Jump to content

Help me pick?!

you_rock
 Share

Recommended Posts

you_rock

you_rock

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi, I at crossroads with picking window tint for my car. I am set on getting a ceramic film, but the options are so many that has me confused but have narrowed down to 4. 

 

Here are they....

Xpel XR: $422

Autobahn Black Ceramic: $385

Llumar CTX: $375

3M Ceramic IR: $375

 

All 3 installers are listed on their respective brand sites.

 

This is for my personal car. I want to pick best performance for $.

 

Thanks!

Edited by you_rock
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tintguy1980

Tintguy1980

Posted
Posted

High dollar quotes may be representative of; 1) high overhead costs or 2) wanting to stand out in a crowded field through a price illusion of having the best. Most all 'ceramic' films in the industry come within 5 or so percentage points of each other in terms of TSER. The amount of difference is trivial in comparison to overall performance, while occupying the car.

Write each one down on a small piece of paper, put them in a bowl, and blindly pick one. Then, get an idea of what their workmanship looks like by visiting their shop, what the product might look like on your vehicle, and what might be their service history rating from online apps. Workmanship outweighs all other factors.

 

I cannot pick for 'you'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
you_rock

you_rock

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 minutes ago, Tintguy1980 said:

High dollar quotes may be representative of; 1) high overhead costs or 2) wanting to stand out in a crowded field through a price illusion of having the best. Most all 'ceramic' films in the industry come within 5 or so percentage points of each other in terms of TSER. The amount of difference is trivial in comparison to overall performance, while occupying the car.

Write each one down on a small piece of paper, put them in a bowl, and blindly pick one. Then, get an idea of what their workmanship looks like by visiting their shop, what the product might look like on your vehicle, and what might be their service history rating from online apps. Workmanship outweighs all other factors.

 

I cannot pick for 'you'.

Xpel shop has been around for more than 15yrs

 

Llumar and Autobahn one around 4

 

3m probably around 15+ too. But there was one review questioning the authenticity of film. So staying away from it.

 

So probably out of Xpel, Llumar ans Autobahn

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ryker

Ryker

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, you_rock said:

Xpel shop has been around for more than 15yrs

 

Llumar and Autobahn one around 4

 

3m probably around 15+ too. But there was one review questioning the authenticity of film. So staying away from it.

 

So probably out of Xpel, Llumar ans Autobahn

How long the shop has been around helps but the work they do is more telling.  There are shops I know that have been "around" longer than I have but I was killing them in quality from the start.  Here I am 24 years in. 

 

Go look at the work they do. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DynamicATL

DynamicATL

Posted
Posted

IMO, 3M Ceramic IR is going to be the best option based on the performance and price. It outperforms CTX and the Autobahn Black Ceramic. Xpel XR Black matches the TSER on some shades but lower rated on others along with lower IR rating. Obviously, the shop quality is more important as these are all good films.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
yourock

yourock

Posted
Posted
On 4/1/2023 at 12:48 AM, DynamicATL said:

IMO, 3M Ceramic IR is going to be the best option based on the performance and price. It outperforms CTX and the Autobahn Black Ceramic. Xpel XR Black matches the TSER on some shades but lower rated on others along with lower IR rating. Obviously, the shop quality is more important as these are all good films.

 

On 3/22/2023 at 5:50 PM, Ryker said:

How long the shop has been around helps but the work they do is more telling.  There are shops I know that have been "around" longer than I have but I was killing them in quality from the start.  Here I am 24 years in. 

 

Go look at the work they do. 

Thank you for the reply! I got my car tinted with Xpel film. Just had one more question. Is this gap look good(see pic)? Also in the rear window the gaps are uneven. I know they did computer cut.

 

p.s. I have another car with less gap than this. 

20230402_135918.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DynamicATL

DynamicATL

Posted
Posted
On 4/2/2023 at 6:24 PM, yourock said:

 

Thank you for the reply! I got my car tinted with Xpel film. Just had one more question. Is this gap look good(see pic)? Also in the rear window the gaps are uneven. I know they did computer cut.

 

p.s. I have another car with less gap than this. 

20230402_135918.jpg

 

Gap photos are hard to judge since it depends on how close you are to the glass. I've seen photos that look huge, but when you step back a foot or two, it is completely normal. I would take another photo at least 1 foot away from the glass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jerry Hernandez

Jerry Hernandez

Posted
Posted
On 4/2/2023 at 4:24 PM, yourock said:

 

Thank you for the reply! I got my car tinted with Xpel film. Just had one more question. Is this gap look good(see pic)? Also in the rear window the gaps are uneven. I know they did computer cut.

 

p.s. I have another car with less gap than this. 

20230402_135918.jpg

The Shop might be around for 15 years, but the Xpel film has only been around for about 4-5 years.  That gap is likely due to that film not being very user friendly and the film got stuck when applied and the shop didn't wan to mess with reapplying.  I would of recommend Llumar film of your choices. I've been in the industry for 30 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  •   Sponsored by
    auto-precut.com

    signwarehouse

    martinmetalwork.com

    tinttek

    filmvinyldesigns

    ride wrap

    Conco

    Lexen

    tintwiz

  • Activity Stream

    1. 7

      Air80 vs Stratos70 Windshield

      Since there is no limit of darkness on the top strip, I have wanted to tint it. But I would go very dark, to help with sun glare in the evening.
      mikenot in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    2. 7

      Air80 vs Stratos70 Windshield

      Yeah that’s a very fair point to a degree I’m probably overthinking it. I don’t see really significant glare reduction until you get into much darker tint. Like you I think visibility for me is more important living in the country. I’ll probably see what the specs list the differences between 70% and 80% and then double check with the tinter as to what they recommend. Likely will end up with 70% with a strip along the top. Air80 seems to be much more popular, not sure if it’s due to performance or the difference in cost being so much more for the stratos. thank you
      joshiemcduck in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    3. 0

      Process

      Hey guys - so I work for a vinyl graphics company that is adding window tinting to their repertoire and I had a question about your guys' ideal process. I have my plotter set up and my window tinting software ready to go, but I am completely ignorant about the way that tint installers prefer that things be cut. Currently, I will plot/weed the tint and cut the backing away as much as I dare before handing it over to the installer. I was thinking that the installer would prefer the tint to be cut to shape which I believe I can achieve with the perf cut on my plotter. Is that the typical process or should I not be worried so much about it being cut to exact shape?
      DonMeads in Plotters and Cutting Systems
    4. 7

      Air80 vs Stratos70 Windshield

      Im in TX, plenty of of what you mentioned. While I do sit higher in an SUV, glare reduction is not improved much at all with what I have. My 80% is almost clear, not dark at all. With all tint, it adds a bit of reflectivity from the outside, which I notice makes it slightly harder to see from the outside looking in, in the form of a glare not darkness. At the end of the day, it's not permanent, it's only money!
      mikenot in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    5. 0

      PPF installer for hire in SoCAL

      Hello. My name is Adrian i have good experience with paint protection film and i just moved to California, Irvine, i'm open to travel one hour away for the right job. You can contact me at 5717330693
      adrianpaun in Classifieds • Employment • Marketplace
    6. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      or "bust out another thousand"
      TintDude in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    7. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      Best tip would be, “Sorry, no boats”.
      pbalentine in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    8. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      The answer is to not heat that area too much so that you leave some slack in the film for when you get it to the inside. Also cut your pattern a little large so that you can trim a thread off the edges after shrinking to not have a furled edge. After you do a few of those you'll figure out how much to leave/trim to not have any light gaps. Also I'll leave a hardcard wrapped in a microfiber in the bottom overnight to collect water and keep pressure on the film while it dries. Sometimes you can take the top rail off the glass if the jackwagon boat builder didn't put too much pressure on the glass package when it was installed. If you pull the rail off of a tight package it's a pita to get back on, looking like it could crack the whole time. Congrats on getting it done. I've seen plenty that couldn't, which is why I price them like I do.
      Dano in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    9. 11

      Boat window tinting tips

      Thx everyone for the tips the install went fine, however i did run into a new problem on the main curve of the glass from thr outside the tint would lay flat on the big curve but when applying it seemed like there was too much tension and it would not stay down i ended up heating it up and flattening down but some of that area got overheated and warped a little, if you know how to tackle this problem please help me thank you!
      Lauty in Window Tinting - General Discussion
    10. 6

      Removable rigid window tint sheets - WTF?

      civicrice in Window Tinting - General Discussion
×
×
  • Create New...