Last updated on April 13th, 2015 at 01:45 pm

A very good friend runs her own craft shop in Llanrwst, North Wales, and recently was complaining about the fact that the sun fades the packaging on the stock that is displayed in the window and that she was having to swap the items around on a very frequent basis.  Talking to other shops in the area, certainly the ones in the town square others were having the same problem.

Looking at other shops in the area she discounted the idea of a plastic blind that dropped down within the window and the idea of a awning to block out some of the sun wouldn’t have worked as her shop is on a narrow pavement on a sharp corner with large lorries going past on a very frequent basis (the road is a major trunk road here in North Wales).

I offered to look at the different options and remembered a company called MDP Supplies who are a wholesale distributor of sign vinyl and supplies for sign makers & garment printers with several depots across the UK.  I had used these several times for vinyl when I had cut signs for people and always found them very helpful.  Flicking through their website I came across a range of solar films that reduced the UV (ultraviolet) rays by up to 99% and reflects the heat from the sun at the same time.

Although it seemed expensive at about £12.70 + vat per linear metre for a 1.52m width, the idea of no more spoiled stock or having to change the windows over almost once a week in the summer was the deciding factor so I ordered some for her.  The following day I got an email from her saying that it had arrived and we arranged that my partner and I would fit it for her the following Sunday.

There was only a slight problem in that the film arrived without any fitting instructions – something that if I’d thought about it I should have expected as the supplier is a wholesaler.  A quick search on the net showed that there were fairly simple instructions that we printed out.  Basically, you have to clean the window and make up a mix called a “slip solution” which is a mixture of baby shampoo (I used Johnsons baby shampoo) and clean water in a spray bottle – the mix is about a tea-spoon of baby shampoo to a pint of water.  I understand that you can use washing up liquid instead of the shampoo but the shampoo worked will for me as you will see later in this article.

You then spray the window with the slip solution, peel the backing off the solar film and slide the film onto the window (it slides on very easily which is why, I imagine, it’s called a slip solution.  You then have to smooth out any bubbles with a soft squeegee and then spray some more slip solution onto the film and use a hard squeegee to smooth out any further bubbles – the extra slip solution stops the hard squeegee from damaging the film.  The only slight problem is that obviously the slip solution has to go somewhere so you need to make sure that you have plenty of absorbent cloths to hand.

The following day we both called into the shop feeling a little apprehensive – would the film still be on the window or would it have fallen down overnight?  We were pleased to see that the film was still on the window and our friend was delighted with the result, as to whether the film will reduce the UV rays time will tell but all the reports that are online seem to be positive.

I was thinking about this later and thought that the same film could be used for any small office or shop, if it reduces the fading if items i n or near the window and also reduces some of the heat in the summer sun then as a small business owner you might want to consider installing some kind of solar film.

Disclaimer – apart from being a customer of MDP Supplies I have no other relationship with them, this article is aimed at helping small business owners and I am not being paid for any link in this article.