Door film

If you need to quickly update the interior or give a respectable look to old furniture, an inexpensive, easy-to-use material will always come to the rescue - a self-adhesive film. It will help to realize any of your fantasies in the interior, and most importantly - without investing significant funds. This material is suitable for doors. Many traces of scuffing, scratches, faded colors and patterns, the film on the door will turn into a new palette of colors that fills the entire room. Today we will introduce you to the main advantages of such an indispensable material and tell you how to glue a door with a self-adhesive film in order to transform the appearance of the room beyond recognition.

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Main characteristics and types of film

Self-adhesive is an ideal material for decoration. The film is often used to give a new look to cabinets, window sills, furniture with a plastic, wooden, ceramic, glass and plasterboard surface.

The material can be glued walls and ceilings. Self-adhesive can solve problems quickly and at no particular cost.

Important! The film has various characteristics in color, texture and pattern on the one hand, and on the other - has an adhesive base, covered with a special glossy paper.

The main advantages of self-adhesive film:

• Not subject to moisture and dust.
• It does not require special care. It is easy to wash and wipe a film for a pasting of doors with a damp cloth.
• Ease of use. The material is very easy to stick to the surface yourself.
• Low price.
• The ability to radically change the design and hide the imperfections of furniture.
• A wide variety of textures, colors and patterns. Self-adhesive has a variety of patterns from imitation of natural wood and stone to abstraction. According to the type of texture, PVC film can be:
  • Matt Perfect for gluing doors, since dust and dirt are less visible on the surface.
  • Glossy. It is mainly used for pasting furniture and decorative elements of the room.
  • With glossy and matte lamination.
  • Transparent.
• It is odorless. Unlike paint and varnish, the film on the door will not poison the air with a smell.
• Available in rolls of various widths and lengths. The width of the film in a roll can be: 45, 67.5 and 90 cm. The length of the roll can also be different: 2, 8, 10 or 15 meters.
• The decorative surface of the film is covered with a polyester layer, which gives shine and protects against various damage.
• Withstands any temperature.
• It does not fade, and the paint on the surface remains bright all the time.
• The material is quite strong and durable.
• Does not spoil the basis of the pasted surface.

Kinds

Depending on the material from which it is made, a film for gluing doors can be of two types:

• Paper. This material is not suitable for use in the bathroom and in the kitchen.
• Universal thick film. The material will fit perfectly into any interior and is suitable for any room.

Important! When choosing self-adhesive, pay attention to how the paint keeps on the film. Swipe your hand over the surface - if there are traces of paint on the palm of your hand, the material will quickly lose its color and brightness.

Minuses

It is worth noting, although insignificant, but still the disadvantages of self-adhesive:

• Before sticking the material, you must first prepare the surface.
• Inability to reuse.
• If applied incorrectly and carelessly, the film may move off the surface.

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What kind of film to use for decorating doors?

On sale there are both monophonic varieties of material, and products with different textures and patterns.

Important! The choice of texture and drawings depends on the purpose of the room. Some manufacturers even offer copyright stickers from famous designers, but the cost of such material will be quite high.

The following types of PVC film are mainly used for door decoration:

• Simple plain, with a matte or glossy surface.
• Metallized. This material is used to provide information security facilities. Durable film for gluing doors has a mirror surface.
• Decorative. This type of film imitates different types of wood, metal, stone or mosaic.
• Three-dimensional. This type of film is installed mainly on interior doors.
• Fluorescent. Very often, such a material is applied to a glass surface. The film glows in low light.

We figured out the characteristics and varieties of the film, and now we will get acquainted with some features of its gluing.

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How to glue a self-adhesive film on a door?

Before proceeding to the gluing process, it is necessary to prepare the necessary tools and carefully prepare the base of the door itself. Let's start in order.

Necessary tools

For work you will need:

• Ruler.
• Metal corner.
• Yardstick.
• Marker or pen.
• Construction knife or sharp scissors.
• Sprayer with water (to adjust the position of the film).
• Rubber spatula (for aligning the glued coating).
• Hair dryer. A household appliance is necessary for processing corners and protrusions.
• Sandpaper, plane, primer and putty to prepare the door surface (if necessary).
• Wet and dry rags.
• Tools for removing the door from the hinges.

Preparing the door for pasting

To make it convenient to work, it is better to remove the door from the hinges and dismantle the accessories located on it: handles, locks, latches, etc.

Important! If the door has glass, first remove the glazing beads and dismantle the glass surface. In order not to subsequently suffer with the pasting of old glazing beads, immediately get new ones.

So, the door is removed and ready for processing. To make the film fit perfectly, follow these steps:

1. Sand the plane of the door leaf with sandpaper if the door surface is level. If the door leaf needs alignment, then you have to work hard.
2. If the paint is peeling on the surface of the canvas, then remove it with a spatula.
3. Seal small cracks, potholes on the surface of the canvas with putty and let it dry.
4. Convexities remove the planer.
5. Sand the surface for maximum smoothness.
6. Wipe the door leaf with a dry cloth from dust.
7. Wash the cleaned surface with soap and water to degrease the surface. You can use a dishwashing detergent for this purpose. Add it to warm water and rinse the cloth with a solution.
8. Let the door dry.
9. Treat the door leaf with acrylic primer.

Important! Before working with the film, check how tightly the door closes. And if necessary, remove a little from the ends to provide a small gap for the film thickness. This preliminary work is necessary in order to avoid further scuffing of the material when closing the door, because although self-adhesive and thin, but still it has its own thickness.

Instructions for pasting the door with foil:

1. Mark up the necessary material. Using a tape measure, determine the dimensions of the door, apply the appropriate measurements to the film for gluing the doors with a marker or pen. At the edges, do not forget to leave a margin of 2-3 cm. In the case when the width of the film allows, make markings taking into account the ends of the door.For ease of marking, manufacturers applied graph paper to the back of the film.
2. Cut the film in strictly defined lines with a clerical knife. The edges of the material should be even. If the door is dull, the cutting process will go faster. If the door has recesses under the glass, then cut in stages, in parts.
3. Start pasting from the top of the canvas. Peel off the protective film gradually, no more than 10 cm.
4. Attach the film to the top of the door leaf, glue it.
5. Smooth the glued area with a rubber spatula or a soft cloth, just as you do in the case of wallpaper - from the middle to the edges.
6. Slowly, 10 cm apart, remove the protective layer, move from top to bottom, parallelly expel the bubbles with a rubber spatula or cloth.
7. Wrap the film on the ends of the door. You can glue the ends before processing the main canvas - for this, wrap a small strip of material from the end onto the canvas.

Important! If you decide to stick the material on the end along with gluing the entire canvas, then do not forget to take into account its dimensions when cutting.

8. Use a sharp knife to trim the excess material. Do this carefully, very carefully.
9. Cut openings for the lock, handles, other removed accessories.
10. Insert the glasses, fasten them with glazing beads (if you took them out).
11. Give the door time to adapt and dry.
12. Insert all fittings.
13. Decorate the hinges.
14. Hang the door on the hinges.

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Useful Tips

It should be borne in mind that it is extremely difficult to re-stick the film, so use the following recommendations and small tricks in the process:

1. Immediately before gluing the door with a self-adhesive film, apply a soap solution to the surface of the canvas using a spray gun. This will make it possible to shift the self-adhesive if necessary. At the final stage, use a rubber spatula to remove any mortar from the film.
2. If bubbles formed during sticking, gently pierce them with a needle, blow off air accumulations, smoothing with a soft cloth. Another option to get rid of the bubbles is to heat the problem area with a hairdryer, and then smooth it again.
3. To self-adhesive well pressed to the base, projections, corners, blow dry with a hairdryer. The film on the door will melt a little, so it will lie tightly on the surface.
4. Self-adhesive perfectly fits on the varnished sheet, however, if you intend to remove the film from the door in the future, in no case cover it with polyester or primer.
5. If in the future you want to remove self-adhesive, then use a hairdryer. Warm the film well - the glue will detach from the base. You can use for this purpose as a regular hair dryer, and industrial or fan-heater. After the film becomes soft and starts to lag, pry off the corner, pull the cover towards you.
6. A proven way to remove the film is to wet the surface with hot water. Thoroughly clean the surface with water, and after a couple of minutes, peel off the coating with a knife or spatula. Remove glue from the surface using alcohol or thinner.

Important! A self-adhesive film has a lot of advantages, but most importantly - it is universal, can be used to decorate any surface:

• Manufacturers recommend using a film for facing budget materials, such as chipboard, MDV, PVC, which often have a very inexpressive appearance and quickly wear out.
• Self-adhesive can also be used for a metal door. If someone does not like the elegant luster of iron, then the doors can be given a traditional wooden look.

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Stock footage

Thanks to the film, you can completely transform any door leaf and update the entire interior of the house. Use the advice and recommendations outlined in the article, and you will not only as soon as possible update the entire design of the room, but also improve the wear resistance of the door.