Window shades....exterior

Anyone make or buy see through shading material for their windows?

I am looking at Phifertex plus in the 90% reduction ...


Phifertex Plus Vinyl Mesh Black 54" Fabric

What do you have? Good and bad?

Thanks....

I have a set of these for my boat and the material is great, lets enough light in but dark colours like navy and black suck up a lot of sunlight and that makes in very hot inside. i wish I had gone to white or a lighter colour. Our area is generally sunny. If you are in an area where it is generally overcast or raining this would not be a factor. Good luck with the project.

LaBomba said:

I have a set of these for my boat and the material is great, lets enough light in but dark colours like navy and black suck up a lot of sunlight and that makes in very hot inside. i wish I had gone to white or a lighter colour. Our area is generally sunny. If you are in an area where it is generally overcast or raining this would not be a factor. Good luck with the project.

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How is visibility out? You have the 90% or the 70%?

psneeld said:

Anyone make or buy see through shading material for their windows?

I am looking at Phifertex plus in the 90% reduction ...


Phifertex Plus Vinyl Mesh Black 54" Fabric

What do you have? Good and bad?

Thanks....

Click to expand...

I had my shades made from Phifertex Vinyl Mesh Almond 54" Fabric which is 70% shade. In broad daylight, from the inside they are transparent enough to operate the boat without removal. From the outside, they provide complete privacy during the day and surprisingly good privacy at night. I'm sure it depends upon the interior lighting level though.

The interior heat load has been greatly reduced, and the A/C works much more efficiently now. It is too early to know, but I'm sure fading of interior fabrics, surfaces etc. will be reduced as well.

The only problem so far is that they do get dirty and require scrubbing a every few weeks to look like new. Also, after a while, dirt streaks appear below each snap that must be scrubbed. All in all, I love them! I will have them on every boat I might own in the future.

We bought our Boat with the 70% already on them we are replacing the front this winter

my wife will make them with her sailrite machine using 90%

next will be the sides have not decided on % for the sides

but we love ours they are just getting old

LarryM said:

I had my shades made from Phifertex Vinyl Mesh Almond 54" Fabric which is 70% shade. In broad daylight, from the inside they are transparent enough to operate the boat without removal. From the outside, they provide complete privacy during the day and surprisingly good privacy at night. I'm sure it depends upon the interior lighting level though.

The interior heat load has been greatly reduced, and the A/C works much more efficiently now. It is too early to know, but I'm sure fading of interior fabrics, surfaces etc. will be reduced as well.

The only problem so far is that they do get dirty and require scrubbing a every few weeks to look like new. Also, after a while, dirt streaks appear below each snap that must be scrubbed. All in all, I love them! I will have them on every boat I might own in the future.

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White I am guessing? Right now debating white over black for heat gain....hmmmmm.

OK .Come on folks...know more of you that have them...

90% or 70%.....the million dollar..well how about a free beer....question?

90% too much? Or worth it?

I have black 90% and they are too much and the wrong color IMO. Where I replacing them I'd go 70% and more of a straw color.

Never saw the need at latitude 38. If too bright, just close the interior blinds/curtains.



(Also, having forward-leaning pilothouse windows eliminates a lot of direct sunshine in the pilothouse.)

Have 70% not enough

Think I would like a lighter color but the trim on boat is black so my choices are white or black

at this point wish I had 90%

You could have a white summer and black winter set, but probably overkill. We have white, they get dirty easily, don`t know the mesh %. Good vision looking out, sometimes I worry about the view looking in.

We have 90% in a medium grey color. I like that they block the light and have decent visibility through them. I wish I had white though. We live in a desert climate and it would be easier on the A/C if they were white.

psneeld said:

White I am guessing? Right now debating white over black for heat gain....hmmmmm.

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Yes, off white. I have no experience with 90% cloth so I can't compare them for you. It is a very popular choice in this area according to my canvas shop.

Why do all-white boats use blue canvas rather than white? What's special about blue canvas?

I have the 90% and have now covered every piece of glass. It an be a little dark for reading inside, but easy to remove them, or turn on a light. The 90% gives really good privacy, one of the major benefits of using it.

The PO had put a blue one on the pilothouse front windows, so I went with blue although i could not get as close a colour match as I wanted. I wish I had a straw colour, just for aesthetic reasons. Although maybe maroon would be better still in case I come across anyone from south of the Queensland border! Heat is not an issue as the salon windows are under covered side decks or the covered cockpit.

Insequent said:

... maybe maroon would be better still in case I come across anyone from south of the Queensland border! ....

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Maroon can fade, but one day, magically, the color will be restored. We hope.

Ah yes, I do fear that maroon might fade....

Living in Florida I have white at 90%. They do get a little dirty and but with the heat here it makes a huge difference. I also use foil insulation between the windows and the covers. It blocks all heat and UV. Now it does make the cabin dark so that is a drawback. The water temps in my marina make it difficult to have the A/C's work efficiently so every little bit helps.

Thanks...now leaning towards white 90%....

I will wait for the late polls before the election...

psneeld said:

How is visibility out? You have the 90% or the 70%?

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I have 70%. Good visibility out but I take them off when running from the main helm. Not sure if I would see some debris, trees etc. Usually run from the bridge so not a big factor. Limited privacy at night if there are too many lights on IMO. They are very good though and would not be without them, I would just have picked a lighter colour.

How about......are your shades for individual windows or a long wraparound for the front say?


Hardware to attach to the boat?


I'm thinking individual and just snaps (screw in posts as I have a ton already)...will probably take the screens off when running so salt spray shouldn't be a factor for the snaps other than residual washed in from rain.

We presently have the long wrap around that fit under the wipers. It is a pain to take off and put on. When these are shot I want to explore using individual windows. I like the flexability that provides. We have the screw in post/snaps. Work great.

Our wrap-around front window cover is Textilene, IIRC a 90% mesh, black... and doesn't seem to draw in any more heat than its white solid Stamoid predecessor. The black doesn't show dirt streaks and so forth -- as much as the white Stamoid does -- from rain water run-off in between boat cleanings.


In our case, we also decided color continuity -- with the black Sunbrella enclosure panels, black Sunbrella cockpit bolsters, black-out treatments on the saloon's side windows and cockpit sliders -- made more visual sense.


-Chris

psneeld said:

How about......are your shades for individual windows or a long wraparound for the front say?


Hardware to attach to the boat?


I'm thinking individual and just snaps (screw in posts as I have a ton already)...will probably take the screens off when running so salt spray shouldn't be a factor for the snaps other than residual washed in from rain.

Click to expand...

We did one long one to cover the 3 front windows and individual ones on the sides all using snap fasteners. Quick and easy to take off or put on. Made one for the door window as well.

psneeld said:

Anyone make or buy see through shading material for their windows?

I am looking at Phifertex plus in the 90% reduction ....

Click to expand...

psneeld...

I have a sailright machine and do a little canvas work... mostly for others in the marina, etc. I've made quite a few of these and the choice of shade factor & color is a variable mostly driven by personal preference. get a sample of each and try to decide whether privacy or ability to see out is the primary factor. Color also a personal decision... I have made black, white and a few colors for folks and everyone was happy - it was what they wanted
I've had both black & white on a couple of my boats and personally prefer the white but they do show dirt more than the black / dark colors.

I usually get my materials from Rockford.com and you will find some close-out mesh that is very similar to the Ptex ( a little lighter wt) and around 1/3 the cost. I've used it on many screens and life has not been an issue.

I've done them both ways - no (self) binding - if windows are rectangular or trapezoid shaped - easy to fold hem & stitch. Snaps hold OK w// 3 layers.

I also bound them wherre the shapes tend to be rounded - I've used both Stamoid (vinyl) and Sunbrella (fabric) bindings & both work OK. You will need a binding attachment to go this route. If you do I add about a 1.5 - 2.0" facing to reinforce the outside edge where snaps are.

I've had one-piece and 3 pc windshield covers and there are +/- to both... 3 pc easy to store, you can put on / remove individual sections for limited visibility - takes more snaps if not already installed.
One-pc fewer snap studs to install around the windshield, less work to make, less binding / heming.

Hope that helps

I'll bet no matter which way you go you will be pleased...

they work great in the FL sun but remember that when interior lights are on at night people outside can see in.

I measure the temp at the window before and after, there as a 15* difference at the interior of the shade when in direct sunlight.

On Skinny Dippin' 1 I made a set of the 70% Phifertex and a set of Sunbrella for 100%. We'd put the Sunbrella on before leaving the boat for the weekend and put the Phifertex on when arriving. I did individual window covers for the front since our middle window was an opening hatch that we used a lot. I went with the beige or sand color.

Skinny Dippin' 2 will get a similar set up, but I'm thinking the grey or white color this time around.

Hmmmm.still fighting the color decision...not sure the black adds enough heat to justify white...but then again...maybe white with black hem to match window frames.

Thanks for the tips and sources Baccus! And everyone else too...

Mine are burgundy 70%. The front cover wraps around the windshield and also covers the fwd angled pane on each side. On the port side, the fwd cover and the side cover share common posts, so those posts are longer than the others.

I find 70% to be a good compromise between light in and privacy. At night we drop the blinds for complete privacy. During the day, I can run with the shades in place, but I always remove the windshield cover. The sides can be best seen through when viewing perpendicular to the glass. When viewing at an angle, the view becomes restricted.

If I'm expecting the possibility of spray on the side windows, I remove the side panels. When they get wet, they are almost impossible to see through.

Here are some shots taken this AM near Walnut Grove.

Thanks....still leaning 90% , white mesh, black trim for my druthers...

Would love a pic through the 90% mesh if anyone has one...