I started a POC to evaluate liquid crystal polymer filters used as shades or privacy windows. The principle of such a screen is to use a current – low voltage up to the line 110V depending on the technology & model – to polarize the liquid crystal and make it transparent. When the current is not applied, the liquid crystal molecules lose their polarization, and the film becomes opaque. Pretty simple, and should sound familiar to anyone who looked into LCD technologies. What I am interested in finding out in my POC (and comparative study), is how much these solutions impact the window clarity, and how well they age, especially with intense sunlight exposure (UVs). I’ve bought two evaluation kits, one from InvisiShade and Smart Tint. Today, I will share with my first impressions about the InvisiShade package.

The setup I simple, but you need to clean the glass surface thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol first. You must take care not to leave any greasy traces behind. The film I’ve chosen has an adhesive applied to one side, which is exposed when a first protective film is peeled off. Using a squeegee is recommended to work the air bubbles out.

Once the film is applied, you can remove the second protective film (on the glue-free side). It’s only when these protective films are removed that you can gauge the clarity of the film. When the 110V AC is applied, the film becomes transparent as expected. I’ve attached several pictures and videos – including high-speed footage to see the AC frequency induced flickering (which the naked eye cannot perceive). For now, I am pleased by the clarity of the InvisiShade film. Of course, now we need to test the other kits and see how they behave over time. I will keep you posted!

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