Oops I Didn't Remove the Film

Now, we are going to discuss what to do if we don`t remove protective film on time.

First of all, do not do anything in a hurry (you should have been in a hurry to remove the film before it stuck to the profile…). Patience as well as appropriate methods and cleaning agents may save us. It is best to report the problem to the window manufacturer, who will recommend appropriate preparations and tools for cleaning PVC surface, or to purchase them on your own. The chosen preparation should be applied gradually and rubbed with a soft cloth. Unfortunately, the process is tedious, because you have to clean slowly, piece by piece, but in the end the effort will pay off. You absolutely must not use caustic, abrasive agents or solvents as we may irreversibly damage or discolour the profile coating.

According to window joinery fitters, a very effective way of removing protective film is to use… high-pressure cleaner, which additionally allows water to be heated. This method, after protecting the window frames, allows to remove the vulcanised film without the risk of scratching the profiles. An equally frequently recommended solution, similar in operation to the washer, is the use of a steam cleaner. We heat it up fragment by fragment, gently peeling the foil off the profile. Finally, we can wipe the profiles with dedicated products.

Although there is plenty of advice on how to remove vulcanised protective film from PVC profiles, the above-mentioned ones seem to be the most effective and, what is extremely important, safe for the windows themselves. One of the methods with which you should be very careful is the use of a hair dryer or a heat gun. You heat up a piece of film and then remove it with some form of spatula, preferably made of plastic so as not to scratch the profile. As this method involves the risk of both scratching the profile and burning the plastic, we recommend it as a last resort, to be used at your own risk.

The process of removing old protective film from PVC windows is never easy or pleasant. In this case, the old adage that prevention is better than cure applies perfectly, so try to avoid the problem and remove the film within the recommended time.