vlinck
Hello everyone,
I’m looking for an (inexpensive) way to darken large windows quickly and effectively. At the moment, I’m using pond liner (which smells awful) and adhesive tape. In the long run, this is too time-consuming and fiddly.
Are there any more suitable films or fabrics, or other methods?
Apparently there’s a company that makes made-to-measure blackout panels which are then attached to the window with Velcro. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name. Does anyone here have any tips?
Many thanks in advance
Volker
rherz
Hi Volker,
If Mirko doesn't have anything here (what a mess :D ), have a look at www.phototec.de. They've got something like that. And at Brenner (www.fotobrenner.de) too.
Best regards,
Robert
Gast
Hello,
The best way to do this is with black PE film and self-adhesive Velcro tape. PE film isn’t usually available in DIY stores; it’s best to look under ‘Films’ in the Yellow Pages. It costs between €0.80 and €1.20 per square metre. This will make every window light-tight. Cut the film to size and attach it to the window frame with Velcro tape. It’s best to use two pieces: one cut to fit the window exactly, and a second, larger piece that covers the entire window like a curtain.
Best regards,
Heinz
Gast
I simply had some sheets of pressed cardboard cut to size at the DIY store, each extending 4 cm beyond the window, which I then stuck to the window frame using black Velcro tape. I put a roller blind over the top just in case, though you don’t really need it – and that’s it, it’s sealed tight. It costs next to nothing; any DIY store will cut it to size for you – only the Velcro tape is a bit pricier. But no fiddling about with plastic sheeting – just pure plug-and-play :angry:
Gast
Hello,
You can find black sheeting at DIY stores and garden centres – just look for ‘pond liner’.
Best regards,
Ferdinand
cfb_de
Hi Ferdinand,
That’s right. But the stuff smells absolutely awful at first. So: buy it in the summer and leave it on the washing line for three days to air out.
If I’ve read that bit right, Volker’s currently using pond liner as well ;-).
Better solution: pop into your favourite fabric shop, buy some black fabric (don’t ask me what it’s called – just the inner lining of a bin liner, really) and sew it into a three-layer bag. Sew some Velcro on, and you’re done. That’s how I seal my bathroom door when I’m winding up films during the day and don’t want to use the changing bag. Alternatively, double-layered silage film from the farm works a treat.
Best regards,
Franz (with a windowless bathroom :-)))
Gast
Hi Franz,
I can't confirm that. Maybe there are different types; I've no idea.
The fabric you're talking about is called – I think – blackout fabric. Strange name, isn't it?
Best wishes
Ferdinand
MirkoBoeddecker
If you don’t need to take it off again, this DCFIX stuff is brilliant. Grannies usually use it to give their lovely solid wood kitchen table a ‘modern’ makeover. You can get a roll for a pound fifty at any DIY store, and it has an adhesive backing. Super-tight. Doesn’t smell either.
Our blackout film can be removed quite easily, but it isn’t 100% light-tight for watching films at midday on the south-facing side – though it acts like a brown lamp when developing photos.
Besides, it’s actually too expensive for this purpose (the original poster asked about lots of large windows, didn’t they??).
Unfortunately, the cost price of the stuff is already very high and it also incurs huge shipping costs (due to its bulk). But it’s worth it for a kitchen window. Precisely because it comes off so easily and leaves absolutely no residue (adhesive marks on the Velcro strips, etc.).
I once saw a luxury version at a photographer’s in Kreuzberg. He had Auto Poles (those things you clamp between the ceiling and the floor to attach the backdrop board) standing around in his studio and had built a wooden spacer with a chipboard panel covered in black fabric at the end. The Auto Poles were simply placed in front of the window – clamped in place – and that was it. Of course, this only works if the Auto Poles are reused for another purpose – otherwise it would probably be too expensive.
Mirko
MirkoBoeddecker
...I forgot to mention: the Super Clamps have an 8mm DIN thread on the back – so you can screw a structure like this onto them and clip it onto the Auto Pole in a jiffy.
Gast
Hello,
Well, I’m still a fan of cling film. As it tends to smell, I simply place it on the outside of the open window and then close it so that the film gets wedged in the frame. This still works a treat with the same cling film after two house moves, as the window size hasn’t changed much.
Best regards,
Stefan
Gast
Hello,
A certain Benno Wundshammer actually suggested in Knaur’s new photo book that we should paint the window black – isn’t that even better than adhesive film?
Or brick up the window – that’s my suggestion!
Seriously though, pond liner is a really good idea, but it should be black and not the thinnest type.
Best regards,
Werner
vlinck
Hi Volker,
If Mirko doesn’t have anything here (what a mess B) ), then have a look at www.phototec.de. They’ve got something like that. And at Brenner (www.fotobrenner.de) too.
Best regards,
Robert
Hi Robert,
It’s been a (very) long time now :lol: , but I’d like to thank you and the others for your help. I got a great custom-made blackout from Phototec that’s attached with Velcro (i.e., the counterpart to the Velcro needs to be stuck onto the window or door frame; it’s available in black and white). Of course, it costs a bit more than foil etc. No sooner had I got the panels (black, with a single coating on one side) than I suddenly had to move house, after which the measurements naturally no longer matched. But Phototec made a new blackout curtain from the old one based on my specifications. I phoned Peter Löfler directly beforehand to sort things out. It worked out well.
(Pond liner simply wasn’t an option for me in the long run, because my darkroom was also my living space. And the stench was unbearable both during and after the work).
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do much darkroom work in recent years. Things will surely improve again in the coming years as my work and family life settle down :) .
Best regards
Volker
StefanCaspari
Hi Volker!
I use black molton for the studio and the lab.
You can get it from Kottenhahn.
Check out my website – it’s sold by the metre.
You can attach Velcro strips to the window frame and around the molton, which will make it light-tight too.
Best regards, Stefan
bohermann
I’ve had very good results with the following method:
1) Get a roll of door seal rubber from a DIY store (Fix-o-Moll or similar). Not the foam type, but one of those grey, self-adhesive strips, and stick it to the frame from the inside, 2 mm away from the glass pane. Top left and top right. Leave about 3 cm free at the bottom of the frame; the rest is fitted flush.
2) Cut a piece of black, heavy craft card – available from stationers – to fit the glass pane exactly.
3) Slide this piece in from below between the glass pane and the rubber strip, opening the window if necessary.
4) Voilà, the window is now light-tight thanks to this labyrinth seal. You can then simply remove the rubber seal. It’s inconspicuous enough.
Regards
Harald
