Is it mandatory to shift film when cutting?

[nojima]

I’m in the learning process and many people shift there films quarter of a inch to the left or right. What does that do?  I seen the tints on my car done by the dealer and the film doesn’t looked like it was shifted but there’s no light gaps either.

Edited April 11 by TintDude
spam removed

[Darkimag22]

It is probably easier to go on youtube and watch some videos but I'll try to explain as best as I can.  In a nutshell you want to cut one side of the rolldown, shift the film over by 6-8mm on the same side you just cut, cut the other edge and then shift it back to "center" it (same amount of overlap on both vertical edges), roll the window down and then do your final cut along the top edge.  As long as there is no light gaps you are good to go.

Edited March 29 by Darkimag22

[Dano]

I stopped side shifting a long time ago. Today the only cut I'll make is the bottom and top edges.

 

Sometimes I'll shift the bottom down before cutting the top if the inside door sweep is low. For the sides I'll use a marker or grease pencil to mark the edges and cut them out on my peel board. One small wiggle can cost a bunch of embarrassment if you gaff a rubber or scar the glass.