Newbie

May 30, 2011

Just introducing myself as well as wanting some advice

I'm an Automotive Service Technician with hopes up opening up my own electrical / accessory / tinting shop one day.

I'm new too tinting and kinda just practicing at the moment, I have no "Shop" to do it in ATM apart from my carport.

I had taken a course from llumar, kinda learned the basics ... I've done a couple complete installs but by no means am I competent enough nor quick enough to make a living off it.

Just wondering, Which tint is best too use? price is not a major concern, I'm more concerned with quality than quantity - I'm using llumar ATC currently

And any tips on improving? It's taking me about 4-5 hours to do a car, nothing compared to 1hr it took my instructor to do a car in.

I can cut fine the majority of the time, however all I really struggle with is DIRT ... I know some is unavoidable but I still feel like i get alot in the film - I razor blade with dirt off and water than squeege, than squeege once more before i put the film on, Could doing it semi outside be the problem? I also do use a fair bit of water as well. Any tips on shrinking weird rear windows as well would be helpful, I did a Chrysler 300 and back glass came out amazing, however just did a VW rabbit today and OMG, prolly went through about 30ft of film before i even got one that was half decent. I use the soap dry shrink method.

Anyways any pointers would be great, Thanks

Also how do you charge? amount of windows or difficulty of vehicle? I would be the only tinting business and wouldn't have to be "competitively" priced

Tint Artist · May 30, 2011

As far as film to use, you have a quality film in ATC! AS far as everything else reading tips from the forum will be a big help and the only other thing honestly that will teach you is time, trial and error! Good luck!!!

yz101 · May 30, 2011

As far as price, most peaple have a standard 2-dr, 4-dr, truck, crew cab, etc, with exceptions for certain vehicles. Each area is different so charge accordingly and build your reputation through your work, not your price. :thumb

May 30, 2011

Some ways you anchor the film in the back will make it easier to shrink. Try not to touch the adhesive when installing the film. Also minimize the time from when you peel to put on the car. Also maybe your solution isn't slippery enough.

flat rock stan · May 31, 2011

Welcome to the ThunderDome :spit

Lot's of information and advice here. Best Is the search button in the upper right side of the page.

Remember film can't eat you and practice is a good thing.

You can check out the window tinting instructional DVD's I sell by following THIS LINK

sorry for the spam guys :thumb

Cheers all

Busyman · May 31, 2011

Hello there and welcome,

A little bit of advice concerning pricing; I suggest setting your price structure, like suggested in the post above by YZ101. Remember when your price is set, your profit margin will increase as you cut down your time tinting. When you can bang out a car in 2 hours vs. 5 hours, your profit margin will increase. Until then all you can do is practice. Once you set your pricing, keep it set and adjust it accordingly over time, don't change it for every car or you will drive yourself and the custy's crazy.

A quick tip to help out with the contamination. On the r/d's use tape to peel the film apart and spray immediately w/ solution. When you go to pull the tint off the car, reach behind the film and grab from the back side (if you pull the liner all the way off technique). Don't hit the gaskets with the film. Instant problems! I wouldn't worry about using to much water, I use a lot also and rarely have contamination problems.

Hope this helps, Good luck

Busyman

painted600rr · May 31, 2011

id call some of the local competition and see what the average pricing is around your area for a standard 4 door. you might want to start off working for next to nothing if your still rusty you dont want to charge some one $300 for a job your not confident with yet so maybe call some friends who wont mind if you screw up a couple times.

might want to find a nice clean garage to tint in a car port wont cut it a small breeze can push alot of contamination onto the tint. i find that when cleaning the glass before applying film that less is better than repeatedly cleaning and squeegeeing because u risk dragging more dust onto the glass each time u lift the squeegee off the glass. the more you do it the better you will get and be able to find a technique that will work best for you.