Frost An Exterior Window, step by step

We are back to share a swift and straightforward window-frosting walkthrough as promised last week. We knew our basement windows were fully devoid of privacy and therefore could use a bit of cover, but we did not want to hang heavy blinds that we kept perpetually closed since that would certainly rob the room of tons of light. Enter the idea of window film. We in fact used it to frost our original bathroom window after we moved in. Then we later replaced all of our windows and realized our private backyard did not provide a good view of the bathroom since it is up so high, so we opted not to redo the frosting treatment afterwards. But the basement is certainly a lot easier to peer into than the bathroom, so out came the idea of window frosting film again.

We snagged a roll of it at Home Depot for $18.98 (we needed simply one to do both windows and the large pane of glass in the door). Oh and the brand was called Gila if that helps anyone. We also grabbed a spray bottle of film adhesive along with a a tool kit complete with a squeegie-ish device and a knife to assist with the application for seven more bucks. So for $26 we brought in privacy without blocking all the light that filters into the room and makes it feel less cave-like and dungeon-esque.

But before we got to the frosting lively we had some seriously dirty windows to deal with. Not only were they coated with dust and grime, they in fact had Drylok spatters all over them (both inside and out- go figure!) so first we had to get them cleaned up and ready for their close up.

All the splatters were no match for a straight edge razor, which we consistently recommend using with extreme caution. Fingers are kind of essential when you are as obsessed with painting and projects as we are, so we guard ours with our life. Grippy gloves can assist as long as they are tight sufficient to feel snug and not cumbersome, and the best approach is consistently slow and steady. Of course you can grab a utility knife holder for even more control (which we recommend for your safety- this photo is simply a pic of our process, not our suggested approach for others). So be extra safe, take a deep breath, channel the tortoise (as opposed to the hare), and watch that paint come peeling off!

You should be left with fairly darn clean windows, and following your little razor session with a glass cleaner wipedown should be all the prep you need. In short you know you are ready to frost your windows when they look so sparkly that it nearly seems wrong to cover them up with anything. They’ll gleam like diamonds I tell ya.

But frost them you must (well you do not have to, but in our case it was certainly the way to go). So the next step is to carefully measure each pane of glass that you want to frost. This is essential because you are not measuring the whole window if it is made up of two side by side panes (like ours is above), so be sure to measure each glass pane individually, no matter how many there are in each window.

Then add an inch on each side of those measurements, so if your window is 15″ wide by 20″ tall you will write down 17″ by 22″ (an inch on each side means adding two inches to each measurement). Then it is time to whip out the roll of frosting film from the box. It’ll look like a long roll of white wrapping paper with a shiny clear side and a more matte frosted side. Now’s the cutting and measuring part. Grab a ruler (or a t-square if you have one on hand) and measure and cut boxes out of the film that meet the measurements that you recorded (the ones with extra inches on each side, not the exact measurements of the windows). You can either use a pencil to trace each box out onto the matte frosted side and then cut them out OR simply cut without drawing anything out (being sure you end up with a box that is fairly close to the larger measurements you recorded).

After you cut out a slightly oversized square of window film for each pane you are ready to separate the film from the glossy plastic backing, which can easily be done by placing a piece of tape on each side of a corner (being careful not to let the tops touch or they’ll simply stick together fully). They should each adhere to their respective side so you will be able to use them to separate the frosting film (seen below on the left) from the clear plastic protective backing (seen on the right) which will not be applied to the window in the end.

So go ahead and pull those two layers apart about halfway down the square until it looks a little something like this:

It certainly helps to have two people for this job by the way. That way one person can hold the half-peeled film up while the other sprays the window and then both sides of the frosted part of the film with the application solution (ours was called Gila Window Film Application Solution by the way). Note: we have heard you can forgo buying the application spray and simply fill a spray bottle with water and a drop of dishwashing liquid, but since we did not have an empty spray bottle and use eco-detergent (which we were not sure would work since it is plant based) we opted to simply buy the Glia solution for $3.50 since it was cheaper than buying a spray bottle and more mainstream dish detergent). We have also heard that some frosting films only require water to adhere them, so be sure to read the directions included with yours.

Once the window and half of the back side of the frosting film (as shown in the image above) is adequately misted (along with the whole front part) it is time to apply it to the window pane. Thanks to the inch of leeway on each side of the film there is no worry about placing it perfectly and you can easily trim things down to a perfectly snug fit once you get them more securely in place.

The film should stick fairly well to your window, but will not look seamless at all at this point. Oh and you can pull off the other half of the clear plastic film (while someone else holds the frosted piece in place from the top two corners of the window). Now the only layer on the window is the frosted film with about an inch of overlap on each side. You will see tons of bubbles and streaks but fret not.

Here is where the lively plastic squeegie-thing comes in handy. Simply glide it across the window film to push all those dastardly bubbles out to the edges of the film (where they’ll magically disappear). Do this for as long as it takes to remove all the bubbles for a near-ideal and seamless look (except for that extra inch of film around the edge of the pane). It is worth noting that the edges of the film might look a bit bubbled and will not form a tight seal on the window until they are trimmed down to fit, so do not worry about a little imperfections around the perimeter of the pane, simply get the rest of the window looking strong.

Then take an exacto knife and carefully place it firmly between the edge of the window pane and the window trim (our exacto came in the kit with the plastic squeegie thing that we grabbed for $4- so worth it simply for that yellow squeegie thing). Hug the window frame tightly as you slowly pull the knife, using the edge as a guide for a perfectly trimmed piece of frosted film that ends right where the window frame begins.

And that my friends is how it is done. Truly, it is straightforward! As long as you have an extra person on hand (and are not trying to cut your frosted film exactly to the size of your windows- the inch overlap and trimming method truly results in the best fit) it should be relatively straightforward.

It likely took us less than eight minutes per pane, so we did the whole basement in under 40 minutes. And for $26 we were left with a soft frosted look that gives us privacy without blocking all that fairly daylight that comes in handy when we are down there looking for something (or, let us be honest, simply standing there admiring our new room).

Oh and it bears mentioning that the frosted film is 100% privacy effective. As in, no matter the time of day or the light level inside or outside, you cannot see through it. Which is certainly pleasant (how annoying would all that work be if it was only semi-effective?). But as you can see from the photo below, the light still streams into the room right through the film.

Which is truly quite remarkable since we worried that it might get dark and spooky down there with the addition of the frosted film. Not the case! So we can still easily admire all the other projects that we have completed along with our new “privacy please” windows. Like the paint storage station, the vertical bike rack, the carpet square area rug…

… the new overhead light fixture, the Hands-on screen, the see-through armoires that we obscured with wrapping paper, and all the other undertakings we have slowly accomplished over the last one and a half months.

So that closes the door (har-har) on the window-frosting walkthrough and the room’s overhaul as a whole.

All that is left is a little basement roundup post full of photos from start to finish and an consistently-lively budget breakdown that details the whole cost of our latest major makeover. So as we say so frequently around here, stay tuned…

Oh and we’d enjoy to hear what window-related projects you folks have lately taken on or put on your to-do list. Any fellow frosting film fans out there? Do tell.

Psst- Want to look back on our big basement makeover from start to nearly-wrapped up? Here is the first post, the second post, the third post, the forth post, the fifth post, the sixth post, and the seventh post and the eigth post. Good times.