Removing tint, possibly FormulaOne Stratos

Nezil · April 13, 2018

4 minutes ago, Nezil said:

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...

Oh and the seller didn't deny that it wasn't Stratos. He did say that it was ceramic, and I don't actually doubt that, because it does reject a lot of IR based on heat lamp back of hand testing. It might not be a bad film, but it's not Stratos, and since the seller won't say what it is, we have no way to know, at least by reputation.

Nezil · April 13, 2018

4 minutes ago, Stewy said:

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.

Yep, I found that. What's the difference between Classic Black and Classic Charcoal and the various versions of it though?

no ma'am · April 13, 2018

For removal use a steamer or soak film with an ammonia based cleaner such as windex, use trash bag to keep it on the window. Place in sun and check it periodically to see if the film has loosened up from glass. Order white scrub pads like 10 of em cut them down and used the same cleaner to remove adhesive. (Least favorite part of the jo) Vlt of 32% ceramic metered at 25-27% where as hp 30% metered 31% I haven't checked dyed express with a meter as of yet. Good luck.

no ma'am · April 13, 2018

1.0 is 1 mil dyed, 1.2 is 1.5 easier to work with imo. Classic black is express brand a good film that's easy to work with. Their cool people give em a call and ask! Thumbs are getting tired here....

DynamicATL · April 13, 2018

1 hour ago, Nezil said:

Oh and the seller didn't deny that it wasn't Stratos. He did say that it was ceramic, and I don't actually doubt that, because it does reject a lot of IR based on heat lamp back of hand testing. It might not be a bad film, but it's not Stratos, and since the seller won't say what it is, we have no way to know, at least by reputation.

It will be a imported Korean or Chinese film...it could be Ceramic, but most likely a cheap Ceramic that would fail quickly or lose the IR blockage in 1-2 years. Ceramic films are not created equal even between the big name brands. Like they said, Express will be the best to get without being a dealer.

Nezil · April 13, 2018

OK, so I gave Express a call, as suggested, and they were very helpful. It seems that the summary of their current Premium offering is as follows, ordered in increasing TSER performance:

NR Classic 1.0 Charcoal - Single ply dyed film (slightly harder to work with, but also slightly cheaper)
NR Classic 1.2 Charcoal - Two ply dyed film
NR Classic Black - Two ply dyed film in shades to match Suntek Carbon (available in a wider range of roll lengths, and different VLTs from Classic Charcoal 1.2; identical construction)
HP Classic 1.5 Charcoal - Hybrid Two ply dyed / metalised film
HP Classic All Metal - Full metalised film
CR Classic Ceramic - Ceramic film

Ceramic, as expected, is quite a bit more expensive than dyed film, and though available to anyone, only comes in 100' rolls, which makes sense if you're buying as a professional. Classic [1.0, 1.2 & 1.5] Charcoal is available in 40" x 10' sample rolls in some shades, and the prices are good, but it is only some shades.

As suggested by @no ma'am, Classic Black in 40" x 25' might be the best choice for me to practice with. By all accounts it appears to be a well regarded film, and available in a size that would allow me to do my wife's car and mine, with a little to spare (she only needs front door windows), and will likely be a fairly close match to the factory SUV tint in the back windows.

I was considering a sample roll of Classic 1.5 Charcoal, but the metal layer concerns me if it would block RF because I make a lot of calls from the car, and my car is a BMW with comfort access - is this a legitimate concern with Classic 1.5 Charcoal?

Nezil · April 14, 2018

And so an update...

Thanks to the suggestions of @no ma'am, I picked up a Wagner Power Steamer on the way home from work, and got to work on the windows that I'd tinted with the eBay possibly, probably fake Stratos film. To cut a long story short, it came off really well, leaving absolutely no glue behind on the front door and rear windows. The back window where I'd attempted to remove it previously left a tiny bit of glue in the section I'd scraped last night, and a little in the corner where I started the peeling, but no-where else. Windex and #000 wire wool made really short work of the glue clean up, but I'll go over the whole window again like that before my next install attempt just to make sure.

What was very interesting is the way the film came off... I had thought previously that I'd removed the hard coat and left behind a tinted glue, but this clearly wasn't the case, because when I started on the back window, there ended up being two layers that effectively de-laminated. One was a clear, pretty thick, with a hard coat, and the other was the layer that contained the tint, but it wasn't the glue, because it came off as a whole piece more or less, and in some places, as I said, left some glue behind.

The eBay seller didn't exactly say that what he'd sold me wasn't Stratos film, his exact words were that if I'd claimed to have compared it to Stratos and found it to be different, he'd have accepted that, even though the IR rejection of the film he sold was 90%, the same as Stratos.

What we do now know however, is that it is at least a 2 ply film, and if you include the glue layers, it's effectively 5 layer - base glue, tint (claimed to be ceramic), mid layer glue, clear protection, hard coat. Does anyone want to have a look at some of the left over pieces I have and try to guess what it is? I'd be happy to USPS a small piece; I'm really interested now what this film is, and thought some of you might be as well.

no ma'am · April 14, 2018

Hp may interfere with comfort access, what Bmw? Please don't give me e or f codes .... year make and model.... I've probably done more beemers single handed than most of the vets on here. Also you can get a 60x50 ft roll cut 40/20. (Ceramic) that's how I roll.

blackoutauto · April 14, 2018

The #000 steel wool worries me

I only use #0000

Nezil · April 14, 2018

2 hours ago, no ma'am said:

Hp may interfere with comfort access, what Bmw? Please don't give me e or f codes .... year make and model.... I've probably done more beemers single handed than most of the vets on here. Also you can get a 60x50 ft roll cut 40/20. (Ceramic) that's how I roll.

It's a 2018 BMW M2.