Blackwolftinting

Smart Card with felt. Bondo with felt. Both for dry shrinking. Regular white card if you’re wet shrinking. The outside release liner will normally get scratched during the heat shrinking process. If you’re getting scratches in the actual film, it’s likely that there’s dirt under the film before you begin heat molding. Make sure to clean the glass thoroughly before you apply the film for heat shrinking to avoid pulling any grit through the bottom side of the film.

Don’t do it. It’ll look like caacaa.

Wipe down the A pillars and entire dashboard thoroughly. Or remove them completely(A pillars). Prep, squeegee then wet again-feel with your hand to make sure you didn’t miss anything on the glass. Wet. Wipe the sides from top to bottom with a paper towel. Final squeegee, DO NOT HIT THE HEADLINER(if you do, start over). Spray sides from top to bottom to flush any contamination down. Light spray on windshield except top 3”-4” of windshield. I’m sure you already have the reverse roll technique down, so next step is install. Sometimes I stick the side and unravel across the glass, sometimes I unravel it all the way across the dash then start working the film on from bottom to top. Hope that was clear and helps a little.

Use a heat gun on them when you see them. Push top to the defrost line, bottom to the defrost line. They’ll usually stay down. If you have any that are a pain and won’t lay, you can put a really small score line running along the defroster line. Then heat, push both ends towards the scored line. I had this on a new 300C the other day. It happens from time to time and is super annoying.

You can only shrink a finger towards the factory straight edge. If you shrink it any other way the film will singe and it’ll never lay down.

Before dry shrinking was a thing, wet was the only way to go. And we would have to leave a lot of relief on the sides. Basically fingers that went horizontally along the edge. Then we would make relief cuts along the defroster lines which would allow the film to overlap itself, getting rid of the side fingers. You can try that method if you’re not able to shrink a back window 100%. But to answer your question, you CAN NOT shrink to any non-factory straight edge. It’ll buckle and never lay down.

Maybe vinyl lettering or car wrap usage? I’ve never seen them used for window tinting.

I’m not sure if it’s changed, but mid-late 90’s all the colored film was strictly dyed. It would only last about 6-8 months before it started to fade, delaminate or bubble. Good luck with your search.

BG is Frankie. Windshield is reverse roll every tine. I used to get install marks if I tried to Frankie a windshield, and almost always right in the drivers line of sight. Now that I reverse roll that never happens. I always tuck a rope on the bottom of the dash to soak/stop excess water. Spray and wipe entire dashboard. Spray and wipe entire a-pillar trim unless it’s easily removed(if so I remove it). Standard prep. Wipe down once on each side with paper towel. Wipe dash again. Final squeegee. They come out satisfactory for me, and as a shop owner I HAVE to be my staunchest critic.

I use Blue Max for my doors and bg. Small yellow turbo for 1/4’s and final glass prep.

I tell them it goes on the outside with 50mph glue. And then I just wait.

TL;DR Tape the felt edges. Top install and tuck the bottom. I understand some vehicles can be a pita...but if you want to succeed, look into learning new techniques and adjusting your style accordingly. If you just abandon any vehicle that demonstrates more of a challenge, not only will you stagnate but you’ll lose a lot of business as well.

Tint Town Dave could do twice as many, in half the time. 😏

To the OP. If you’re not happy, go back and tell them. Ask them politely yet assertively to redo it. But don’t tell them your 3 year old kid could do a better job. That type of attitude won’t fly, even though you have a legitimate reason to return. Just my .02.