scratches after window tinting?

[aquarian]

I bought my brand new Audi to a well known tinting shop in town, AB, last month and finally had the opportunity to wash/detail the car until now.  I took out my inspection light and to my shock I discovered multiple, multiple vertical/diagonal scratches along the bottom edges of all 4 side windows.  Some are deeper than the others.  I assume the scratches occurred during shrinking the films?  How did this even occur?

 

 

Edited February 2, 2021 by aquarian

[Ryker]

Nothing, repeat, nothing a window tinter does would make these.  Looks like the glass might have been removed and replaced it's something. 

[aquarian]

8 minutes ago, Ryker said:

Nothing, repeat, nothing a window tinter does would make these.  Looks like the glass might have been removed and replaced it's something. 

 

Definitely not possible.  The glass was perfect prior to window tinting.  Again, this was a brand new car with less than 15 miles when I brought it in.

 

 

[TintDude]

In the second and third photo, you can see the scratches all start from the same level and go down. It looks like during the heat shrinking, when the film was laying on the glass about an inch from the bottom to be worked, the card they may have used had some grit or something. Maybe even a gold teflon card, those are notorious for scratching.

 

not saying this is what happened, but that's the only way I can visualize that it may have happened.

[Ryker]

2 hours ago, aquarian said:

 

Definitely not possible.  The glass was perfect prior to window tinting.  Again, this was a brand new car with less than 15 miles when I brought it in.

 

 

Just because the car is brand new with no miles doesn't mean it was perfect. Glass could have been r&r before it even left the plant!  I seriously doubt the tinter did this.  If it was a hard card like tintdude says I think it would have destroyed the film....

[aquarian]

5 hours ago, TintDude said:

In the second and third photo, you can see the scratches all start from the same level and go down. It looks like during the heat shrinking, when the film was laying on the glass about an inch from the bottom to be worked, the card they may have used had some grit or something. Maybe even a gold teflon card, those are notorious for scratching.

 

not saying this is what happened, but that's the only way I can visualize that it may have happened.

 

That was that I thought as well.  All of the scratches, deep or not, even tons of hairline ones, are about 1" long meaning that the film was layed about 1" above the very bottom of the glass.  There is no other way this could have occurred.  Sucks to be in this situation. 

[aquarian]

1 hour ago, Ryker said:

Just because the car is brand new with no miles doesn't mean it was perfect. Glass could have been r&r before it even left the plant!  I seriously doubt the tinter did this.  If it was a hard card like tintdude says I think it would have destroyed the film....

 

The night before the tinting I applied Aquapel glass coating after meticulously cleaning all exterior glasses surfaces so I am extremely postie that the glass was perfect.....

[Guest Jay]

Looks like thats on the outside.A hard card would not do that.

[Bham]

These scratches were done by sand or dirt being in the sweeps on the outside of the window before it was rolled down. The bottom of the window(where the window is the most curved and tightest against the sweep) will release a little from the sweep as it goes down, which is why the scratches are not that long. The debris moves out of the way as the window goes down.  I am willing to bet there are full length lighter scratches also.  

 

Not sure where you live but if it is coastal or northern with the possibility of sand being in the environment, then that would be your culprit.   

Also, the reason you can now see them better is because you tinted the windows.  Exterior scratches and pings will show up more after tint. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by Bham

[TintDude]

If that was the case I think all the scratches would be going the exact same direction, straight up and down, but they are at different angles.