We have a new slip solution and prep solutions we are promoting

rvpjr · January 27, 2015

www.tinttac.com

shwusyrtnts · January 28, 2015

Okay let's be clear here, I had my reservations with Ralph as some of you know. I have used this and besides smelling like dog shampoo I like it. I had to use 1.5 Oz to a gallon instead of 1oz but non the less I enjoy this slip and prep solution.

Good luck with this one Ralph.

Ocala · January 28, 2015

Smells like dog shampoo? Well we could now offer our customers if they want their vehicle to smell like a clean baby or a pampered pup after the install. :lol

rvpjr · January 30, 2015

I wanted to share something that I discovered over time. I would have never put this together if I had not chosen this path. When I decided to distribute window film and talk to professional tinters all day long every day, I was able to identify a problem. This problem is actually epidemic!

As I became more involved in discussing problems that professional installers were having in their businesses, I noticed a common denominator. The common denominator was slip solutions. I would say that almost 90% of all tint related problems had something to do with slip solutions. I was amazed! Why is this? Why do manufacturers spend so much money on window film technologies and products but not really anything on what you need to install the product with? Was I missing something? Every time I asked an installer the question.....What are you using for a slip solution? You would be shocked at the responses! These were respectable people. These people were very professional! Why were they behind a very respectable product and paying good money for the product and having to go to the "Dollar General" to buy something made for babies to install the product on their customers car?

I know there are some "professionl" products on the market for installers to use for prepping glass and installing film. I sell about all of them. I do not mean to sound derogatory, but almost every time I sold these products, I had to hear the complaints! Some of these products just did not work while other products could not work because their was never anything in them to get the job done. There is one product that I had to tell my customers to add baby shampoo to it so the film would not stick to the glass prematurely. There is even a prep solution manufactured by one of the largest film companies that is basically and acid with no surfactants or degreasers in it and people are trying to use it to remove surface contaminats. Acid will not remove grease from glass, Period! I could not believe what I had discovered!

I am lucky to have a good friend in the Chemical business. He is a chemical engineer, Georgia Tech Graduate. He has over 30 years experience making custom chemical products for businesses. I brought this guy every product used in our industry for prepping and slip solution and began to explain everything I knew about them in our consultation. I told him what was good about them and what was bad about them. He broke everything down for me and explained what was happening from a chemical perspective.

We spent the next year working to take the best from what works and eliminating the problems from what doesn't work. We have several people involved in this project that are professionals in the industry. After extensive trial and error and testing, we now have Tint Tac and Pre Tac. I will explain some of the benefits in the rest of this post.

Tint Tac:

We felt like our competition was Baby Shampoo. Baby shampoo actually works well. The problems that we solved for tinters involve several things: 1. We controlled the growth of mold, mildew, bacteria, and algae by increasing the pH. We new that if we could get the pH above 8, we could almost 100% solve that problem. We tried to do it with a preservative, but it was not practical. We can even add very small amounts of bleach to a multi gallon tank with Tint Tac and eliminate growth 100% if necessary. Baby shampoo has an ammonia based surfactant which would create a gas that would be very poisonous if it were mixed with bleach. By solving this problem, we have eliminated maintenance to your bottles. 2. We also have utilized surfactants that will not bond to the adhesive. There is one surfactant in baby shampoo that is almost like wax. It is great for babies skin, but it bonds to the adhesive and makes it less aggressive and can actually cause the film not to last as long. The more baby shampoo you add, the more you compromise your adhesive. As you evacuate Tint Tac, everything leaves. Nothing bonds to the adhesive. 3. Extreme water conditions. Some tinters are just using what comes out of the sink. We see this is ok most of the time. When there are extreme water conditions, tint jobs can be compromised. I do not understand the science in Tint Tac completely but I do know that minerals in the water will bond to the Surfactants in Tint Tac and then will be evacuated completely when squeegeed. Tint Tac can handle calcium in water up to 45 parts per million and can handle other extreme conditions as well. We noticed other products used as slip solutions did not have these capabilities. 4. As far a color and smell, we chose a color and a smell that we thought would work best with most people. There is always someone who will not like a color or a smell. Tint Tac can be any color and almost any smell we want it to be. We can even make it with no smell and clear.

Pre Tac is our Prep Solution. The most common mistake I see tinters make is they will try and use their slip solution as their prep solution. There is even one product that is marketed as an all-in-one product. There is no professional way to clean and prep with the same product and honestly do it effectively. It is also proven that a diluted slip solution is not effective as a glass prep/cleaner for glass. To use a slip solution as a glass prep is like trying to wash your hair in the shower with just water and then trying to condition it. You might get the sweat out but you will not get the grease out very well. We created a product that utilizes good old surfactants, degreasers, and a splash of isopropal alcohol. All you have to do is spray it on the glass and use a white nylon scrub pad or steel wool with friction to clean a rear glass. Wipe or squeegee off excess and proceed with install with slip solution. On side windows, spray on glass and clean or razor blade as normal. Wipe off solution and proceed with slip solution for installation of film.

Pre Tac also doubles as a glass cleaner. You can clean the car glass and the tint after you are done tinting it with no streaks. I'm done typing now.

civicrice · February 1, 2015

Hey ralph! Little off topic but just wondering if there was a change in color for the Terra flex line in the last year or so? I ran out of limo and ordered some more but it didn't have the same blue hue as the prior roll, it's more like the omni flex. Is panaflex using the same base?

rvpjr · February 2, 2015

We have two colors in Terraflex. We added the charcoal line on August 24th, 2014. The new color has done very well. We are in the process of dicontinuing the black version of Terraflex and only having the charcoal version.

civicrice · February 2, 2015

Thanks for the reply. I'd have to agree it looks better

civicrice · February 2, 2015

Pana flex have the charcoal base as well?

rvpjr · February 2, 2015

Yes. Panaflex has the charcoal color. Panaflex and Terraflex are literally the same film. The Panaflex is a carbon film with a nano coating of ATO (antimony tin oxide ) which gives the film more "horsepower" by allowing it to absorb more IR. Terraflex is the carbon film without the nano coating. There has been a rumor that our Panaflex has changed colors or been inconsistent in color. I have samples of the product for every master roll that has ever been created and there is absolutely no color change in the product. We did introduce another product with a different color for a brief time only in two shades which were 5% and 13%. We have been improving the product since it has been created. I would imagine it will continue to improve also. Apple continues to improve their Iphone. I believe they started with the Generation 1 and now they have a Generation 6. It would not surprise me if they come out with a Generation 7. We have several Generations of the Panaflex. If you buy Panaflex today and replace a window you did on a car 4 years ago, it will match. It might block out more heat on the window you replaced though.

Sisqouc · February 3, 2015

One of the tests llumar used with slip solutions was to put up squares of identical films using:

Film on

Joy

Baby Shampoo

allow to dry x-amount of time then measure the force to remove/pull the film off.

Dish soap with all the lauded properties of cleaning through degreasers, not having lanolin, and other alleged attributes made the least strongest bond of film to glass.

Did you test this product in this way?

DISCLAIMER: I've not used Llumar regularly for many years.