Windshield tint - what level of clarity to expect?

[madtech34]

I am starting to think to think there is a problem with the film which was installed on my windshield. Maybe it is my imagination, but the issue may have even gotten a bit worse. I am almost at the 3 week mark since the install.  Could be a problem with the adhesive from that roll of film, could have been too much soap in the slip solution, etc. I don't think the installer was completely at fault since all of the edges are essentially invisible, he definitely took his time and there were literally no bubbles right after the install.

 

I wish my phone could capture how bad and distracting the issue is (at least to me). It is definitely worse in the morning when the sun is at a lower angle and then later on in the day, mostly due to the reflections from the cars. At night, all the car headlights/taillights appear blurry in the distance. Here are some pictures which roughly show the issues I have, and note that the added glare/halos aren't due to it being wet outside. You can really see the halos and ghosting on the taillights in one picture, especially on the Jeep and on the Ford with the Utah plate. The 2nd pic doesn't show the headlight issue but it was the best I could do with my phone. You can see on the cars furthest in the distance (the last three cars) the flaring which is caused by the film; I generally see about six added flares from any headlight.

[Dano]

Possibly a bad roll of film if you're not seeing the same through the sides. 

 

Does the film look grainy or have a light texture to the surface or glue?

 

Is the windshield aftermarket?

 

Did you lock your doors before crossing Colfax?

[madtech34]

The best way I can describe it is that the film looks like it has a very fine scale texture, something like a fine scale orange peel and even some areas of what looks like textured lines all parallel to one another.  I cannot tell if it is the film itself, the adhesive, etc.

 

So just to give some added information, just went to another shop to get an opinion on it since I haven't gotten an answer from the installer. This shop only deals with Llumar and Huper Optik films. The guy I spoke with saw the issue and essentially made a face when I told him what film was installed. And then gave me some quotes for 1) removal and then 2) what is would cost to do the whole front windshield with a 70% film.

[Dano]

Orange peel is what we would call grainy. I'll bet it's the film, especially if the installer won't return your call. Likely he knows what the issue is.

[mobiledynamics]

Madtech -

 

I just scrolled back to the OP. I don't see the details. What brand/model is the film ?

[madtech34]

So just to answer a couple questions and address a few of the comments floating around:

• I would agree with what I described as a very fine scale orange peel would be considered grainy as Dano mentioned above
• Glass is factory glass on a vehicle about half a year old (forgot to answer this question before). It is an acoustic glass on my vehicle.
• The film in question is an ASWF excel irp 70%...yeah, I know. Probably should have done my homework beforehand.

So just a bit upset since it seems like I will not be able to resolve with the installer (only recourse I potentially have is to start posting negative reviews). I just thought this guy knows what he is doing since all of his reviews were very positive, he takes his time with the installs to reduce as much moisture as possible and ensure edges are all clean, and isn't a newbie in the business (at least a decade if not longer). So not exactly sure why he would be pushing subpar products with his experience. Maybe to keep costs lower to attract business...I don't know.

 

So basically I am going to have eat the cost of the initial install, pay a different shop about an hour of labor to remove the bad film, and pay again to have something decent put on, like a Huper Optik, Llumar, or Global product.

[Chilled]

Depending on your budged and access to installers. Check out Crystalline 70%. It does get a lot of hate because of the $ and difficulty in shrink. 

[madtech34]

So just to wrap up this thread, there was really no change to the clarity of the film from about a week following the install of the ASWF tint. I really couldn't live with the low quality of that film, especially on the windshield. The blurriness when the sun was at lower angles and then the ghosting of lights at night was too much.

 

I went to a shop which installs Llumar and Autobahn (Huper Optik) products. I had stopped by this shop earlier to get a second opinion after I had noticed the issues with the initial install. Yesterday, they installed a 70% VLT ceramic i3 film, which was a hard pill to swallow in terms of price plus the cost to remove the ASWF film. However, what a huge difference in terms of quality/clarity even with just one day of curing (there is still some moisture which needs to evaporate). There is virtually no low-angle haze I can discern, unlike the ASWF film, and no issues with lights at night.

 

I guess to some extent you get what you pay for. Lesson learned in the end after being out an extra $350 for the american shitty window film.

[LeadfootCJ7]

I'm certain some of it is the quality of the installer as well.

 

I'm glad this resolved your issue.