Can tint be installed on dot matrix?

[Steve87]

I've recently had tint installed on my 2015 Mustang and the installer cut the tint so it completely avoided the dot matrix on the quarter glass and the back windshield. 

 

I understand that it's a lot easier to just avoid it, but I have to say I think the gaps look bad.  Should cutting the tint large enough to cover the dot matrix and installing it properly be a problem for a good tint installer?  This place got very good reviews.

 

I've seen pictures online where the tint on 2015/2016 Mustangs looks like mine, but I've also seen some where the tint covers the entire glass including the dot matrix so I know some people do install it that way.

 

I have to go back and have it redone because there are multiple hairs under the tint that are showing through on the outside so should I ask them to cover the dot matrix this time?

 

Thanks for the help, guys.

 

EDIT: An overcast day isn't exactly ideal for taking pictures, but here you go:

 

 

 

 

[Steve87]

The tint on the quarter glass looks like this:

 

 

 

And the tint on the back windshield looks like this:

 

[Bpdebroy88]

Cant see the pics that well but if its just the border of the dots showing, thats fine. But you said he cut the film before the dots. If thats the case, I would personally consider taking it somewhere else. Hairs, gaps etc. The film should definitely cover the dots and any good shop knows that. In this industry you definitely get what you pay for so the extra few bucks is always worth it. Very least i would politely ask him to do it correctly with no hair or gaps.

[Steve87]

Cant see the pics that well but if its just the border of the dots showing, thats fine. But you said he cut the film before the dots. If thats the case, I would personally consider taking it somewhere else. Hairs, gaps etc. The film should definitely cover the dots and any good shop knows that. In this industry you definitely get what you pay for so the extra few bucks is always worth it. Very least i would politely ask him to do it correctly with no hair or gaps.

The tint stops about a millimeter (maybe two) away from where the dot matrix starts with the smallest dots.  If I'm not explaining it well enough I'll try to take pictures of my car tomorrow.

 

Like I said though: this place got very good reviews and a lot of them.  Also it certainly wasn't cheap. 

[Tintguy1980]

What you may be seeing is the film tacked to the glass up to the border dots at which point the height or thickness of the dot coating causes the film to 'tent' off the glass surface in between each dot. This phenomenon does not happen with every matrix out there, some have thicker coatings than others. There isn't much that can be done in those cases where the dotted coating is thicker.

 

Some coatings have an anti-stick oxidation characteristic to them for ease of removal from the mold during firing and shaping process. Ford's have always been notorious for their coating being unfriendly to film installation.

[palmettotint]

The silvery look around those dots can't be avoided through traditional means. If you have debris under the film, take it back. A tiny bit of debris is reasonable since it's installed by hand by a human, but I'd say any hairs are not acceptable. 

[Bpdebroy88]

That quarter glass looks unacceptable from what i can see in the picture. Film should be overlapping on each side. Back glass is hard to tell but it also should overlap the dots. Not cut short.

[Pyramids]

Pics from the inside looking out please.

[BM-TINT]

Ask to get the window with contaminatio replaced, but be nice when you are talking with them.

[Lock]

Have you voiced your concern with the shop that installed the film? Did they tell you they cut it short?

Hard to tell from the pics, but from what I can tell from my tiny iPhone screen it just looks like the regular silvering on the matrix. If that's the case, that is perfectly normal.

Hairs under the film however is a different story. Again something that should be discussed with your installer.