How long did it take...

Mr paladin · July 20, 2009

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 :lol

TintDude · July 21, 2009

Plus no heat gun, just a hair dryer. :lol

TintJunkie · July 21, 2009

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.

July 23, 2009

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

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).

July 25, 2009

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

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?

July 25, 2009

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.

July 25, 2009

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.

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..

July 28, 2009

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?

benefit...less hassel with the tint when installing. :dunno 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.

July 28, 2009

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.

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