From the article you will learn:
In order for profiles plastic windows are not damaged or dirty during delivery to the installation site, as well as during installation work, they are covered with a special film. The protective material has an adhesive backing and can be easily removed after installation.
Manufacturers recommend not to delay removing the film coating and not to leave it on the frame longer than for 10 days after placing the window on permanent place. In principle, if you violate the established deadline slightly and proceed to remove the protection through 30-60 days, then most likely there will not be any special difficulties. Removing the film after this period may cause unexpected difficulties, and cleaning the frames will require considerable effort.
The reason for the super-strong “adhesion” of the film to the surface of the frames is simple:
The film consists of two layers, the bottom of which has glue applied. This layer is quite thin and unstable; it quickly collapses under the influence of high temperatures and sunlight. The resulting substance is tightly glued to the frames, and when you try to tear off the film, only the outer (protective) layer is separated from the structure.
There are several circumstances that speed up the process of durable bonding of materials:
Read also: How to open a plastic window from the outside
Reading time: 1 minute
Owners of plastic windows often do not know how to wash plastic window film. Indeed, this is not a simple matter. The film comes off poorly, traces of glue remain on the frame, and many owners are afraid to use more “radical” measures (solvents, scrapers). It is important to get rid of traces of film and preserve aesthetic appearance frames
There are several simple secrets How to safely and effectively remove the protective coating on plastic windows.
The price of tools and materials for film removal is low. However, it is better to peel off the protective tape from window frames immediately after installing double-glazed windows, rather than spending a lot of time on it in the future.
The fact is that the protective shell consists of two layers. The bottom layer with glue is thinner. When exposed to sunlight and heat, the layer dissolves and is absorbed into the plastic. This is why simply peeling off the film from top to bottom is not successful. It will remain in your hands upper layer, and the glue will still stick to the frame.
It will not be possible to quickly remove the protective film after a long time after installing the windows. Most likely, the entire process will take several hours. The shell can be removed using physical or chemical action. In most cases, both the first and second methods should be used.
Many new residents are interested in how to clean plastic windows from film. Often, after installing windows, builders break the rules and do not remove the protective tape immediately. The house may stand for several years before it is fully completed. During this time, the tape will “tightly” stick to the frames. In this case, it is better to resort to a mechanical method.
By using various instruments You can pick up the film and remove it from the surface. In this case, most likely, an adhesive layer will remain on the frame. It can also be removed using tools without resorting to chemical methods.
Information on how to remove the protective shell using tools can be found in the table.
| Image | Tool | Instructions |
|
|
Household or construction hair dryer | 1. heat up an industrial hair dryer (a household hair dryer must be turned on at maximum power); 2. carefully, without touching the glass unit, heat the film with a stream of hot air; 3. Using a utility knife or scraper, remove the protective tape; 4. Remove any glue residue with solvent. |
|
|
Scraper for hobs and glass ceramic hobs | 1. pick up the edge of the protective shell; 2. Carefully guiding the scraper forward, gradually remove all the protective tape; 3. treat any remaining glue with a chemical. |
|
|
1. trim the film and pick it up with a stationery knife; 2. slowly, without making sudden movements, pull the protective shell towards you with your hands; 3. Using a knife, completely peel off the protective tape; 4. wash away any remaining traces with a sponge detergent. |
|
|
|
1. remove the protective shell by hand (as needed); 2. “erase” the remaining traces of glue with an eraser; 3. wash the frame with soapy water. |
|
|
|
Brush and soap solution | As with the eraser, if there is any glue left on the surface of the frame, it can be washed off with a stiff brush and soap. |
The most effective is an industrial hair dryer. The hot air flow melts the adhesive layer, so the efficiency of complete film removal without subsequent surface treatment increases. It is worth noting that a household hair dryer is not well suited for this task. The power of a household hair dryer is not enough, so you will have to additionally “fight” with the adhesive layer.
Advice! If you are not confident in your abilities, then you should use the services of a cleaning company. Specialists will remove the protective tape without damaging the frame and glass unit.
You can wash the film from plastic windows using chemical substances. It is not recommended to use aggressive solvents, including alcohols, as such products can deform the plastic frame. In particular, denatured alcohol, White Spirit, RP-6 and Cosmofen will help get rid of glue.
It should be remembered that when working even with weak solvents, you should follow safety rules. Work must be carried out in a ventilated area or wearing a respirator. It is better to wear gloves to wipe off traces of glue with rags soaked in the substance.
Features of use chemicals on plastic windows are presented in the table.
| Photo | Means | How to use |
|
|
Denatured alcohol or industrial alcohol must be poured into a small spray bottle and sprayed evenly over the protective tape on the frame. After about 2 minutes, you should pick up the edge of the film using stationery knife and pull slowly. In this case, traces of glue may remain on the plastic, which can be easily removed with acrylic solvent or white spirit. | |
|
|
"Cosmofen" is a series of cleaners with a solvent or non-solvent effect, developed specifically for PVC windows. Cosmofen-10 is suitable for cleaning film. This is a weakly solvent cleaner that will help remove traces of glue from plastic frame, maintaining its integrity. It is enough to wipe the problem areas with a cloth soaked in the product. "Cosmofen" is recommended to be used in combination with a hair dryer. | |
|
|
RP-6 | RP-6 is used to remove old paint With different surfaces. The mixture is also suitable for getting rid of the protective shell on PVC. To work with RP-6, you must wear goggles and gloves. RP-6 is applied in a thick layer to the surface to be treated and left for 10 minutes. During this time, the film will rise and begin to lag behind the frame. All that remains is to remove the protective tape and treat the residue with a weak solvent. |
|
|
White spirit is a universal means for removing complex stains. This is a rather weak solvent, so it must be applied not on top of the film, but on the adhesive layer. To do this, just pick up the upper edge of the protective layer, pull it a little and pour the product into the resulting free gap. After a few minutes, you can easily peel off the film. If the film is long, then the procedure must be repeated until the White Spirit gradually dissolves the entire adhesive layer. |
Advice! Also suitable for removing glue from plastic universal remedy"Shumanite." However, it is worth remembering that it contains caustic substances that can damage the PVC profile. Therefore, you should apply the product to the sticky surface of the frame and immediately wipe it off along with the glue.
Many owners of plastic windows are also interested in ways to clean a window from mirror film. Special protection that reflects Sun rays, sold in hardware stores. Living on sunny side Residents of houses purchase film for the summer. However, with the onset of cloudy days, it turns out that peeling off the protective layer is not so easy.
The problem is the same as with the protective tape on the frames. Despite the fact that the mirror film does not have an adhesive layer and is glued with water, under the influence of ultraviolet rays it practically eats into the glass unit. It can be very difficult to peel off such protection.
Advice! To ensure that solar protection for windows can be easily removed, do not delay its removal. If the windows face south and the sun shines from April to October, then it is easier to leave the film or initially refuse to use it and hang blinds.
Simple methods for cleaning windows sun protection film:
Sometimes pulling the film off the glass unit is not enough. Often mirror-like, “silver” traces of the film remain on the surface of the window. You should not handle solvents: lavsan, the material from which the protection is made, does not come into contact with solvents. Everything is much simpler. Just wash the window hot water with soap, and rub the “silver” spots with a hard metal sponge. There is no need to worry about scratches on the window: the glass unit will withstand such cleaning and become as good as new.
It is advisable to carry out some work right away so that there are no problems in the future. For example, the removal of protective film from plastic windows is often postponed, or for some reason is not done at all. Later, under the influence of the sun, it bursts, cracks, takes on an unpleasant appearance, and the frame burns out in pieces, but such problems could have been avoided.
We won’t beat around the bush, but will tell you right away how to remove film from plastic windows, even one that has already hung for a decent amount of time.
Newly installed plastic windows
When installing PVC windows, craftsmen do not immediately remove protective film from the windows. They carry out the work according to the instructions, and it clearly states that the film must be removed within 10 days after installation of the window structure. Thus, they entrust the work of removing window protection entirely to the owners. If you don’t want to put up with this, ask the installers to finish the job.
The protective film consists of two layers: the first, decorative one, usually contains the manufacturer’s advertising, and the second has an adhesive base that reliably attaches it to the surface of the window. Being in a closed position, under the influence sunlight and heat, the adhesive composition thickens more and more, tightly adhering to the window frame.
It will still be easy to remove the top layer after a couple of months, but by this time the inner layer will already stick quite firmly. This is why old film will be extremely difficult to tear off entirely. You will have to use a large arsenal of tools and tools to clean the window from the remnants of its former protection.
This is the problem we often encounter on windows.
So, let's look at how to remove the protective film from plastic windows if the time for this work has been lost and the materials have almost grown together.
The easiest way to remove film from a window involves precise and careful work, which will take a lot of time and effort. Arm yourself with a sharp knife or blade that will be convenient for picking up thin material, and gradually, piece by piece, tear it away from the window. After the protective material is removed, it will be necessary to wash the window frame from any remaining adhesive. This can be done using a regular dishwashing sponge and detergent.
If you don’t want to bother with the sticky adhesive on the PVC window frame, you can quickly wipe it off with an eraser. Again it will take enough a large number of time to process the entire frame. However, we note that there will not be huge residues of glue everywhere; in some places it will be removed along with the film.
If you think that protective covering If it doesn't stick too much to the frame, you can try to remove it with a hair dryer. The heated adhesive composition will soften, and in this form it will be easier to work with the film. Use a rag and a stiff scraper and gradually remove old film from the frame of your PVC window. You are unlikely to be able to work quickly, but in terms of quality there will definitely be success.
Even timely removal of material promises some difficulties
Many housewives do an excellent job of removing protective coatings on frames using steam cleaners and steam generators. This method is extremely simple and effective: steam heats and softens the film, making it elastic, after which it is easily removed. Note that it is necessary to warm up the frame properly with steam, and not to pull too hard on the hooked end.
If you are dealing with ceramics and you have a scraper for glass-ceramic stoves in your home, then you can use it. It will help to quite accurately and quickly scrape off all layers of unnecessary material. You can try to wash off the remaining glue with a detergent, and rub the frame with a brush with strong bristles.
Among all the solvents, white spirit has proven to be the most effective for removing the protective coating from the frame.
It is convenient to pry off the film with a sharp knife, and then remove the glue with a rag soaked in white spirit. If you can’t wipe off the glue right away, you can soak it in a solvent for a couple of minutes, after which it will definitely be removed. It is also worth noting here that among all the solvents, this one smells the least.
Using a window scraper
Scattered remnants of the protective coating can be removed with ordinary tape. To do this, you need to wash the frame with a detergent and dry it. Then stick transparent tape on it, smooth it over the entire surface, and then smoothly peel it off. Scotch tape will remove many unwanted elements.
You can buy plastic cleaning compounds at hardware stores. It is better not to use these products, or to use them in extreme cases, because they can damage the frame of your PVC window.
Many people are interested in whether it is possible to remove the sun protection film from glass, to which it has become quite strongly attached over the summer. Of course it is possible, but since this coating is made of a special lavsan material, solvents will not help us; we will have to use physical force.
Please note that the instructions for using sunscreen films usually do not contain any information on how to remove them. Manufacturers apparently believe that it is installed on the glass forever. We will not argue with them, but will use them available means to remove it.
To work, you will need a sharp knife, it is best to take a stationery version, as well as dishwashing gel. Using the gel, we will need to make a soap solution, which we will gradually apply to the surface of the glass. Then we can easily pick up the soaked film and remove it with the sharp tip of a knife.
Cleaning glass from additional reflective elements
Glass removal process sun protection coating very, very labor-intensive, but if everything is done according to the instructions, the surface will be perfectly clean.
It is best to carry out such work on a sunny day, when the heated surface of the glass softens the glue. In this case, the shiny protective coating can be removed more easily. If the weather is bad, you can heat the glass with a hair dryer or a steam generator, but this must be done carefully.
In conclusion, I would like to note that when installing plastic windows, remove the protective film within 10 days, or ask the installers to do it right away. Otherwise, you risk providing yourself with long, tedious and uninteresting work with windows in the future.
The profile of a plastic window is covered special film, which protects it from dirt, scratches and other mechanical damage during delivery and installation. It is very easy to remove it from the product, but it must be done in time. It is advisable to start this immediately after the window is installed. Otherwise, it will be necessary to resort to more radical methods cleaning the film from the profile.
The instructions for plastic windows usually indicate that the film must be removed within 2 weeks after installation. Removing the film will not cause much difficulty in the coming months. However, if it remains on the profile for more than 4 months, a lot of effort will have to be made to remove the film.
For what reasons could this problem occur? The film contains several layers that are attached to the profile using special glue. Strong bonding with plastic occurs under the influence of solar radiation, as well as heat. In other words, the process of decomposition of the inner very thin layer of the film occurs. Therefore, the inner layer is much more difficult to remove than the surface layer.
Reasons that contribute to increased adhesion of film and PVC frame:
It is recommended to remove the protective film from the window within 2 weeks after installation. Then it will be difficult to do this. This is due to the fact that under the influence of various factors its adhesive layer will change its characteristics. You may need to seek help from a cleaning company or wipe off the old tape yourself using tools and substances such as:
If the adhesive tape does not come off completely, you should use alcohol or tape.
There are many methods for removing adhesive tape from double glazed windows. However, the fastest and most in effective ways, thanks to which all the film is removed and the surface of the window is not damaged, are the following:
Advice. If you don’t have a hair dryer, you can always use a regular one, but it should work in turbo mode. But do not forget that this option is suitable if the protective film is not very strongly glued to the PVC profile.
Attention! It is worth saying that the options listed above are always applicable for all parts window designs, since the adhesive used for them is the same.
All modern materials, protecting our homes from high external temperatures, contain not only aluminum, but also other elements that complicate the process of removing them from the surface. To ensure that there are no noticeable stains or streaks on the glass, foil or film from the window is removed with special care. There are the most popular methods for cleaning windows from PVC film.
Using a modern steamer, you can easily remove the film from the window. The entire cleaning process must be carried out in several stages.
This is the most basic and gentlest option for film removal. And even if there are traces left on the window after it, they are removed using a regular soap solution.
The sun protection film can also be removed using ordinary soapy water and newspaper. This work is done in several stages.
Cleaning agents and detergents that can be used to remove adhesive tape from window frames are suitable for removing stains and film from the glass surface. In addition to the already mentioned Cosmofen and Schumanite, effective substances such as:
But even these are very powerful tools do not always cope with the task. In this case, you need to use a hard scraper or choose another method of cleaning the film from the window.
When working to remove solar control or regular film from a window, precautions should be taken. It is necessary to use protective agents against chemicals that have a negative effect not only on human skin, but also on his respiratory tract. Sharp objects must be used carefully to avoid injury. Try to follow the following rules:
To ensure that you are pleased with the results of your window film removal work, adhere to the following rules:
Before you begin removing the film from the PVC window, you must complete all installation work. In this case great view window opening will please you for a long time. The exception is those types of work after which you physically cannot remove the film.
Plastic windows are provided with a protective film that protects the frame from possible scratches, dust and dirt during transportation and installation of the window. It must be removed after the window has been installed in the opening within 10 days after installation.
However, for various reasons, many owners of plastic windows do not remove the film on time and end up with another one. headache, since over time it tends to “stick” to the plastic profile.If the plastic windows were installed quite recently, then removing the film will not be difficult, but if too much time has passed since installation, it will be very difficult to remove the film from the window. This occurs due to the fact that it is exposed to the environment and sunlight, under which the film begins to deform.
How to clean glass and profile in a plastic window? In order to remove the film immediately after installing the windows, it must be carefully trimmed using a stationery knife from the inside and outside windows, then carefully remove. If the film is already deformed, then it will not be removed normally, it will tear, come off in pieces, and the glue may remain on the window.
It should be noted that the film is made of two layers and is glued using a special adhesive composition. Inner layer under the influence of the sun it begins to deteriorate and sticks more and more tightly to the plastic. It will not be difficult to remove the top layer even after 2-3 months, but the inner layer sticks more and more to the plastic every day.
If for some reason the film was not removed on time, then the stuck film can be removed in several ways. What products can be used to clean plastic windows?? This will be discussed further.
If the film cannot be removed, you can use a hair dryer. It must be directed to the frame of the plastic window, where the film cannot be removed. When exposed to it, the adhesive mass will heat up and gradually lag behind the window. After this, you can remove the film without special effort using a hard cloth or scraper. You can also use a regular home hairdryer, but only if the film does not stick to the frame too much.
Residues of the adhesive composition can be removed using a scraper for glass-ceramic hobs or cookware. Such tools are quite rarely found at home, and buying one would not be advisable. Therefore, if there are no such tools, it is better to use other means. 
You can also remove the glue using a knife or blade. They can be found in almost every home. To do this, you need to pick up the edge of the covering and tear it off piece by piece from the plastic window. The remaining glue must then be removed using a rough sponge and detergent. This method is very long and requires good willpower, and there is a possibility of damaging the plastic.
This method is quite simple, since there is nothing special about it. Everyone knows what a school eraser is. Ever since school days, during art class, they could erase pencils and even pens. So, you can do the same with the adhesive base of the film, erase it with an eraser. This is, in essence, means for soft cleaning glass and profile in the windows.
If the film has been more or less removed, but there is still glue from the film on the plastic window, it can be removed using a brush with stiff bristles and a soap solution. To do this, you need to moisten the plastic window with the solution and walk over it with a brush.
It is important not to be too zealous, since this glass cleaner and profile can damage the plastic and scratches may form on it.
In some cases, if you have white spirit at home, you can try to remove the film with it. To do this, you need to pry off the edge of the film using some sharp object, after which you need to pour a small amount of solvent. It is important that it gets under the film. After a couple of minutes, you can try to remove the film. 
This method is probably one of the most expensive and most dangerous for plastic. For this you need to purchase special means for cleaning plastic from various types of contaminants. They can be purchased at any specialty store.
You need to be very careful with these solvents, as they can corrode the plastic itself, which affects the service life of the windows. A.
In order to avoid problems with the operation of plastic windows, experts recommend: 
Thus, it should be noted that in order to avoid problems with removing the protective film from the window, you must follow the instructions from the manufacturer and remove the film immediately after installation is complete and finishing works. Otherwise, problems may arise that will be much more difficult to solve.
