3m vs. Llumar ATC

[treefort]

Hello all,

 

We are going to get our 2014 sportwagen tinted this week. Super excited.

 

I called a couple tint places in town here and they both quoted me $375 + tax for doing all 5 windows behind the driver's seat.

 

I asked both dealers(front desk girls) what kind of tint they use.

 

One said Llumar and looked on the box to see ATC.

 

The other place said 3m and said it didn't specify what kind of 3m tint on the roll. I figured 3m probably makes different quality of tints, but 2 girls there confirmed the rolls didn't specify.

 

 

My question to all of you is what place should I go to? The Llumar ATC place or the 3m place? They both seem to have good reputations and have been around for a long time.

 

Thank you kindly!

 

Edited May 28, 2018 by treefort

[jh812]

Depending on the 3m which is likely going to be a non color stable film I'd go llumar. However if it were 3m cooler stable that would probably be your better bet. 

 

How in the world do tint places have people answer the phone that can't explain something as simple as that

 

[quality tintz]

Llumar!!!!

[treefort]

alright thanks for the advice guys. I'm gonna go with the Llumar shop! Stooooked

[quality tintz]

5 minutes ago, treefort said:

alright thanks for the advice guys. I'm gonna go with the Llumar shop! Stooooked

You will be happy good stuff !!!

[DynamicATL]

I would go with Llumar for 2 reasons...first you will have a color change warranty because entry level 3M does not...second I wouldn't trust any shop that can't tell you what film that are quoting you.  As far as the film itself, both are entry level films that give you appearance and UV protection only.  If you are looking to block heat, these won't help you.

[treefort]

1 hour ago, DynamicATL said:

As far as the film itself, both are entry level films that give you appearance and UV protection only.  If you are looking to block heat, these won't help you.

 

Can you please expand on this? Everywhere I read, including the llumar site, it says ATC does block heat. 

Thanks.

[highplains]

24 minutes ago, treefort said:

 

Can you please expand on this? Everywhere I read, including the llumar site, it says ATC does block heat. 

Thanks.

They do block some, TSER on entry level dyed film is typically in the mid 30's to the low/mid 40's depending on the shade, but compair that to a HP or Ceramic/High IR film and you see TSERs in the 50's and 60's even in the lighter shades.

 

Edited to add an example 3M FX Premium 35 has a TSER rating of 37% compair that to Crystalline 40 at 60% TSER

Edited May 29, 2018 by highplains

[treefort]

Ok cool. Looks like the ATC 15 I'm getting has a TSER of 40%.

 

Lucky kids in the back

[DynamicATL]

29 minutes ago, treefort said:

 

Can you please expand on this? Everywhere I read, including the llumar site, it says ATC does block heat. 

Thanks.

 

Basically any tint shop you call, the first price they are giving you is generally the standard dyed window film.  This level is mainly there for aesthetics and UV Protection.  When looking at the TSER (Total Solar Energy Rejected) you will notice the number is much lower than other more premium films.  As you go up to premium technology films (Carbon, Ceramic, IR, Crystalline) the number increases greatly along with blocking more Infrared.  The entry level film will help slow the build-up of heat in the vehicle as it sits in the sun.  However if it will be there for several hours, it will be hot.  Since the TSER is so low, when you do get in the vehicle it will take some time for the A/C to cool the vehicle down since there is still plenty of heat coming in the vehicle.  As the TSER increase the build-up is heat is much slower, blocks more heat from coming in allowing your A/C to cool faster, and blocks more IR so you do not feel the heat on your skin...Infrared makes up for 53% of the suns heat.  So when you choose an entry level film, you will not notice much of a difference when it comes to heat...you are just making your windows darker.

 

This is not the most scientific example since it is not real world and focuses more on IR than overall heat, but to give you an idea of what I mean.  On the left side of the video is 3 layers of standard dyed 20% window film.  On the right side of the video is a lighter shade of Crystalline 50.  You can see how fast the IR melts the chocolate.