How long did it take...

How long did it take you guys to get comfortable with tinting, and what you would call "good" at it? I started in late March...and have been tinting alone since May-ish. I used to approach every job overwhelemed and scared...now I get in, get it done, and am proud of my work.

I had a GREAT teacher, and it was about 6 mos. before it "clicked"...and I was able to do an acceptible job. But you're always learning, new tip, tricks, and new cars....It's something that never ends

I heard that. I finally clicked...lol what a good feeling. Luckily I know I have a lot to learn...some of these shops around here already know everything. Man it pisses me off to talk with a "know it all".

i would say 2 years before you can produce average work - i think before this time you are kidding yourself and your customers.

I feel the standard in Europe can higher that other countries but we can charge double the amount.

I guess it all depends on what your definition of "good" is. I know people that have been tinting for years that suk!

It took me longer than most on here..not because of being not good at it..but because of no internet support, lack of tools , isolation , no heat gun being introduced into the picture ..so yrs

You younger guys got it good

Don't care if it's Europe or the States, the standard is high...be sure you're comfortable...

I agree...what does it matter where I'm at tinting? I've lurked around on this forum tons without posting, sucking up the knowledge you pro's produce and wasted a bunch of film to get it right. In fact, I tinted a car for a dealership the other day. Just so happened the owner of one of the best tint shops in town bought it. The dealership told me he was impressed with the tint job, and was content with leaving it on there. That says something right? Who am I kidding? HA!

I'm getting more and more comfortable. I've noticed if I'm distracted I take longer, and it stresses me some...but I stay consistant with my quality

Confortable is when you have worked on all the brands available in your country, all the tinters " Nightmare cars 944, 928 " (which are now thought of as easy - never) - then your comfortable 95% of the time until you get unusual request like 1962 Rolls Royce Phantom, or Maybach, Veyron, New Ferrari etc.

How long does that take? upshot is you're never 100% comfortable.

i would say you could et it down good in one year working under an experienced tinter if he teaches you all the tricks.

I remember when I started no red devils,no hard cards no lil chizlers, no tint schools or internet just a big medal scraper and my black squeegee plus I had to walk 10 miles in the snow to get to the shop

Plus no heat gun, just a hair dryer.

Took me about a year to be comfortable, and about 2-3 years to be good. I do things better today then I did 2 years ago, and Ive got almost 10 years exp. It takes many different cars to be considered a pro. I thought I was good a year in until I did a Dodge Avenger (i think that what it was) and an Eclipse.

uphill, BOTH ways and with one boot.... :p

started may of '08. only got 8 days to watch/learn from the then tinter before he left (done with college). spent month playing around on non-customer cars before they threw me in the mix of things.
was doing 1 full car a day for awhile with pointers from my boss. caught onto the shrinking technique and cutting film shortly after. then found a groove/process that worked for me and was doing 3 cars a day by winter.

i pull panels and dont use a plotter, so i'd say thats decent for how long ive been doing this. still learning though and take longer when harder cars come in (vette, camero, etc).

Whats the benefit of pulling panels? I would think it only costs you time. I'm not trying to offend you, but why don't you tuck the film, and zap it real quick with heat to tack it up under the seals? I understand on some cars pulling the window seals out, but the whole panel? Do you do it on every car or just some?

some cars seals dont just pull out. they are attached to the panel, so the panel has to go.. sometimes you can pull the top seal back a lil bit, but then it sometimes messes with that way it atatches to the panel and you now not only have to pull the panel, but fix the problem.

Agreed, did an 09 phantom coupe, easiest glass to do, but so nerve racking because the customers car is 3x the amount of my house, I spent a good 4 hrs. just to make sure every panel was wrapped in plastic, no way a drip of solution could touch anything..

benefit...less hassel with the tint when installing. just the way i was taught too.
i don't have issues pulling panels since i've done so man stereo installs over the years before i started tinting.

not sure how every1 here cuts their windows, but on a lot of the videos i've watched it seems to be common to cut the sides without adding 1/8th inch to each side. thats what i do (cut longest side, slide over, cut other side, center and lock), so not only would i be tucking the sides but also the bottom.

1st hour doing a 95 4-door cutlass supreme.

can you remember the first time someone showed you heat shrinking. FOr me it was on a geo metro 2 dr the rear quarters.

Ya, I remember my bosses and I heard about being able to do an old style Camaro in one piece and none of us believed it until we saw the video tape.

IT TAKES SOME TIME AND PACITENTS UR SPEED WILL COME JUST GET IT DOWN DONT GET IN A HURRY IT TOOK ME YEARS TO GET WHERE I AM AT TODAY

just keep working on skills and techniques, speed will come. started in 86 was comfortable about a year and a half thats when my old boss awarded me the golden olfa knife with presentation box! and i remember hair dryers as well.

took me several years to feel confident in my work. i started back when rear w/s was being spliced in 3-5 peices and when heat shrinkin was just discovered. and way bfore the bulldozers!!!!!

This is true, you always run into new situations, you'll have common knowledge, but better beable to adapt on the fly if something throws you off, or your done for

just a quickie - i only feel comfortable when i have enough time, dont rush.... just because others say they can do a full car in an hour dont try and mimic them, time scale will come with experiance. just take your time. start rushing and you will produce scruffy work - REMEMBER YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST JOB!

Getting alot done in one day used to be three full cars. I cant believe how far things have come over the years. Still learning new cars, new techniques, new tools, new customers... business situations.

The biggest challenge becomes enjoying it vs work. When your exhausted and trying to slam out several cars in a day, your work goes bad, people skills go bad, and you get burned out. Not saying Im always busy, but when I am its a challenge to keep it within limits and still enjoy it.

Its my biggest focus now because Im prob not getting out of this business for another 10 years or more.

The amount of time it takes to get 'good' varies. We've had tinters who've been doing this for 2-3 years and weren't worth a crap. Then we've had guys that after a YEAR of on the job training do a PRETTY DANG GOOD JOB.

I'd say a solid bench mark to shoot for though, is 1 hour most cars, start to finish. Cutting, shrinking, installation while still keeping your installation standards UP. But as a general rule of thumb our store(s) set the bar at 2 hours most cars. We've got 3 stores and average only about 4 cars per day (For tint) per location. So 2 hours is realistic for our business, for our quality standards and acceptable to our customers.

But honestly, being 'good' at tint...........As other's have said, we've seen work of tinters that have been doing this for 10+ years and they suck, plain and simple.

So instead of taking 'speed' into account so much go for STANDARDS.

1 Piece back windows every time (There are only 3 cars which we don't REQUIRE ourselves to tint in 1 piece).
Minimal dirt particles
No scratches on the film from improperly handling/tool use
No cut gaskets/edges
All windows Micro-edged
ZERO LIGHT GAPS NO EXCUSE (it's extremely rare we have a car that has any form of light showing as there really isnt a GOOD reason for it except for FACTORY SEAL FAILURE or broken window mechanics)

And then last but not least
The best judge of all. ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS RAVING FANS........We're not talking about 'happy with the job for the money'. I mean do they tell EVERYONE they know how great of a job you did........or do they complain you said it was going to be done by a certain time and missed your OWN deadline. Ultimately your skills are judged by your customers.

Goodluck though bud!

Joe Cassity
Alarms, ETC.
http://www.alarmsetc.com

Still not comfortable jk I get more and more comfortable every day but Im always still learning. When you think you know everything thats when %&$# goes downhill.

That was the old Solar Guard demo video!!! I watched that in 91 i think and shrank the old Astro van back windows first! I still remember the blow dryer days on the old Probe 1/4 windows! How things have changed!!!