How and how much to pay a good tinter?

Hello all, I am an old school tinter ( when you had to cut your own film ). I tinted for about 7 years but that was in the early/mid 90's. I am now looking to open a shop and am looking for info on how tinters are generally paid these days. In my day, I was paid by the sq. ft by one shop and flat rate per car by another shop I worked for. Either way, I basically made 30 - 35 bucks for a 4 door car.
My question is - is there a standard way today that tinters are paid and about how much does a tinter make per car? Also, has the widespread use of the plotter made any difference in the how much a shop pays it's tinters?
One more question concerning film. When I was tinting, we had a lot of problems with LLumar film, but, it seems to be the most widely used now. Can someone give me some input on some decent quality brands and their relative cost?
Apreciate any help! Thank You

to the board,

Pay all depends on your area, and exp of the tinter, aroud about average would be about 30 - 35% of the ticket, as far as films, EVERYONE on here has their own "favorite" brand, I myself use Madico and Huper Optik, there are alot on here who use LLumar, and like it, others like Johnsons, Solar Gard, Sun Gard, Global, 3M, Hanita, in other words what I'm trying to say is get ahold of a few different mfg. and have em send you some samples out, and find a film you and your installers like working with, and has good customer service.

I personally don't use a plotter, everything i do is hand cut, that works for me as I do alot of mobile work, others use a plotter and love it, if you don't have to lay out the money for a plotter when just opening up, I wouldn't but that's JMO.

Hope that helps answer your questions.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Has llumar solved quality issues that I used to see and how is it priced compared to some other brands?

not sure about "the old days" perhaps it was the low end film? I haven't been using Llumar for but a year. I love it. I don't think you could go wrong with it.

Price is on the higher end, but check the pricing on film and you will see that there is only a few percent difference in the pricing. I don't mind the extra cost as I cut my time down by an equivalent amount for any given tint job... time is money after all.

Aut film wise, I've tried differnt brands through the yrs ..some I liked, a couple of brands I wouldn't install if the film was given to me for free.

Flatglass wise, our family has stuck with Llumar for over 20 yrs never straying from it and have never been disappointed with it as jobs we've done yrs ago still are holding strong

Not much has REALLY changed in the shop mgmt. end. Pay them commission, use good film, and realize that EVERYBODY has a bad batch now and again, LLumar is pretty consistent in quality, Most everyone else has changed formulas, tried to re-invent the wheel, and it's come back to bite 'em. Alot of NEW film companies have cropped up, and IMHO they don't have the track record of longevity some of the older players have. Of course some of the old reliable players are no longer reliable, just old!
My guys (Back when I had a crew) were making between between 55 and 70 per car at 30% commission. If you can tint, stay with you doing the tint until the business gets to the point that you can't handle the work flow by yourself. Hiring a GOOD, reliable tinter is next to impossible. There are reasons that a good tinter is unemployed.
A plotter is only good for one thing IMHO. Selling pre-cut kits to those who would otherwise walk over price. I have started selling them. Let 'em try it for themselves. Most of the time they come back with thier tail between thier legs.
As far as good brands now, LLumar is good, SunTek, SunGard, Hanita, are all good car films as well.

Oh yeah............ to the board. Stick around, It gets REALLY interesting 'round here!

you will get 10 tinters and they will give you 10 different answers about window film manufacturers.

just depends on your preference, what you can afford. etc etc

been with LLumar for 21 yrs

the adventurous type huh?

1/3 is the going rate for seasoned tinter and by seasoned i mean you can feel confident that it wont come back in 2 weeks. guys that work for less tend to have issues. I have found that some guys prefer salary ($XXXX/week) but the 'you work you get paid you dont work you dont get paid' system seems to work for everyone involved



I have found they all suck in one category or another. some shrink better, some scratch easier, some the adhesive stick better some are 'Clearer' than others. Stick with one of the top guys LLumar Madico solargard suntek and you be alright

35% is the going rate around here. some like to get paid per window, I pay 10 per door, and 20 on car bg. big 1/4'z 5 and small 1/4'z 5 for the pair. so my guys make like 60-65 for the complete car.

man this topic makes me feel glad i started my own business and left the shop i was at go ahead laugh at me for stickin around for 3 years makin 10% of price off a car... 35% sounds so much better and more fair he also tried to cut my pay several times imagine that.... and no im not just an average tinter ive tinted over 1000 cars and several flat glass jobs over 300 sq. ft. of glass each thats not too much but its alot for one tinter by which i was making 50 cents a sq.ft. for whats yalls take on that whats the going rate for flat glass installer?

From the many topics we've had on flat glass rates, it seems $.80 - $2 a square can be had... all depends on window type, materials provided, etc.

When I get help, I pay per day... when I help, I ask for a per day rate.... depending on the job. For huge commercial jobs, I ask for a per sq/ft rate...

Many things to consider when coming up with a price. I try and be fair to the guys I use... who are friends, and they are fair to me when I help them, so it works for us.


-R

Welcome
I like a plotter in house or mobile..

Some times the newer cars arent updated so free-hand is a "go!'

I work on commision.I wont wait for the ploter.Once the deals seald,"Its on!"

Been in business 15 years never paid a tinter commission. You cant make good money paying 35% commission. I have an experience tinter pay him a salary and he can work 6 days a week if he wants . He makes about $6oo after taxes a week . He is guarenteed 40 hrs eventhrough the winter rain or shine . Then i hire 2 others at $8 hr to clean install side windows and cut tint on the plotter . My labour cost comes out about 25% . I supervise also so it sort of have to be in the shop when it is busy. The problem with commision tinters is they make $1000/mnth in the 3 months of summer and they bitch the other 10 months of the year they are under paid. With my guys you do everything answer phones, help customers clean up the shop .

$600 for an experienced tinter

$100 a day.....

I'd hit the road. Hope they aint trying to raise families on a hundred bucks a day. It's possible, but sure as hell wouldn't be fun.

shoot my old boss was payin me 10% and i ran the place most i made one week was 410 answer phones clean shop help customers heck there was only two of us in the shop did it all i basically ran my own shop and paid some yoo hoo 80% minus 10% for supplies haha now i own my own shop and its so much better so much happier : )

$15 per hour after taxes sounds like a fair rate, depending on what area of the country it is.
What does that figure to before taxes? around $18 per hour ?

been there done that,i feel yuh bro.. but i work for another owner who is totally different so good work and good work ethics dont go unseen or respected

That's a heckuva thing to say.

I'm unemployed right now because two morons bought a thriving tint business and ran it into the ground.

I wasn't speaking in absolutes. You are probably (I don't know you, so I can't say.) an exception. There are good tinters, and then there are reliable tinters. There are also GOOD, RELIABLE tinters. Scarce as hens teeth, and worth thier weight in gold.
GENERALLY, there is a reason that a good tinter is unemployed. Such as in your case. But usually a good tinter thats unemployed has "issues". Either they are Prima Donnas, and don't play well with others, or have substance abuse or other reliability issues. You can do immaculate work 100% of the time you are at work, but if I can't rely on you to show up for work, you are worthless to me. How can one schedule work if one cannot be absolutely certain that an employee will be there to do said work? Many times I have scheduled a full day for 2 tinters, only to be the only tinter that showed up. THAT, my friend, really blows!!!

my guys get a guaranteed salary too in the slower months, if they are there and work. If they just sit on their ass and watch tv then they don't get nada!! The way the salary works is I keep tabs on all the piece work they do and if at the end of the week it doesn't meet the salary rate, I'll still give them our agreed upon rate. If they go over the salary rate than they made more and so did I. As for not being able to make money by paying them that way, I feel it's fair for both of us because of the going rate in our area. Also I also tint, and when you got yourself and a few guys tinting at the same time, how am I not making money? Tight wad bosses like you suck bro!

Top guys make $1K+ a week, slow or flat out if you want to keep them

A good reliable tinter should always make 900 or more a week . most of the shops around our region pay 30 to 40%. or a flat rate per car.Most of the tinters i know that are quality make 45k or more a year workin for a shop and more if they own it. problem is now alot of shops dont see tinting as a skilled profession because they have a plotter and think anyone can stick tint. Yep any one can stick it but it takes a real skilled professional to make it look great and not have returns

damm talk about a sheister let me talk to your tinters n tell them to move to arizona theyll make way more geese
the Donald says (your fired)you are totally them

Very interesting. . . . . .