Tint Gone Bad, Radio Reception etc. Advice needed

April 4, 2007

I had my '00 S500 tinted last Friday with Suntek Infinity Metallic 35% all around. It killed my AM Radio reception. Additionally, there are a few light scratches (guessing from the edge of the squegee) on 2 side windows, a small crease in a rear vent window, a couple of small spots that are not stuck to the rear glass at the bottom edge of the rear windshield.

Having said that, none of the flaws can be seen from the outside and the car looks great. My question is the following:

Reasonably speaking:

1. Should the installer, who came highly recommended (I paid him the asking price w/o negotiation) have known and informed me about the Radio interference w/rear antenna ?

2. What is a reasonable compromise I should seek as a remedy ? He is looking at it tomorrow.

3. Will replacing the tint with a Suntek Carbon or a ceramic product damage the defrost lines and the antenna ?

4. Are the minor imperfections I am noticing common or should they be fixed by him ?

Again, I want to be reasonable with him and am willing to pay extra, but just want the job to be flawless.

Advice and suggestions for a remedy are appreciated.

April 4, 2007

Need to mention that the tint brand and type was strongly recommended by him.

April 4, 2007

If he was Highly recomended, then.......

1. Yes he should have known, and yes should have informed you about the reception issues to insue with a metalized film

2. He should remove the film and put a film that will not interfear with the antenna and IMO should do so for free as it was his mistake.

3. If he is a compitent (sc) installer, he should be able to remove the film without any harm to the antenna or defrost lines.

4a. the scratches are they in the film or the glass? we have been having a discussion on the board about some recent problems with Suntek film scratching while squeeging it out, so thats tough to say without seeing it.

4b. again with the crease hard to say without seeing it, but no there should be no creases in the film after installation my :lol

4c. the bottom of the rear window has a run of matrix (little black dots) and it is hard for the film to lay absolutly perfect on those, but it should be able to be pressed out.

5. a question to you, since it is a Mercedes, did he add felt to your door rubbers as Mercedes do not add felt from the factory anymore your film WILL scratch over a short time from rolling the windows up and down, not a film problem, it is a car problem and alot of car mfg. are starting to do them that way.

Hope that answers your questions and helps you out.

A good reputable installer will handle the problems in question without hesitation if he/she feels they are an issue.

:beer

P.S. :beer to the board

shwusyrtnts · April 4, 2007

A job will never be flawless but should not have a lot of imperfections. As far as the re-tint as long as he is not using razors to remove the back glass you are all good. A color stable dyed film will not affect the am but also will not look like an all metal film. Good luck :beer

April 4, 2007

Give it two weeks to dry out :beer

April 4, 2007

Appreciate the quick repsonse from everyone.

1. The scratch is on the tint and not the glass.

2. No felt was added on the door rubber and nothing was mentioned. I discovered that during my research as well.

3. I pointed out the scratches when picking up the car he asked me to give it 5 days. Tomorrow is day 12 (granted no sun for the 6 days after install).

April 4, 2007

You can't judge a wet tint job :beer

April 4, 2007

out of curiosity where are you located?

no scratch in the film is going to dry up, sorry :beer what he meant by that,

and I would ask him about the felt on the rubbers, that is a KEY factor when doing vehicles that don't have it.

Appreciate the quick repsonse from everyone.

Thats what we are here for :beer

TINT · April 4, 2007

good luck man. :beer

April 4, 2007

one other thing is if you paid him for a higher priced film such as a metalized and since there is interferance with the radio then its either dyed or ceramic and the dyed is typically a cheaper film that will fade to purple.