4 Things You Should Know About Ballistic Film
Before entrusting the safety of your people and property to ballistic film, here are four things you should know about it:
- It must be professionally installed: The performance of ballistic film is highly reliant on the quality of installation. Simply placing film over the daylight opening of the window will accomplish nothing from a security standpoint. All edges must be mechanically captured.
- Its strength depends upon the window beneath it: The performance of the film also depends upon the existing glass it is being applied to. Film applied to weak or degraded glass will provide little to no protection.
- There is no testing or documentation backing it up: There are many claims about ballistic films being bullet resistant but there is no film tested and listed by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) as meeting any level of UL 752 bullet resistance.
- It may not last: There is very little information available as to how long these films will last. No trusted authority can say how these films will perform a year, five years or ten years after they have been installed and are starting to delaminate.
The term ballistic film may be somewhat of a misnomer as it suggests it has the power to stop bullets and other high-speed projectiles. Ultimately, ballistic film, or safety film, is simply a thin layer of film applied to the surface of a traditional window.
For tested, documented and lasting bullet resistance, the only proven material is bullet-resistant glass.
Ballistic Protection You Can Count On
Bullet-resistant glass (also known as ballistic glass or “bulletproof “glass) is manufactured with acrylic, laminated polycarbonate, glass-clad polycarbonate, or all-glass laminate, and designed with the express purpose of stopping bullets.
Insulgard’s BULLETBLOCK line of bullet-resistant products satisfies the rigorous standards set forth by the Underwriters Laboratory, a global safety science company. The UL 752 standard is the most widely known and respected standard of bullet resistance in the United States.
If you are trying to protect property from forced entry and theft, ballistic film may be a viable option.
If your goal is to protect people, however, there is a world of difference between the two products. The difference is between a bullet penetrating a film-coated window and entering a populated area versus the UL rated window stopping the bullet before it can cause any harm.
This is not to say bullet-resistant glass is “bulletproof.” No material can reliably protect against a persistent barrage of bullets. BULLETBLOCK glazing products are, however, designed to protect against a wide range of specific weapon types, ranging from 9mm handguns to high-powered rifles.
Source: https://www.insulgard.com/does-ballistic-film-make-your-windows-bulletproof/
Mr. Roger Spataro offers a unique perspective on home improvement content, combining his writing skills with hands-on construction experience. Hailing from Chicago, Spataro began his career in the building construction industry after earning a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He transitioned into writing, initially creating technical manuals and guides for construction professionals, allowing him to share his practical knowledge through the written word.
