At first I thought it might be paint...

August 21, 2007 10:57 PM

I was in an office today where a window had been converted into a whiteboard by installing a translucent white film on the outside of the glass. Does anyone know what to ask for to get something like this? Bonus points if you can point to a supplier in Western Australia.
posted by krisjohn to Work & Money (9 answers total)

No leads on the paint, but I found a neat reference on DIY whiteboard surfaces.
posted by Myself at 11:17 PM on August 21, 2007

I have seen these in Office Works in Sydney, I think, but can't track them down on the web site.
They were on KK's cool tools blog
posted by bystander at 11:37 PM on August 21, 2007

And here is an Australian local supplier that includes product codes you could use with your usual stationery guys.
posted by bystander at 11:47 PM on August 21, 2007

Response by poster: Sorry, I wasn't clear. The white film is on the outside of the window. You write on the existing glass.
posted by krisjohn at 12:14 AM on August 22, 2007

It sounds just like a normal opaque white window tint. Was it an internal window? Someone like Tint-a-car should be able to help.
posted by teststrip at 12:26 AM on August 22, 2007

In the USA, Home Depot calls what you want Artscape Decorative Window Film. I have seen it in plain white in the store but not on the website. Sorry I can't help you with an Aussie supplier, but maybe the product name will get you started.
posted by acorncup at 6:37 AM on August 22, 2007

You can just write on glass with whiteboard markers. Just stick something white on the other side (in my apartment, we frosted some of our windows with spray-frosting stuff on the outside and write on them on the inside with so they glow nicely and serve as whiteboards).

Also, they make a two-part whiteboard epoxy paint that will turn any surface into a whiteboard. It's kind of expensive ($20/qt), but it works well. They sell it at every large hardware store here in the states.
posted by bradbane at 10:47 AM on August 22, 2007

Ask someone at the company you visited?
posted by Joleta at 2:25 PM on August 22, 2007

I hope I'm not being flippant here (I don't mean to be), or daft (ditto), but what about just taping (or spray-mounting) some white paper to the glass?
Is the point that you still want to be able to see out the window, or allow light in? If so, then you could try a sheet of vellum.
Ah, now, maybe I get it. It's an _outside_ window. It'll rain. Gotcha. Sorry...
posted by segatakai at 12:35 AM on August 23, 2007