FlexFilm from Georgia

January 11, 2013

I have been talking to them and have been thinking of giving it a try.............. didn't know they did training

Ralf the owner is a pretty knowledgeable, personable person but I would like to know where it is made??

cheers all

................ if I decide to give it a try I will give a report on my thoughts as far as install and ability to up-sell with the heat lamp

As far as I am aware, they do not teach you to tint from scratch. Just just provide lessons on certain techniques or processed that will help you. Their website also doesn't state anything about training a tinter A-Z so I think there is miscommunication on that one. The heat lamp is a slam dunk if you have someone on the fence...50%-60% of our jobs are Ceramic and the heat lamp assists on some of them.

Incorrect. I personally worked with a detailer that went there for a weekend training session. They had him tint his gf car several times. Each time removing what he installed. They claimed he should be able to tint a car after that. They gave him two rolls of tint 40x100 and tools for installation. Needless to say, this detailer could not tint anything. So I have personally seen their "training" and used the film. Neither of which I would recommend.

Just thought I should weigh in on the subject. I run the distribution center for FlexFilm as well as the installtion side of the business. With all due respect Wolf, we have not, nor have we ever told anyone that they would be able to tint cars with just a few days of training. Think about it: Do you really think that we would be so hard up for sales, that we would say anything to sell a box of film? First of all, since we are on the forum, to do anything close to that would be incredibly stupid on our part, since everyone here knows this is impossible.

Do we offer training? Yup. We sure do. Do we have a "graduate" course as you put it? No we dont. It is clearly stated on the Flex Film site that we are more than happy to help people learn some of the techniques that help individuals at least get on the right track, and maybe give them a hand getting over the "hump" so to speak. I will provide the link for your edification so that there is no misunderstanding:

http://www.flexfilmd...64/Default.aspx

Just because an individual wants to spend a day or two days with us so that we can assist, it can still be considered "training". That does not mean that the individual will be a full blown window tinter right out of the box. It would be ridiculous to even think it is possible.

We provide the training for "free". We do not provide the film. If individuals want to learn, they can buy film from us for this purpose. I consider this a fair deal. It certainly is not going to "break" somone if they have to invest something to try and learn a new trade. Gotta spend it to make it. Just so you know, we do this on a hope and a prayer that the individual that we give our time to would become a loyal dealer, and buy from us in the future. We in fact lose money on training, the company still has to pay the installer we use for this purpose. Since we do not allow trainees to work on our customers cars, they need to bring a vehicle in to actually "train" on, therefore the reason that we have these guys strip off film and do it over and over after we have gone through the process with them. FlexFilm is not making a dime off of this, I assure you. Factor in overhead, loss of installation work we might have scheduled, payroll, utilities and any other thing that might go to expenses, and you will see that we are taking a chance with it. But we believe it will pay off in the future. I dont know any other distributor that does this for free, but I could be wrong.

You said that you "have personally seen their "training". How could you have done this if you were not here? I am a bit confused over that statement. You also said this: "He did leave the class thinking he could tint, and did fail when it came down to having a car in front of him with no instructor telling him what to do. Maybe this isnt their standard routine but it did happen." I am also a bit confused on why you would say this as well. Just because he left the shop "thinking he could tint", does that mean that he can do it on his own? I doubt it. He needs to practice more with the help that we tried to give him. As far as it not being our "standard routine", I have no idea what you even mean here. What, our standard routine is to try and help people and they fail because of it? Come on dude. I have seen your profile. You have a ton of experience, and I am sure you are smart, otherwise you would not be in business for yourself. I am sure that you are a badass tinter, and can install any film on any car out there. Unfortunately a few days training will not translate into success. You know this and I know it. It is what they do with the help after they leave that makes the difference. Your friend will have a long struggle ahead, but with determination it is doable.

Whatever it is that your friend told you that we said is wrong, and just so that the other professionals on this forum dont think that we are complete idiots or money grubbers I felt compelled to refute your statement. I welcome anyone to call us out of the blue, and try their best to get us to say we can teach someone how to tint windows in one or two days. Aint going to happen. Never has happened either. Just because your friend failed and could not install on his own does not mean anything but that it takes a hell of a lot longer to learn the tricks and techniques that all of us has mastered after years of sticking film to auto glass. If you dont like our film, its cool, you have plenty of other distributors to work with. And if your friend ever wants more help, we are here to try and do what we can to assist.

I hope this puts the issue to rest, and at the same time I am not trying to start a flame war. I believe that anyone that has been slammed for something that is complete hearsay on this forum should speak out against it. It is not my intention to come across as offensive, but I do feel strongly about defending the company, explain how we assist others to learn the trade, and setting the record straight.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Deep

January 11, 2013

I talked to the guy one day when I was looking around at films to try out...I have the price list if you want me to send it to you...He knows a lot about film and has a lot of great videos...Some of the information I don't agree with but I am hard headed, only 10 years exp for me and about 25 for him so I'm sure he might be right in the long run...

But the film, I told him or asked how about a sample to really see what its like....He said no, only that I could by a whole roll and if I didn't like it I could send it back full refund. Sorry but I'm no fool, I don't want to take a chance and maybe get some and be stuck with it....

I think that it would be incredibly stupid for any distributor of films that has a presence on this forum to make a money back guarantee and then not honor it. After all, this is our industry's leading forum, and if you are going to make a favorable impression, this is the place to do it. Since thousands of seasoned professional read everything on this site, I would consider this to be "professional suicide". Certainly not something I want to go anywhere near.

We are not going to stick anyone with the purchase VA Man and WeTint. Just because it might have happened to you in the past doesnt mean that we operate that way. Dont put everyone in the same barrel, you might miss out on something....

Edited January 12, 2013 by Deep

EWF · January 14, 2013

His claim is that the Koreans are getting it right and the Americans are dropping the ball because the US made stuff (IR and Ceramic films) does not hold up after installed. He says that they lose their ability to maintain IR rejection while the Korean films do not.

Hi Wetint,

It's more a matter of coated vs. dyed vs. sputtered. I would not characterize it as a U.S.A. vs. Korean issue. What makes these films "ceramic" is the inclusion of the TiN (and/or other inorganic metals) within their construction. It is the manner in which they are deposited that is they key.

All dyed & coated products are more vulnerable when compared to sputtered products, which will retain their solar control properties far longer. The optics will also be better on the sputtered products as well. But it does come at a cost $$$ and there are now several very good color stable dyed ceramics on the market.

Happy new year to you BTW.

Regards,

Howard

January 17, 2013

Good answer Howard. Our PanaFlex ceramic does not have any dyes whatsoever, synthetic, or otherwise. The VLT is made with nano-particalized true carbon, and is adjusted accordingly to make a film darker or lighter. Fading is therefore a non-issue....

EWF · January 18, 2013

Hi Deep,

Thank you for clarifying that. I do understand.

Question:

I am familiar with several product lines which are made with that method, but the manufacturers were not willing to provide EWF with a written warranty containing specific language covering the color stability for the life of the film.

How are you guys dealing with that? Are you offering a written color stable lifetime warranty on that construction?

If you are, I think that is excellent. We were not able to. As broad and diverse as our catalog is, we have no films that use that particular method.

Regards,

Howard

January 21, 2013

Woops, sorry Howard for not getting back to you on this. I dont get by that often here on the forum. I see that Ralph answered the question you have here on the Geo Shield thread. He is the resident film nerd and mad scientist for FlexFilm, I am just a humble servant, so if it gets tooooo technical, he would be the go-to-person....

Blackwolftinting · March 11, 2013

Deep-

Please take my opinions for what they were;opinions. The film I used was a lower line film, not an IR or ceramic and seemed like a basic dyed film. The "kid" that attended the course or training seminar or w/e it was, told me the information I relayed in my op. He left confident, thinking he could tint. The fact was he couldn't. What I wintnessed wasn't your training session, but rather it's results. If you offer a good product that many businesses and installers are happy with, than one naysayer should not derail your successes. And I sincerely apologize if anything I posted has done this. My post was only to relay what I had seen of the training session and the experience I had with the film. Both of which are VERY INCOMPLETE. I should have clarified this in my initial post so again I apologize for not doing so, or for offending you or possibly steering away potential clients.

Carmeltinting.com · March 22, 2013

I talked to the guy one day when I was looking around at films to try out...I have the price list if you want me to send it to you...He knows a lot about film and has a lot of great videos...Some of the information I don't agree with but I am hard headed, only 10 years exp for me and about 25 for him so I'm sure he might be right in the long run...

But the film, I told him or asked how about a sample to really see what its like....He said no, only that I could by a whole roll and if I didn't like it I could send it back full refund. Sorry but I'm no fool, I don't want to take a chance and maybe get some and be stuck with it....

I think that it would be incredibly stupid for any distributor of films that has a presence on this forum to make a money back guarantee and then not honor it. After all, this is our industry's leading forum, and if you are going to make a favorable impression, this is the place to do it. Since thousands of seasoned professional read everything on this site, I would consider this to be "professional suicide". Certainly not something I want to go anywhere near.

We are not going to stick anyone with the purchase VA Man and WeTint. Just because it might have happened to you in the past doesnt mean that we operate that way. Dont put everyone in the same barrel, you might miss out on something....

Howard, Thanks for the input. You DO know your stuff when it comes to film - I'll give you that.

Deep, I have ordered and am impressed with the Panaflex! I see a bright future ahead for us with your film... especially with our clientele.

Thanks to all for their input on FlexFilm Distributing.

I WILL say one thing about Ralph and FlexFilm... I would rather purchase from a fellow tinter who has been down much of the same roads I have over the past 28 years than a salesperson in an office several states away. His approach to our industry as well as a few others on here is the business model I prefer.

Thanks Ralph.

DarthShader · March 23, 2013

I LOVE these products, but am very unhappy with the problems I've had placing orders. (NOTE: more than one incident) The latest problem cost me a very big marketing opportunity, wasted $$ and ruined my weekend. If they could improve their communication, this company would be perfect.

Edited March 23, 2013 by DarthShader

watchdaride · April 14, 2013

Been in the business for 25 years and every time a new film comes out it is marketed with hype as the next big thing . You wont find the truth for 5 years to see if it stands up over time . As far as saying Hyundai has stepped up they copy body design from others and looks good on the outside but the true test is over the next 5 years on how it stands up and resale value . You dont see llumar

and 3M comparing themselves to others because they have a track record not a fancy marketing program .It all depends if your business is new to the market you have to compete on a low price till you build up a clientele so you go with cheap film and after a few years move up to the more expensive film you can upcharge .