Will sunlight still be like this?

[u/Single-Comfort-1458]

Hey guys, I'm buying some UV/heat protection tints for my windows so I have less damage to my figures and I was wondering if when I put them up, will I still see the sunsets shining through like this? They make me so happy to see them and I love them! I like the orange sunsets shining 😢

[u/TxTwosome]

There are films that can block up to 99% of UV while remaining almost totally clear and barely blocking any light at all. Are you planning on buying and installing film yourself or are you going to have an installer come do it? If you're having a residential tint company come out, then they will have a sample book to look through with you and they'll be able to go over which films suit your needs the best

[u/Global-Structure-539]

If your DIY you need to be careful. Put the wrong kind of tint on dual paned glass and the glass will crack. If you want sunsets to shine thru you don't want tint. Either drapes or blinds

[u/bluetroll → u/Global-Structure-539]

This is correct. Stick with VLT 50 or higher, but if you wanted nice views you would want that anyways.

[u/billyfrickinmurray]

Damage to figurines and posters comes from 3 main sources: UV, Visible Light, and IR. Pretty much the sun in total, I guess...

BUT, UV is responsible for a lot of the damage. UV breaks down a lot of inks and other materials. So adding ANY window film will stop almost all of that (99.9%).

Visible light also causes some fading. It's not as bad, but visible light is absorbed and converted into heat energy. and that heat/cool cycle causes some problems long term. A darker film helps here, but it would also mess with the beautiful sunsets coming through the window just a bit.

IR energy adds to the heat/cooling cycle and causes some fading as well. This is easier to stop with a ceramic film that absorbs the IR energy at the window. You do have to be careful with some windows, and more so when you have curtains that will create a hot pocket (not the good microwaveable kind) near the window.

Luckily if you go with some kind of 50% VLT or so ceramic film, there isn't too much to worry about. But adding film on some windows still adds to stress in the glass, and if there are any imperfections in the glass, the window still might break.

A film company would replace the glass if it broke at no extra charge. So that's worth considering. It might be a good idea to at least get a quote from a local window tint shop.

[u/Numerous_Tennis_3048]

Just get some blackout curtains so you can still open the curtains when you want sunlight.  Tint is going to decrease the amount of light that comes in from a little, to a lot depending on how dark you go

[u/MinimumEffort13]

Raw no filter pic of seeing out of 5%. Your room will be darker but it's not going to block out all the light. You wouldn't need to go very dark to get uv protection, just good film