Our full frame system is perfect for shielding windows and protecting people and property. This tutorial takes you step by step through the installation process. Also see the Surface Mount Installation tutorial #4 for doors and shallow offset framing, as well as How to Measure tutorials #1 and #2.
Transcript: How To Install Full Frame ArmorPlast Tutorial 3
This is Brad from Riot Glass, and in this tutorial I'll show you how to install the ArmorPlast full frame system. You can also find written instructions and diagrams of the anatomy of the ArmorPlast system @riotglass. com. Let's go over the tools you'll need for this project. A tape measure, an adjustable carpenter square, a drill gun, lots of drill bits and screw drive bits. A planer, a jigsaw a pen to mark the extrusions before you cut them, a chop saw with a blade that's suitable for cutting aluminum a couple of saw horses, some painters tape, some denatured alcohol a suction cup for moving the panels around a nylon hammer and a piece of one by one for mounting the caps. Keep an exacto knife handy as well. And if your ArmorPlast system is going to be exposed to weather or pressure washing, make sure you have clear silicone and a silicone gun. Of course, no job is complete without a shop vac. You're also going to need some window cleaning supplies, including a spray bottle for some mild soapy water, a triumph blade holder and extra blades, paper towels, a squeegee, a teflon hardcard and light duty Scotchbrite scrub pads. Kits are available @riotglass. com if you ordered your ArmorPlast in kit form. You'll now want to locate your map that you made during the measuring phase. As you unpack your ArmorPlast kits, you'll notice that the extrusions and the panels are numbered. Those numbers correspond to the windows and the cut sizes you entered when you submitted your map and measurements. Clean the glass and framing using as little water as possible while still doing a really good job. I recommend that you clean the whole row of windows at once, so when you come back to the first one, it's had time to dry. We'll also use the hard card and paper towels to wick away all the excess water. You're now ready to make the final framing alterations. The full frame ArmorPlast system comes in three components the base, the wedge and the cap, and they're installed in that order. Each framing member is sent to you one to two inches over your provided measurements so that you can trim them to the exact fit. Mark each of the four sides, and you might want to make a little mark so you know which ones top, bottom, left and right. You may also want to consider cutting it a little bit longer and then dry fitting it and then coming back and trimming it again just to make sure it fits really nice and tight. The vertical framing always goes all the way from the top to the bottom, and the horizontal framing will fit within the vertical framing. And this extrusion you're looking at is the base, and we start with the base. And we also need to predrill, and you can see that we can either drill on this side, which is the direction the screw will go, but it's a little bit easier to actually flip this over and drill from the backside just inside this little nub here. And you'll get the hang of it after a few holes. But that puts us very, very close to this tubular section. And that's crucial because we need as much clearance between the tubular section, where that hole is, and the outside lip, because the wedge is going to fit in there. And we need to have enough room and clearance so that it doesn't hit the screw heads for strength. We want to start the first screw about two inches from the end of the base extrusion and then space them about six inches apart. And then, of course, the very last one at the other end of that extrusion should be about two inches from that end. If your ArmorPlast system is facing the exterior of the building, which most of them are, apply a generous bead of silicone under the base. You want to do this on all four sides of the window, and now's a good time to lower your torque setting. We don't want too much torque, or we might strip the screws as we're driving them in. Placement of the base is 116 to one eight from the outside edge of the original window frame. We need a little bit of room here, because when we install the cap in the later step, we do not want it to stand proud of the original window frame. We pre drilled our holes very close to the tubular part of the extrusion, and as you drive your screw in, you'll notice the head will drag along that tubular part, leaving a mark. This is normal and will be completely covered with the panel and cap in the next part of the installation. Now that you've installed the vertical framing, you want to install the horizontal, which sits within the vertical framing just like this, and just screw it in the same way you installed the verticals. We're going to be sealing this framing between the original glass and the ArmorPlast panel in just a few steps. So it's a good idea to keep your vacuum close by and try and keep your dust and shavings in check. Now it's time to install the double sided tape that came with your kit. But before you do that, be sure to wipe the frames with a denatured alcohol. This is installed on all four sides of the window on the base extrusion, and we're going to overlap the corners. So once we get to the edge, we'll trim it with the exacto knife. Then we need to peel back the liner so that the next piece can lay on top of the exposed adhesive of the tape. We'll just continue that pattern all the way around until all four sides are covered and all four corners are overlapped. Now we're ready to place the desiccant strip in that's provided for each window. Just remove the adhesive strips and lay it into the area between the original glass and the base framing. Then just press into place to set the adhesive. You are now ready to install the ArmorPlast panel. But before you remove the protective masking, dry fit the panel and make sure that it fits perfectly. Make sure you are utilizing a deep lipped suction cup designed for flexible materials. This affords you more control, especially on large panels. Your ArmorPlast panels are precision cut to your measurements, but in some cases you may need to trim just a little bit off and you can use a planer or a jigsaw, but just trim a little bit at a time. Once you have your panel fitting perfectly, make sure you do your final clean using the vacuum cleaner and a lint free cloth. I would recommend getting down and looking at it from multiple angles to make sure that there's no grease spots or fingerprints, lint or any type of debris. Because once you install the ArmorPlast panel, you will not want to remove it to get off any dirt that you may have missed. So just take your time on this part. Now place the provided glass setting blocks about eight inches apart from one another just along the bottom edge of the base. Now remove all of the protective masking from the double-sided tape that's on the base framing all the way around. You're now ready to place the ArmorPlast panel into the frame. But first wipe down the protective masking so that the static electricity doesn't pull dust onto the panel as you remove it. As you remove the inside protective liner, be sure not to touch that surface or the inside surface of the glass that you just cleaned. Once you have your ArmorPlast panel in place, it's time to install the wedge. But first we want to make sure we press very firmly all the way around the edge to make sure that the adhesive from the tape wets out properly. Then pull back your protective liner just enough to get the wedge in place. Remember that the wedge verticals go top to bottom and the horizontals sit within the verticals just the way you did the base. You'll notice this gap on the horizontal wedge and this is normal and it's designed to allow the cap to sit in properly. It'll be covered by the cap. It's a good idea to have someone hold the panel until you get your first screws in. The wedge has a little lip here and you want to slide that behind the lip on the base and make sure that it's evenly pressed into place before you start drilling. The wedge already has predrilled holes, so you’re just going to hold it in place and bore out the panel behind the wedge. Despite the illusion here, we're not drilling through the panel into the frame on the other side. We’re only boring through the ArmorPlast panel. Remember to lower the torque on your drill so you don’t strip the screws and just go all the way around and put a screw in every single hole. Once you have all of your wedge screws in, it’s time to move on to the final step. The cap, just like the base, comes a little bit longer than your submitted measurements, so you’ll need to mark them and trim accordingly. The cap goes in narrow in first, and it fits right into the wedge. You can snap it into place with the palm of your hand once you get it positioned, and then you'll want to tap it with your vinyl hammer and a wood block. Or in this case, we're using a PVC block. You definitely want to use some sort of block to absorb the force, otherwise you might dent the cap. Now it's time to remove the final protective liner on the outside. Be sure to give the cleaning instructions to the manager or the property owner. And remind them that ArmorPlast is durable, like the finish on a car, and it's very easy to maintain, like a regular window. Just avoid brushes, scrub pads and blades. There's enough logos provided to place one sticker on each window. Congratulations on a job well done. Be sure to check out the next video on the surface mount ArmorPlast system for doors and shallow offset frames. Close.
