Removing tint, possibly FormulaOne Stratos

Nezil · April 13, 2018

I enjoying learning new things, and after being pretty successful at PPF on my car (I've successfully done full hood, full front fenders, rocker panels, extended section in front of the rear wheels and small section behind rear wheels on the bumper), I decided to give tinting a try.

I watched various videos online about the process, and then ordered up 40" x 10' of Llumar FormulaOne Stratos... At least I think that's what I got. I don't have a lot of experience, so I can't say for sure if it was a good film or not, but I can say that it wasn't too difficult to work with, and I got the rear side windows (I have a two door car) done quite easily. The rear window was a bit more challenging, and though I got it shrunk correctly first time, I did introduce a few creases in the process, and therefore planned to re-do it. I also messed up the frameless doors a couple of times, and then ran out of film, so I'm waiting for some more to arrive before continuing.

While I wait for the new film to arrive, I decided to leave the film I'd installed in place to see how it cured over time, in case I needed to pay attention to any additional things the next install attempt. I was particularly interested in what happened with the dot matrix, and defroster lines, but I also notice quite a bit of haziness to the film, and wanted to see if that would fade over the few days since install.

Looking at some videos on YouTube about removing film, I got a bit concerned about how difficult it would be on the rear window, and decided to remove it tonight before it set too much.... but it looks like I'm already too late!

I picked at the edge until a plastic layer peeled up, but this layer is almost 100% transparent (I used 35% tint BTW), and what's left on the glass is very slightly tacky, and contains almost all of the tinted aspect of the film. If I were to peel off all of this transparent layer, which I guess is the hard coat, then the remaining tint is pretty uniform, shiny and smooth, but it is slightly tacky and would be impossible to clean. It's got to come off, but I can't work out how!

I tried Alcohol on a blue shop towel, and that didn't do anything. Stepping it up a bit, I tried Electrical Contact Cleaner, which is a lighter alcohol solvent cleaner, and that also did nothing. A razor blade works, but this tacky material is not loose and sticky like I've seen in videos, so I'd almost be scraping it off rather than wiping it; it's very dry. I'm really worried about the defroster if I have to scrape off the whole window, and I'm also worried about scratching the glass if I have to use a sharp blade like a carbon steel one because it's so tough.

This all leads me to wonder if the film is indeed Stratos as I was told it was... It does seem to block heat pretty well, and the colour is clearly very neutral and not blue / purple in any way. When heating, it shrunk pretty easily, without bunching up or forming tight fingers etc, and I didn't get any bubbles in any of the windows I did, including the back window. With the exception of the creases, installation was a breeze!

I'm happy to post pictures if that helps at all... Please help; I've got to get this off the back window, and I've stopped removing the clear plastic (about 75% of the window is as installed) in the hope that there might be a better way to remove it.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Nezil

jh812 · April 13, 2018

Well man sadly you're the prime example of you should take it to a professional. There's a reason we charge the prices that we do for it and I believe now maybe you can see that. If I'm in your shoes I stop what I'm doing now and take it to a professional to have it done. We have special tools and techniques to remove said film without damaging the car. Hopefully it's a lesson learned.

DynamicATL · April 13, 2018

10 hours ago, Nezil said:

...ordered up 40" x 10' of Llumar FormulaOne Stratos... At least I think that's what I got.

You did not...the fact you even think you bought that on eBay is laughable. FYI...a 10' run of that film costs more than the $75 price on eBay. You most likely got cheap Korean or Chinese film that cost about $5-$10 for a 10' run. :rollin

Edited April 13, 2018 by DynamicATL

DynamicATL · April 13, 2018

Same guy selling "Huper Optik Ceramic" for $67 even though Huper Optik Ceramic is most expensive than F1 Stratos. Not too mention the same film photo the seller uses on all films which is a charcoal film...Huper Optik Ceramic has a silverish look, not charcoal. People are gullible. :lol

Stewy · April 13, 2018

Post pictures of your work. You are going to spend a lot of time cleaning that back window. You might miss some things and it will show once you try to install again. There is no such thing as "i succesfully tinted the back window, but..." if there is a "but" then its not successful. Tinting is steps 1 to 20 if you mess up step 20 you have to go back to step 1. FormulaOne is not sold to the public. You got screwed bud.

Nezil · April 13, 2018

Yes, this is disappointing... Both the fact that the film I got was wrong, and the response from @jh812.

At no point did I say that I was trying to save money by doing this install myself, I said I was trying to learn a new skill. I already spent the same amount of money on tools and film that I would have spent getting it installed professionally, so it's not about the money in any way.

The other reason I wanted to do the install myself, is that the car I have also has an issue where literally 50% of owners that got tints professionally had electronics water damaged because the way water runs from the back deck down goes straight into a cavity in the rear wheel well with electronics in it. I was able to take the time to remove all of the trim and electronics before I started to make sure that I avoided that problem, which many of the professional installers wouldn't have felt was needed.

I found a similar experience when I wanted to learn PPF installation, that about 50% of 'professionals' didn't want to sell me film, and didn't want to give advise, as though there was some secret society that I had to be a member of before secrets would be shared. Fortunately, the other 50% gave advise, along with warnings about loosing the valuable warranty if I did it myself, and that I wouldn't save any money etc.

Surely the difference between a professional, and anyone else, besides that they do their work for money, is that they have greater experience. I work in the video industry, and I see the lines blurring between professional (i.e. Hollywood) and consumer (i.e. YouTube) blurring every day. Equipment is getting better, and there is greater access to knowledge and support than there ever has been.

I had hoped that the TintDude community would be happy to help out, rather than just laugh at my misfortune. Hopefully the next responses will be more supportive.

I've already contacted PayPal and will get a refund for the counterfeit film that I bought. I am not desperate to use Stratos, it was just the best that I saw listed, so maybe I'll order from Flexfilm since they will at least sell to me. It's frustrating that I've not found anywhere that I can buy film from that isn't a) counterfeit (eBay), or b) a single supplier with a small selection (Flexfilm). Finding PPF was not this difficult, and I had a choice of XPEL or Suntek.

no ma'am · April 13, 2018

Dodge flexfilm and suntek, get some film from express. Classic series black or charcoal or hp. Probably best to order some short rolls of classic black if you're gonna teach yourself.

Nezil · April 13, 2018

2 hours ago, no ma'am said:

Dodge flexfilm and suntek, get some film from express. Classic series black or charcoal or hp. Probably best to order some short rolls of classic black if you're gonna teach yourself.

Thanks very very much, this is very helpful, and I really appreciate someone giving advise as opposed to just pointing me to a professional. Express does indeed have a big selection, but the data is scarce. If I am looking for ~35% VLT, then it looks like I have the following choices from their Premium Line:

NR (Non-reflective) Classic 1.0 Charcoal 40% - 35% TSE Rejection *
NR (Non-reflective) Classic 1.2 Charcoal 40% - 35% TSE Rejection *
NR (Non-reflective) Classic Black 35% - 38% TSE Rejection
HP (High Performance) Classic All Metal 40% - 49% TSE Rejection
HP (High Performance) Classic 1.5 Charcoal 40% - 42% TSE Rejection *
CR Ceramic 38% - 44% TSE Rejection

As you said, they offer short rolls of some of these films (those starred above), which is nice, and as you said, helpful for practice. I obviously know the difference between dyed, metalised and ceramic, and the TSE Rejection numbers reflect that (pardon the pun), but what is the difference between Classic 1.0, 1.2, and (HP) 1.5 Charcoal, and what is the difference between Classic Charcoal and Classic Black?

Any tips for removing what I've got on there?

Edited April 13, 2018 by Nezil

Nezil · April 13, 2018

An update... I got a full refund from the eBay seller, so I may have lost some time, but I've not lost any money...

Stewy · April 13, 2018

Classic black is in buytint.com. this forumn is full of people that are direct with their answers we do not sugar coat things because it is easier that way. Thats what makes this place awesome. We are informing you, it might be sarcastic but we are still helping you.