Horrible horrible tint job

This is my first post.

I have a camper van that I wanted the windows tinted on so I did some research and finally decided on a reputable shop (name whithheld until they get a chance to make this right) and a Llumar "Pinnacle" tint. It was not a low priced shop...

I dropped the van off last Saturday (Dec 16th) and the guys took one look at it and said they were only in for a half day and could I bring it back because they doubt they'd finish in time. I drove over 100 miles to the shop from out of town but the last thing I wanted was a rush job, so I left the vehicle and told them they could have it all week, and took Greyhound home. I called Monday to give them my timeline and they told me it was already done. That surprised me a bit, given what they said about not wanting to rush.

I picked up the vehicle Wednesday evening (mistake I should have done it during the day) so the van had two days in the shop already to dry. I did notice several cutouts and uneven seams (it is an older vehicle so there was no template in the computer - therefore it was hand cut) but nothing I didn't think I could live with except that the back window was VERY rough. The best way to describe it was: picture what a bad amature tint job looks like five years after it was done.

I spent quite a bit of time preping the window area myself (by prep I do NOT mean cleaning the glass - as I figured they had cleaners that they use, I mean removing any hardware that was attached to the glass, or screens in front of windws as I wanted to give them the easiest possible access.

What I ended up with were lots of bubbles on just about every window. It is very difficult to photograph because of reflections and focus issues but have a look at these photos and see what I mean. It looks MUCH worse in person / up close:







Thoughts?
Chris

wow, that looks really bad.

well in my oppinion there is way to much contamination in those windows. They are rubber gasket seals which make them harder to do and there will be a little more contamination on those type of windows then normal ones but in my oppinion the contamination is excessive.

Wow, are you sure you didn't do it yourself in the middle of the night, w/o your glasses, w/no light around at all? Man that looks worse than my first tint job. (2 weeks ago). Yea I'd take it back in a heartbeat.

That is actually my main issue with this, it looks like I did the job myself (badly), I hoestly think I could have done better than the shop did.

Chris

I honestly have never seen anything that bad come out of a tint shop before.
have you sent the pictures to the shop ?


this job almost looks as bad as the chick in my avitar

this has got to be a joke. Why would you drive that far, spend that much money on a bus ride, pinnacle film, for an old pos truck like that? you would have been better off going to a hack shop.

Stevie wonder tint? :lol2Sorry to laugh at your misfortune-who said they are reputable? That is pitiful!

I would love a shot at that van. Where are you located ?

Tell them to mail you a refund and go somewhere else.

Those old vehicles like that are a pain in the butt to tint but even still no excuse for that much contamination. You need to talk to the people who tinted it.

Ouch! Well...

I drove that far because it was one of only two FormulaOne tint dealers near me. Also my parents live in the same city as the dealer so I was going to visit them at the same time (It didn't work out that way but I kept the tint apointment anyway). I'm at my parents now for Christmas.

The bus ride was pretty cheap actually $25.00 as I got a student fare (I'm in grad school).

As for old pos truck, yup it is old (1986) but I wouldn't call it a pos, I'm surprised you can tell mutch about it from close ups. The 4WD campers are In restored condition they can actually be quite valuable ($30K-$80K): VW Syncro Campers . And while I understand they are not everyone's taste I love mine. Here is one of my favorite photos of my ride:

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r18/DoctorChris/da4a.jpg

In terms of going to a hack shop, judging from the job I got I would have to say that i did...

Chris

Ontario Canada

There is a guy on here goes by TintWizard he is also in ontario I would get ahold of him espisally if you are there now for the holidays, he does good work, I don't know what film he uses, but hes no hack I feel bad for ya on that one, they should have never let that fly.

TW too old to anwser the call on this one

Well .................... ok but he could at least point him in the right direction ah heck what do I know

TW's stays on vacation from July til March! Thats what I'm talkin bout!!

Three things I see here...

One old vehicle that's been driven and collected a lot of dirt in those window borders...

Not enough time was spent on this job...

LLumar does not have a Pinnacle film, FormulaOne does... and there are only three FormulaOne shops in Canada. I know of one in Ontario area and I know the owner and know he didn't do that. He's not capable of a bad install, period!

Something really stinks like in this whole story.

Unfortunately, the resolution to this is through the installing firm.

Don't forget he goes back on from March til July

WOW that is bad did you not see a sample of ther work before hand ?

Man I have ben working in a places that restore classics, mucle cars and anything that mignt be considered kewl to most folks all my life and you will find some of the guys that do this kind of crap really dig what most people dont I think your van is bad azz and I think it deserves a better tint job dont fukk with that tint shop get your money back and find somone on this site to redo it . I would love to but I am in TX. I know I would like to post the after pics on this site of that job and I would give a good deal just to do it . Maybe someone in ontario would do the same

Good luck ,but I think you should tell that tinter he shouldnt be in business kwite yet he needs much more practice and you dont want him to hack that practice out on YOUR van and get a refund .

Yup the vehicle is old, and I'm certain window dirt played a part in this, I am not a tinting professional so I don't know how hard that is to deal with, I just know the end product looks like crap.

Regarding the LLumar / Pinnacle thing sorry, I am wrong I guess it is a formulaone tint not a Llumar one (I just saw a lot of Llumar boxes at this place so assumed it was a Llumar brand)... my bad.

I just got off the phone with the shop owner and he wants me to bring my van back Wednesday (after Christmas) to see if he can make it right.

There are three FormulaOne shops in Ontario acording to www.formulaone.com what is the first name of the owner you know?

Chris

Not trying to be mean, but did you not look at it first ?
I would say forget this guy, he should get a 2nd chance ? This might look good compared to a free redo.
I would forget the original tinter and keep it local.
I feel for you !

I like your van

I don't like your tint job Older vehicles with windows like this can be a challenge
compared to the newer vehicles on the road. You must spend extra time on the prep
work (my case double) or you get what you have.

I would rather have a normal high performance film done right that top shelf tint done
poorly very poorly.

My opinion is get your money back and go somewhere else.

, money back, I think is requiered??

whoops sorry there dude. I like your van, yes they are cool. At first I thought it was a ford f-150 . No offense

Also. I would report that to formula 1. They screen thier shops ,dealers and installers to make sure that does'nt happen,so that only the best can sell their product. If you cantact them , I'm sure they will make it right to you,and hopefully rake that shop over the coals

He is owner/operator and a member of this message board... no name necessary, it's most likely not him.

1peec has a point, however, servicing F1 shops in Canada from the US side of the border can be somewhat restrictive for a couple of reasons that need not be said publicly... this one's up to the distributor, if it even needs go that far.

Any report on an F1 dealer should and usually is the absolute last resort after all other avenues have been exhausted... same for LLumar dealers.

Can i use those pictures as a example for my site?

http://www.myspace.com/tint_terrorist

dude your killin me

oh $|-|17

Yore right man-almost makes the story fishy to think a F1 shop would turn that out!!!

Sure, plus if I take more pics I'll let you know.

Where did you get that avatar?

Chris

The avatar on here? i found that on ernieshouseofwhoopass.com in th epicture section

wow, that really is a horrid job. It saddens me that there are actually shops out there releasing work like this!!!!! If you cant make it look right, at least call the customer and tell them sorry, but you cant do it! This one is very bad, I really hope they can get this squared away for you!! Best of luck, and happy holidazzzze!!!!!!!!!!

I just sent a friend request to you....


Worst job I have ever seen ona Vee dub

f-1 dealer doing that?

they werent even trying on that right there.

those vanagon style vans need to have all the windows taken out in order to do a near perfect job, if not straight perfect. i've done a hand full. doing them on there is a joke all out. gotta take those windows out. if you paid good money you should ask them to take them out or have a glass shop take them out for them and redo them. if not, have them take off the film and take it somewhere else.

We can see the rocks under the film from way downunder.

You should have been told before the job that the installer didn't have the expertise to attack an old dirt contaminated vehicle.
At least that way you could have made an better informed decision.

Yes that's a refund job mate.
Devil

A lot of people are saying I should ask for a refund, and whiel I agree the job is really bad is that something that they will do? Honestly I don't want the film on my van like this so I want it removed and refunded.

Is that realistic?

Chris

They knew it was that bad when it left their shop, I hope.
Get your money back, if they say thats the best they can do, after they remove that pathetic attempt at tinting your windows. If they dont remove it, it will cost you plenty at the next shop if they are any good.

I believe it was stated earlier that they (the offending shop) would step up and redo... that's how most business people conduct themselves... asking for a refund before giving a business person a second chance at making it right, is how consumer's like to conduct themselves.

If it was me, I wouldn't make another mistake of letting them do it again. It looks like that glass was not cleaned at all, there is no way the tinter cared about how it looked in the first place. I would get a refund and take it somewhere else, if it has to be done twice I would take my chances on someone else doing the job. But that's just me as a consumer, as a tinter it wouldn't leave the shop looking like that but I would redo it if I screwed up.

I think this is a fair statement.

The worst of the pics got posted at the begining of this thread. But in looking at EVERY window I would say there are serveral flaws in each of them. When I go in on Wednesday I will present this to the owner / manager something along the lines of:

Please do take your second shot, but if the results are similar I will be asking you to remove all the film and refund my all money. If alternatively you do not feel you can tint this van due to whatever issues are inherent in its current condition (old rubber seals, design, etc.) then, at your option, feel free to waive this second chance and simply remove the film and refund my money.

Thoughts?

Chris

Sounds like a reasonable straight forward approach, give it a try.
They might just leave that stuff on and refund your money.

sounds about right, but whatever you do don't let them leave that on, or like big money said, you will pay plenty to have it stripped and tinted later

if i couldnt get a job done correctly for some reason i would accept your offer for the refund. but like someone else has said they should be taken out. if he doesnt have any experience doing that, he should be willing to just give the money back than have a headache of a time trying and risking breaking one.

just keep cool and he cant deny you a refund. if you blow up than he has the upper hand.

that is awsome i wish i was that good

I was just looking at my paperwork and there is a box that says "Work Completed to Customer's Satisfaction" with an X for a signature. I didn't sign it.

While I just hope to resolve this with the original vendor, that MUST put me in a better position should this need to be escalated to FormulaOne or small claims court.

Out of curiosity how long would it take to remove tinting from my van? There are twenty individual windows (including the skylight) in the whole van (since many of the windows are split 50/50). There are 14 windows on the bottom and 6 on top (again including skylight).

Chris

Chill dude and see what they do next weds. Everybody around here has been great and very helpful. However when you start mentioning court and stuff it tends to sour a few attitudes. Have a good Christmas and see how things turn out