Exterior plastic window film for solar heat control

[Jim Cate]

Do the films block UV as well as IR? If so, applying to the exterior sounds good in that it would extend the life of the acrylic plastic. I would be interested in that application for portlight lenses... small, flat and simple to apply (?).

Jim

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Do the films block UV as well as IR? If so, applying to the exterior sounds good in that it would extend the life of the acrylic plastic. I would be interested in that application for portlight lenses... small, flat and simple to apply (?).

Jim

yes. The films have both UV and IR rejection.

in my opinion it is better to get UV protected polycarbonate to begin with. That way it will last and be a structurally sound part of the window. Some of mine has already done almost 8 years in the hot Florida sun. No problems from UV. Plenty of problems from people scratching it and what not.

for some reason, many of the films that are used for plastic which moves a lot and tends to off gas apparently, are just set in place with water. On the inside. I think that allows them to breathe a little bit and prevents them from bubbling. I haven’t looked at this in a couple of years so I’m a little fuzzy on that. Even the films for large glass panes and houses are interior as well. The stuff isn’t very expensive. So having the ones that come right off on the interior does make some sense. If you damage it somehow, you can just peel it off and put a new piece on.

But I understand wanting to protect the plastic window material from the outside. That would be cool.

[Enyar]

Originally Posted by Chotu

yes. The films have both UV and IR rejection.

in my opinion it is better to get UV protected polycarbonate to begin with. That way it will last and be a structurally sound part of the window. Some of mine has already done almost 8 years in the hot Florida sun. No problems from UV. Plenty of problems from people scratching it and what not.

for some reason, many of the films that are used for plastic which moves a lot and tends to off gas apparently, are just set in place with water. On the inside. I think that allows them to breathe a little bit and prevents them from bubbling. I haven’t looked at this in a couple of years so I’m a little fuzzy on that. Even the films for large glass panes and houses are interior as well. The stuff isn’t very expensive. So having the ones that come right off on the interior does make some sense. If you damage it somehow, you can just peel it off and put a new piece on.

But I understand wanting to protect the plastic window material from the outside. That would be cool.

My concern with applying to the interior would be accelerating crazing (because of the light passing through, then reflecting off the tint and passing through a second time) vs no tint (just passing through) or exterior tint (minimizing pass through). Agreed the best solution would be tinted acrylic but that's a whole 'nother project compared to applying tint to windows that are already there.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Enyar

My concern with applying to the interior would be accelerating crazing (because of the light passing through, then reflecting off the tint and passing through a second time) vs no tint (just passing through) or exterior tint (minimizing pass through). Agreed the best solution would be tinted acrylic but that's a whole 'nother project compared to applying tint to windows that are already there.

get UV protected or a carbonate or acrylic.

Problem solved

[Cpt Mark]

I too am having the same problem. Stupid 1/2" thick plastic windows with a compound curve wraparound. I am about to start the rebuild of the boat design to eliminate that compound curve entirely.

The issue I have is finding acrylic or poly in 1/2". 3/8" all day long. I am very tempted to go with the 3/8" at this point. My cat rides on top of the waves not through them. I am however leaving for circumavigation this summer.

Thoughts?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

I too am having the same problem. Stupid 1/2" thick plastic windows with a compound curve wraparound. I am about to start the rebuild of the boat design to eliminate that compound curve entirely.

The issue I have is finding acrylic or poly in 1/2". 3/8" all day long. I am very tempted to go with the 3/8" at this point. My cat rides on top of the waves not through them. I am however leaving for circumavigation this summer.

Thoughts?

you can go lighter/less thick with polycarbonate. It has better impact properties.

Mine are 1/4" polycarbonate. I will decide the ultimate outcome with them on the next replacement. And that will be after I have done a lot of sailing with the boat.

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by Chotu

you can go lighter/less thick with polycarbonate. It has better impact properties.

Mine are 1/4" polycarbonate. I will decide the ultimate outcome with them on the next replacement. And that will be after I have done a lot of sailing with the boat.

Chotu,

Your's came with 1/4" or was specced at 1/4"? Been following your threads forever btw. Thanks.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

Chotu,

Your's came with 1/4" or was specced at 1/4"? Been following your threads forever btw. Thanks.

I'm honored you have read along. Thanks.

Came with? Lol. If you've been following, my boat came as pallets of foam, pallets of rolls of fiberglass and 55 gallon drums of epoxy.

The sides were specced at 1/4" polycarbonate. The fronts were 3/8" polycarbonate.


3/8" polycarbonate should be adequate for you.

I went 1/4" all the way around. probably will need to replace the windows before I have enough freedom to go cruising the world anyway. So I can change it then if I want. But I will have already had plenty of offshore trips in this boat by that time.

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I'm honored you have read along. Thanks.

Came with? Lol. If you've been following, my boat came as pallets of foam, pallets of rolls of fiberglass and 55 gallon drums of epoxy.

The sides were specced at 1/4" polycarbonate. The fronts were 3/8" polycarbonate.


3/8" polycarbonate should be adequate for you.

I went 1/4" all the way around. probably will need to replace the windows before I have enough freedom to go cruising the world anyway. So I can change it then if I want. But I will have already had plenty of offshore trips in this boat by that time.

Yeah. I though you built from scratch . You're the MAN!!! That takes a ridiculous amount of commitment and throw in your epoxy challenge. I now wear a full face respirator because of your postings. Been working on boats for over 20 years....

Thanks for your thoughts on window thickness. I should have mentioned jic these were the front. I'm going to make the front 4 windows into separate windows. Make the side window into 1 window. The compound curve will become foam and glass and paint.

[Enyar]

Originally Posted by Chotu

get UV protected or a carbonate or acrylic.

Problem solved

Assuming I want to replace all windows sure but that's a big job.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

I too am having the same problem. Stupid 1/2" thick plastic windows with a compound curve wraparound. I am about to start the rebuild of the boat design to eliminate that compound curve entirely.

The issue I have is finding acrylic or poly in 1/2". 3/8" all day long. I am very tempted to go with the 3/8" at this point. My cat rides on top of the waves not through them. I am however leaving for circumavigation this summer.

Thoughts?

Polycarbonate bends a lot more than acrylic and is difficult to seal... It is why all deck hatches are acrylic unless they have support bars spanning the opening.

The specs for the glazing are determined by the opening size. You may be able to locate the ISO calculations online to see how far off 3/8" would be from your recommended glazing thickness.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

Yeah. I though you built from scratch . You're the MAN!!! That takes a ridiculous amount of commitment and throw in your epoxy challenge. I now wear a full face respirator because of your postings. Been working on boats for over 20 years....

Thanks for your thoughts on window thickness. I should have mentioned jic these were the front. I'm going to make the front 4 windows into separate windows. Make the side window into 1 window. The compound curve will become foam and glass and paint.

That’s awesome! I’m really glad to hear that you are using good protective equipment. At least my posts helped somebody. May you never have to go through everything that I went through healthwise. I hope no one ever has to.

Epoxy is weird stuff. Smells benign. But it’s giving off a lot that you don’t really notice. I feel like the styrene in the esters is actually a good thing because it makes you think about it.

The smaller the window the less you have to worry about the thickness. So it’s really good that you are breaking it up into multiple windows in the front.

[Enyar]

Off topic but what masks do you like to use when laying epoxy?