Different Film Technologies

These film contain no metals and are considered to be non reflective. They provide some glare and fade control, along with some element of heat control by way of solar absorption. Absorption of heat is far less effective than reflectance. These films are highly prone to losing their colour by way of fading, or turning purple, however they are effective at blocking UV rays. This is considered in the industry as more of an entry level film purely installed for looks without longevity. The most economical film for the manufacturers’ to produce. Class One Window Tinting hasn’t offered these products for many years

Metallising (also referred to as vacuum coating) allows a metal (usually aluminium or a composite of alloys) to be applied as a layer or coating to a clear polyester film, before being laminated with another polyester layer. Since this process can be accurately controlled, films can be made with varying levels of light transmittance. They still however need to add a dye, or pigment to the adhesive to reduce any sheen or reflectivity, making them also susceptible to fading over time. The added metal particles embedded into to the polyester help to reflect more heat away. The main drawback to a metallised film is the tendency to interfere with electronic devices. This is a typical construction of our most popular film choice, our Jet Black range and has proven to be a bullet proof choice for our customers over the last 18 years.

The sputtering process requires a large vacuum chamber to be filled with an inert gas as well as electrical energy. This energy creates a negative charge in the gas molecules which are allowed to move around freely within the low pressure vacuum of the chamber at high velocity. The metal that is to be applied to the polyester film, (or cathode) is struck by these particles releasing atoms of the metal also at high velocity these eventually strike the film substrate creating a thin layer of metallic oxide. Sputtered films have excellent solar control properties, however aren’t very popular due to their metallic sheen.

These films go through the same metal deposition process known as sputtering, but are then put through a secondary de-metallisation process, creating a ‘metal-oxide’ or ceramic based material. The concept behind this technology was to retain most of the heat rejection properties found in sputtered metal films, without the electromagnetic interference that causes a loss of radio and other signal strengths. Ceramic based films are considered to be the highest quality films available and are typically the most expensive. This is the typical film construction used by Class One Window Tinting for our top of the range product.

Automotive Films use a Pressure Sensitive (PS) adhesive system that allows it to bond correctly on curved automotive glass. This adhesive will dry clear and completely distortion free when installed correctly. The adhesive is applied to the back of the film during the manufacturing process, and when applied by the technician, little more than a correct mix of mounting solution and filtered water is required. This allows installation without risk of damage to vehicle interior trims, or carpets. It will take a period of time for the films to cure after installation and we will explain this thoroughly upon completion of your install.