Sometimes people ask us for special deals. Let's face it, paying less for something is attractive.
At present, we have a deal on "Treat Me", which is very good for the people taking it up and not so good for us. It is the first time we have done this and depending on how it goes, we may do something similar again in the future.

As with any deal, there are conditions. Basically, the offer only pays for the materials at best. And this is where you have to be careful! Our promise is to give you the same attention as any other customer. This means you get the same high quality materials and workmanship. In order to minimise our costs, we may have to do the work for you, when we are doing other jobs in your area. This means that you may have to wait a little.

We are aware of deals offered by other people (usually for car tinting) where you pay a very low price and get the cheapest tint. When booking the car in, they give you the opportunity to upgrade to a better quality, and that's where they get you!

A word on quality: Cheap films are made of dyed polyester and turn purple within a very short time in NZ. Metallised film is much more colour stable and has far better heat rejection properties. Usual warranties are 10-years.

Our normal pricing structure is industry standard, but if you get another quote on similar quality window film for a lower price, we are prepared to review our quote. We do believe in win-win situations.

We look forward hearing from you.

Are you losing heat through your wooden framed old windows?
As recommended by EECA and other agencies, here is a product that will give you very good heat retention without the huge costs associated with double glazing.
Very simple to install, 1 roll is 1.5m wide and 3m long and will cover a couple of bedroom windows on average. The kit includes the film, with one double sided tape on one side already. 1 roll of double sided tape to apply to the other 3 sides of the frame.

All you need is a pair of scissors and a hair dryer to get rid of the wrinkles.
The cost is $33.50 per roll from us.

I went to a home on Saturday where they were suffering from too much heat. Upon inspection, the glass turned out to be double glazed units, around 15 years old, imported from Canada. This made me look a lot closer and one unit in particular showed signs of seal failure.
Seal failure is when air leaks into the space between the two panes of glass. This one unit did not have the silver spacers with the little air holes, but just black silicon seals. Normally, the holes hide a desiccant which absorbs moisture and the reason behind this is to absorb any moisture that is either present at the time of manufacture or leaks over time in a substandard unit. Once the desiccant is saturated, your glass starts to develop moisture and eventually condensation.
The glazing industry tends to invalidate any claim where window film has been installed. In the USA, window film manufacturers offer to  take over the Insulated Glass Unit (IGU) warranties to reassure the customers that tinting the glass will not become a risk to their units.
Normally, a well constructed IGU with a well chosen film will not fail within the warranty period. What the film can do, is accentuate an existing flaw and speed up the rate of failure. In effect, it will highlight a defect in the IGU. It's not the film causing t he problem.
Anyway, in this case, the failure was obvious, before any window film was installed. I advised the owners to have the glass changed, before any tinting was getting done.
With an increasing sophistication in glass, it is vital to deal with someone who is well versed in this topic to avoid nasty surprises down the track.

We use a lot frosted film and have done so for many years. In the early days, a key factor was the pricing. So we went with a product easy to use and cost effective.
After a couple of years, we started getting phone calls with complaints of the frosting shrinking from the edges. Not the sort of calls we wanted.
What went wrong?

There are 2 types of frosted vinyl on the market, Calendered and Cast, and here are the differences:
Calendered vinyl can be compared to a piece of pastry getting rolled out. It wants to shrink back to its original shape.
Cast vinyl is like chocolate, once melted, you spread it out and it sets. No memory and no shrinkage.
The picture above shows how much the film has shrunk away from the edges. If you like this look, great! For your enjoyment, the clear border is now nice and sticky and can act as a fly trap. Sometimes you even get some irregular wrinkles in the film and of course, it shrinks unevenly too!

Consequently, we have stopped using pastry and use chocolate instead. So, you can buy frosted film from hardware shops or the internet and find that you have bought pastry. Or you may pay a little more and enjoy the chocolate from us. And here is another bonus: Our chocolate does not make you fat!

If you are looking around for the best deal, ask them, if it's calendered or cast vinyl. And don't be surprised, if they don't know what you're talking about.......

See the picture on the left? The glass has been tinted, using a conventional, metallised film. You will notice the set on the left is "smokey", whilst the set on the right is clearer to see through. This phenomenon occurs when the sun is striking the glass at a low angle, usually more in winter than in summer. We call it "Refraction" and it generally is more visible where a dark background is present. You don't need window film to get this, dirty windows or some factory-tinted glass can give the same result.
We have found that using Nano-Ceramic Window Films will eliminate, or at least considerably reduce this problem.

We replaced the conventional film on the left with a Ceramic Window Film. You can see the difference.
Apart from the clarity, there are some other advantages with ceramic film.

In coastal areas, where you have salt-spray drifting inland, conventional window film is prone to corrosion over time. This is evident in loss of colour and consequent loss of effectiveness, not to mention the appearance. Ceramics are stable and cannot corrode.

Ceramic film reduces heat more effectively than metallised films and is only matched by the most mirrored conventional films.

Everybody in New Zealand is aware of the damage UV does, not just to people (Melanoma), but also to furniture and furnishings. Consequently, people ask for a UV film to prevent fading. There are a number of products on the market that block UV and not all of them are window film.
Here are some "facts" and "myths" about fading:
Myth: If you block UV, things will not fade any more.
Fact: No product will stop fading. UV blockers (present is window film and other applications) will reduce fading to some degree.
Myth: Only UV is responsible for fading.
Fact: UV is only one component of fading. Other major contributing factors are heat and light. Some fading is caused by other environmental factors, but generally only a small contribution.
Myth: Fade reduction can be given as a percentage.
Fact: Every material or colour is affected in different ways, so a fade reduction of 85% may be possible in one particular fabric, of a specific colour. A different material or colour will give a different result. For example, dark leather and fabrics discolour more than light colours. The question is: A given percentage of fade reduction is based on what?

We feel, a rating system of stars, or "good, better, best" is more appropriate than giving products a specific %. Having said this, any product on the market only blocking UV can be rated "good" only, no more. In order to get "better", or "best" results, the heat and light issues must be addressed. Even then, fading will still occur, but at a much slower rate.

Did a job today in a "Granny Flat" using SV30. (picture not of the flat, but SV30). The brief was to reduce the heat and reduce glare. This is a common request, because as we age, we become more sensitive to light in particular.
The customer was initially worried that the unit would become too dark, but once the first set of windows was complete, she was delighted with the result. The bonus with this film is the increase in privacy. Just about impossible to see in now.
SV30 is fairly reflective, but not a mirror.

It is unusual to have 3 jobs in one day, using the same film type.
One thing the customers had in common, was the need to increase privacy in their home. We achieved this by using SV30. This film is excellent in a number of ways: 

1. It's not too dark in most cases.
   
2. It's not too reflective. Although shiny, it's not a mirror. This reduced the risk of birds flying into the glass and hurting themselves.
   
3. It has a high heat rejection, making a room so much cooler in summer. Winter room temperatures are not affected, although some people feel the rooms being warmer.
4. The film offers excellent fade protection by eliminating the UV and reducing the damage caused by light & heat.

Since then I have returned to one customer for more work, using SV30 again. Now, this is not unusual.

If you are on bore water, you know how deposits can happen very quickly. Trying to clean showers is a mission and none of these "wonder" products promoted on TV do actually work, do they?
After being introduced to "Restorex" we have become true advocates of this product. It is amazing, how it restores water stained glass to its former glory. Using it on stainless steel, porcelain wash basins, car wheels puts  most other cleaners to shame.
We sell Restorex in 500ml bottles, and have special cleaning pads to go with it too. Just send us an email for more info.