Pressure Sensitive Adhesive vs. Dry Adhesive
Pressure Sensitive Adhesive versus Dry Adhesive
With the introduction of window film in the 60’s, window film manufacturers had to come up with an adhesion system that could hold the film on to the glass. Originally window films were manufactured without adhesion applied to the films and were attached to the glass by a mixture of glue and water separately sprayed onto the glass and onto the film which held the film and glass together. This was similar to the way wallpaper was applied.
This was a messy business and extremely time consuming. However, it did work and held the film to the glass. This adhesion was water based and with continuous washing, the film eventually detached itself from the glass.
Window film manufacturers started manufacturing film with water based dry adhesives. This adhesive was applied in manufacture. However, it was dry to the touch. When the adhesive side was sprayed with water the water activated the adhesive which held the film to the glass. This water based adhesive system was popular in the USA as most installers worked alone and this type of adhesion made it easy for installation. If the film happened to stick together during installation it did not ruin the product and could be easily separated and still applied to the glass.
This is the reason why dry adhesive is still so popular in the United States of America today. American manufacturers have named the adhesive system AB “always beautiful” CDF “clear distortion view” and D “detackified”. The reason this film will always look good is because there is a ¼ lb. of adhesive per ream. This is not very much adhesion and therefore nothing much can go wrong.
When applying film with dry adhesive, the finish on the edges is usually very poor due to the dirt coming out of the frames and sticking onto the adhesive, showing up like a cancer look on the side.
Window film companies in many parts of the world do not like this adhesive because it is not user friendly and does not create a good final finish.
Pressure sensitive window film is a far superior product as it has up to 10 lbs of adhesive per ream, which makes it a better safety film as well as hide some of the contamination coming out of the frames and offers the consumer a much better finished product.
Obviously pressure sensitive window film is more expensive to produce and more difficult, as the more adhesive applied to the film, the more difficult it is to have optical clarity. All films supplied by Klingshield have high performance pressure sensitive adhesion to offer the best finish and safest product.
Numerous US manufacturers continue to make films with dry adhesive to satisfy the one man installer. In South Africa, window film installers work in teams and therefore do not have any problems when installing pressure sensitive window films as the one holds the one corner and the other one peels the backing sheet away, while spraying the pressure sensitive adhesion with a mounting solution.
Should consumers require more information on the different adhesions applied to window film please contact our call centre on 011 640 5053.
Klingshield's window Film has Been Tested By the South African Bureau of Standards to ensure that it Holds the film and Glass Together. The Success of Klingshield's Safety Film Product Lies in it's Pressure Sensitive Adhesion Which is the Crutical Part of the Window Film that is Designed to Hold Glass and Film Under Impact.
Below are the Results of Windows Which Have Klingshield Safety Film With it's Pressure Sensitive Adhesion.As You Can See,All the Glass is Being Held Together by the Film and the Excellent Pressure Sensitive Adhesion,Turning Ordinary Glass Into Shatterproof Glass.
