shampoo. It is important that the baby shampoo does not contain conditioner, as the conditioner will leave an oily film on the window, which will prevent the solar window film from sticking to the window.
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2
Pour the baby shampoo into the spray bottle. You will need to add one teaspoon of baby shampoo for each quart of water your spray bottle will hold.
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3
Fill the spray bottle with distilled water, secure the spray top to the spray bottle and shake the bottle to mix the distilled water with the baby shampoo.
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4
Clean hard debris from the window with the window scraper. A single-edged razor blade can be substituted for the window scraper, but be careful, as one slip could give you a cut.
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5
Clean the window by spraying the baby shampoo solution on the surface of the window and wiping with a lint-free rag. Do not use a standard rag, as it will deposit lint on the surface of the window and the lint will cause flaws in the final appearance of the installed solar window tint.
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6
Measure the height and width of the window and repeat Step 5, cleaning the surface of the window again.
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7
Cut the solar window film 1 inch larger than the height and width of the window.
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8
Peel one corner of the protective film from the back side of the solar window film and spray the exposed corner with the spray solution.
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9
Spray a liberal amount of the solution to the surface of the window. Make sure the entire surface of the window is wet with the solution.
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10
Hold the wet corner of the solar window film with one hand and pull the rest of the protective film from the back of the window film with the other hand.
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11
Place the solar window film against the wet surface of the window, slide the solar window film until it is centered on the window and spray the surface of the window film with the spray solution to reduce the friction between the window film and the squeegee.
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12
Run the squeegee along the top edge of the solar window film to lock it into position on the window and then make a vertical pass down the center of the solar window film to lock the center of the solar window film to the window.
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13
Work along the solar window film with the squeegee, always working from the center of the window outward.
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14
Cut the excess window film from the surface of the window. Lay the edge of the squeegee where the window meets the window frame and then place the blade of the utility knife against the edge of the squeegee. Drag the squeegee and the utility knife along the window. Repeat the process on all four sides of the window glass.
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15
Pull the excess solar window film from the window and allow the window film to dry for 24 hours. This will allow the spray solution to evaporate and the adhesive of the window film to set to the surface of the window.
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References
- Photo Credit golden windows image by Peter Helin from Fotolia.com
