Window films

Kory Berrett <kory [at] juno__com> writes

>I would be interested in hearing from anyone regarding their
>experience with window film treatments where transparent films to
>remove UV and/or tinted films that reduce light have been applied
>directly to the glass.

In my previous job at English Heritage, we used both UV-absorbing
films and neutral-density films on historic glass with great
success.  While there may have been difficulties in the past with
adhering and removing early versions of these films, we have found
the currently available ones easy to apply and remove.  It is
important to choose a contractor who has experience in working in
historic houses with historic glass as they will use a greater
degree of care and not require as much supervision as contractors
without this experience.  We found that we could use neutral density
film to reduce the amount of visible light by over 50% without
visitors noticing and without altering the appearance of the windows
from outside.  If you do this, you need to make sure that all the
windows in a room are treated, and that visitors cannot see
untreated windows in another room.  Without this external reference
they cannot tell that the light level has been reduced.

Dr Barry Knight
Head of Conservation Research
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB
+44 20 7412 7229
Fax: +44 20 7412 7658


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:14
                 Distributed: Sunday, September 5, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-18-14-005
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