Gast
Hi everyone!
Does anyone have any experience with BlackOut film (black vinyl that ‘sticks’ to the window pane thanks to static electricity, see Catalogus Impexus p. 58) and frosted glass!?
In principle, it’s an elegant solution to the problem of blackout, but I have a tall, narrow window in the bathroom made of opaque ribbed glass and I’m worried that the film won’t really stick there.
Richard
Hello,
I don’t have any experience with BlackOut film, but the solution seems a bit pricey to me. My current solution (which works a treat) is to use self-adhesive Velcro tape (from a DIY store) on the window frame and sew the loop side onto a piece of black fabric. I’ve chosen white for the window side and black for the other side. The whole thing sticks to the window in seconds and seals it reliably.
Best regards,
Richard
Gast
Hi Richard, thanks for the tip. That sounds good. I’d actually thought about using Velcro before, but I wasn’t sure about how well it would seal.
I’ll give it a go.
Bernd
MatthiasStark
Hello,
The method Richard described is far more practical, although fabric alone is often not enough. It should have a high density, and you might need to use a double layer, or you could wedge a panel behind the fabric in the window, which will then block out a large amount of light.
I threw the blackout film into the corner in a fit of rage after about 2–3 minutes, as I nearly had a heart attack <_< !
Nowadays, I only use a few small scraps of it to cover bits and bobs.
Perhaps someone else has had good experiences with it, but it didn’t work for me at all.
Regards
Matthias
Gast
Hello,
I’ve gone to a bit more trouble to blackout my skylight.
Construction (from the outside in): transparent self-adhesive book-binding film – aluminium foil (sun-blocking) – a bit of double-sided adhesive tape – PE film (I had some residue left over) – Velcro tape on the wheels
As a bit of light was still seeping through the Velcro strips, I stuck a narrow strip of fabric to the window side, which I also secured to the reveals with Velcro -> Stockeduster even when the sun is directly overhead.
The reflective aluminium foil also helps prevent the room from heating up.
Caution: If you have large windows, you should check whether there is an alternative to TESA – 1.5m for €9.99!!!
In words >>nine euros and ninety-nine cents<<
Have fun making it
Patrick
Gast
There’s a really good solution on the Paralel Universums forum using Velcro and
light-blocking fabric.
You provide the measurements and receive a ready-made, custom-fit cover,
which is light-blocking when attached to the window frame with Velcro?!
The price is reasonable...
Regards, Stephan
FrankJBeckmann
Hi,
There’s a fairly large skylight in my darkroom. I’ve stuck black Velcro tape to the frame. To block out the light, I use pond liner, onto which I’ve stuck black Velcro fabric. The liner is a few centimetres larger than the window, so that it overlaps slightly on all sides; otherwise, light would still seep through. You can get pond liner, Velcro and loop tape at the DIY store. It’s not exactly cheap there either, but it’s much cheaper than the Tesa version.
Bye
Frank
cfb_de
Namd,
Light was coming through the top edge of my bathroom door. It didn’t bother me when I was enlarging photos (paper can take a bit of a beating…), but it certainly did when I was loading film.
Last summer I finally took the plunge: I attached five Velcro dots to the top of the door frame and bought about 1m² of blackout fabric from the fabric shop for thirty-five quid. I stapled the Velcro counterpart to the fabric using the infamous ‘Bostitch-Bukama’ office stapler.
The stuff is cheap, light-proof and brilliant.
For a window, I’d double the amount – based on a rough safety estimate. That would still cost me about fifteen quid for the fabric, five for the Velcro tape and then about 30 staples from the office stapler for the ‘standard window’ in my flat.
Result: serviceable material. Okay, the made-to-measure stuff offered on the parallel forum is certainly better.
But it’s also more expensive. Just for the precision of the measurements and the hassle-free fitting, it would be worth the money to me. It’s just that I don’t need it at the moment. My bathroom has no window (that’s why I chose the flat) and only a door that’s slightly light-proof in the top fifteen centimetres.
Best regards,
Franz
Gast
Hello,
I wasn’t quite clear in what I said.
The Velcro tape from Tesa (the same price as the one from Praktiker) was that expensive.
I can’t see any other way to attach Velcro all the way round the window.
Besides, for the size, it’s still cheaper than the alternative, and the aluminium foil acts as a thermal barrier.
I must admit, though, that I completely messed up the Velcro tape calculations (I initially only wanted to darken the much smaller window area without the cut-out – but that didn’t work out because of the handle at the top and my wife’s veto -> Velcro tape on the wood).
So if you can find a cheap source for Velcro tape, the whole thing costs under 10 euros (double-sided adhesive tape is the cost driver). Otherwise, given my size (1.4 * 1.2), we’re talking about 45…
CarstenM
Hello,
I got the Velcro tape for the blackout curtains from here:
Velcro Tape Shop
Best regards,
Carsten
Gast
Hello everyone,
That’s been my experience too: blackout film is expensive and rubbish because
1. it doesn’t actually get very dark (pond liner for the garden would be better) ;)
2. it gathers up in the corners of modern windows in such a way that light-transmitting gaps appear (if you cut the film slightly larger than the panes) :huh:
3. or if you cut the film to fit exactly to the millimetre, light comes through the silicone edge :o
4. it attracts an incredible amount of dust :blink:
After six months, I invested the same amount (and paid less for postage, as it wasn’t bulky post) in the PH***TEC blackout solution (a perfectly dimensionally accurate blackout system with rubberised fabric and Velcro strips), and I’m completely happy because:
1. _absolutely_ dark
2. _absolutely_ user-friendly
3. _absolutely_ dust-free
Best regards and happy lighting!
Ralph
