Can I put DIY window film on bevelled glass?

October 22, 2023 9:57 AM

I have french doors with bevelled glass panes. I am thinking about adding window film -- the decorative kind for privacy/light management, not the kind for exterior insulation. Will this work or will it be constantly peeling and looking crappy?

Yes, I'm just leaning in to my most-frequent-asker status. I did google this but just keep finding either A) Window film designed to look like bevelled glass, or B) Professional installers using adhesive to install the insulating-kind of film to exterior-facing windows (doors and sidelights, I assume?)

posted by If only I had a penguin... to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. It's possible, but there's too many failure points where it won't look "right" if you don't get it absolutely dead-on.
1) the size required for the film will be very slightly larger than the two-dimensional size of the pane of glass because the bevel means that the last little bit on every edge will be covering the hypotenuse of a triangle rather than a flat dimension.
2) you'll have miter with a cut line at every corner of the pane, or you'll have a small fold in the film at every corner. Whether you cut that miter before you try putting the film on the glass (extreme precision in cutting and applying the film required!) or after, it seems like it's going to look sort janky either way.
3) if you only cover the flat part of the pane and leave the bevels clear, that might end up looking odd, and you'll still need extreme precision in cutting and applying the film.
posted by LionIndex at 10:07 AM on October 22, 2023

They make spray-applied films that would handle the bevels, but they’re not super-durable and it can be tricky to get even coverage (you’ll probably need multiple coats).

Me? I’d probably find a cheap piece of beveled glass and do some tests, starting with film and then trying a high grade spray. The glass should be immaculate before doing film or spray.
posted by aramaic at 10:24 AM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

If possible , remove the pane from the frame.
Then a hair dryer could help smooth the bevel fold with stretch. Like how cars are wrapped. all edges hidden.
posted by hortense at 10:35 AM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've used that kind of window film quite a bit and I'm pretty sure it won't work, I'm afraid. The film is thick enough that it would definitely show the creases, and although you can butt two pieces up against one another the seam is always visible.
posted by In Your Shell Like at 10:54 AM on October 22, 2023

Yes, decorative window film is happiest clinging to a flat glass surface.

If the beveling is only at each edge of the glass pane, I think treating this as separate surfaces might work. (If you could post a link to your doors or a similar style, that might help with ideas and techniques?) Narrow strips of film for each bevel at top, sides, and bottom of each door's glass panel; rectangular piece of film for the main section. But this configuration limits pattern options, and application is fiddly as all get out as any seam gaps are blatant.

Depending on how much light, privacy, permanency you'd like to achieve:

- Window spray film (Rustoleum semi-transparent example). All over, or on beveled edges alone with cling film on rest of door.
- Mirror spray film, with another Rustoleum example; one reviewer applied it to the exterior of her glass door, to magnify her garden.
- Glass etching. On beveled glass to create a border (a kit example, etchworld.com, a cream and brush kit; you'd work in small sections, stenciling in stages), with film on rest of door; caveat.
- Sticker overlay (ChezMax stained-glass door example) with additional anchoring at bevel corners.
- Shades for French doors (Hunter Douglas, , blinds.com, blindsgalore examples ) can operate top-down.
- An inexpensive crafty French-door project for filtering light and adding privacy, to customize for your particular doors.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:53 PM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

If the glass is tempered, I’d double the negatives, because in my experience tempered glass with any kind of adhesive plastic coating has a markedly increased possibility of spontaneously shattering.

But I’ve never heard or seen anyone else saying this, and I’d be very interested in hearing others' experiences
posted by jamjam at 1:54 PM on October 22, 2023

That might be a good point - at least in the US, glass in a door is required to be tempered, and has been for some time. The door in question may be old enough to dodge that requirement.

I've had window manufacturers advise against certain window sizes, maybe with adding tint (?) because of thermal shock, where part of the glass wants to expand more than another part due to differences in temperature. I'm not sure what all makes that happen to the degree where it was dangerous, but I think we were talking full-door glass panes with tinted film (i.e. it's darker and absorbs more heat) where the bottom of the glass would get direct sunlight while the top would be shaded.
posted by LionIndex at 2:51 PM on October 22, 2023

Response by poster: I seriously doubt the glass is tempered. The doors are from 2010, but I'm not in the U.S.

But thermal shock is the reason I don't put film on my exterior windows. It never occurred to me this could be a problem with interiror windows. But ok, it looks like there are multiple potential problems here, so I guess it's a no-go.

The doors are bifold, so the curtains would be a real PITA, involving two curtains rod sets etc. on each door. I don't really want anything permanent.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:01 PM on October 22, 2023

It never occurred to me this could be a problem with interiror windows.

It probably wouldn't be. Doesn't look like their location was noted in the original question, so we were just making assumptions.
posted by LionIndex at 3:13 PM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Could you live with the beveled edges being left unwrapped with the privacy film? The bevel does provide definite distortion and such a small area to peer through which would make identification difficult. The film would look much neater, too, if you confined it to the flat area of the door.

I never gave a thought to thermal shock, and I find it hard to imagine it would be a problem. I applied plastic printed stencils to the inside of my (plain) untempered glass transom years ago to mimic period-painted gold address numbers They have not budged, wrinkled, sagged or shown any wear in over 20 years. And I do gently wash then about once a year when I wash the glass.
posted by citygirl at 4:57 PM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I did this with the window of my inner front door. It was pretty easy to do, but I left the beveled edges (about an inch all around) alone. it just looks like it's a piece of frosted glass with clear beveled edges.
posted by newpotato at 5:14 PM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

How does this sound? If you don't love the results, it's easy to undo, and it doesn't call for a big investment of either time or money (my favourite kind of project!) I think I'd still do just the flats, as suggested above.
posted by kate4914 at 7:59 PM on October 22, 2023

I've never done it, but would this process with fabric be better for bevels than plastic film? Fabric seems like it would be a lot more flexible and able to stretch over the bevel than a stiff plastic would.
posted by little king trashmouth at 6:27 AM on October 23, 2023

Usually the bevel is only on one side of the glass, which means you can put the film on the other side.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:49 PM on October 23, 2023

I just saw someone on Insta use this Gallery Glass gel, which is removeable. The crystal clear kind might work?
posted by mochapickle at 3:31 PM on November 3, 2023 [2 favorites]