alberts316

UPDATE- Speed Films sent me some of his tack solution and I must say it's a game changer IMO.  I have used it on mirrors, headlights, superduty hoods multiple times now, edges for wrapping and a freshly resprayed bumper edge.  It is NOT Probond! Far less aggressive, yet still helps out tremendously when you need a little bite on a stretch.  I'm not a chemist and didn't ask about what's in it, but I know it works for ppf.  I sprayed about a dime sized amount on a microfiber and wiped the areas generously, then wiped it clean with another mf towel.  It comes out kinda hazy looking but wipes off without issue.  Came off super easy with the mf towel on the black plastic around the mirror that I managed to touch.  This stuff works well in tight corners where the film has a hard time adhering.  I did a wrapped edge on a respray bumper for one of my body shop accts and wanted to see if it would peel paint like probond.  Negative, it came off the edge with no issue.  You can actually peel the film back after tacking without leaving a stretch mark.  The superduty letters lay down on the first pass of your finger and saved me about 5 min a hood.  Time is money, and I feel this is a product that saves me time. I have complimented Speed on his product and encourage anyone who's doing ppf try it out.   

Sorry, but I have to disagree that precut kits create a 'no risk to cutting the paint'.  Because sooner or later, that pre-cut kit isn't going to line up quite right.  Sometimes.. Not even daily, it is going to need to be trimmed by the installer.  IF (this is the important part, this IF) the installer does not have very good knife skills, then it's far more likely he WILL cut into the paint because he does not practice using the knife day in and day out.
 
Bulk installers ALSO can get into the paint.  I'm not saying they can't just that you can't say the opposite is true with pre-cut kits.
 
On the other hand, I've installed and trimmed out a number of bumpers, mirrors, etc, etc where you might find a hunk of schmegle after the installation is finished.  It's in a spot where I simply could not sneek under the film to remove the contamination, so off came the whole bumper installation (Mirrors are more likely to take 2 installs as I try to cover as much as possible for a 'seamless' look).  I look carefully at all my cuts areas to check if there are any paint cuts just to be sure I haven't lost 'the touch'.

As you get experience you'll start noticing different tricks for different cars. Old cars, new cars, different models, different techniques.  I've been at it for 27 years and there are times I have to dig deep into my memory on older vehicles.  IMO, overall, most American and Japanese (excluding Lexus) are easier than luxury and European cars. I typically charge about $40-50 more on Mercedes and BMW because the vertical panels overlap the windows more than most cars, I'm not big on removing bottom sweeps, I only find it necessary on maybe 6 different models.  
At the end of the day, it's a non-stop learning curve.  Best advice I can give you is to be honest with your customers, and realize that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and that's how your learn and get better.
Good luck!
 

You've tinted how long? No offense but less than 5 years of using a film isn't proof of anything.....

Saint Louis for Stan Foster. @flat rock stan

100% NOT what they used to be.  I was bitchin just the other day about how they are complete sh!t now.  Honestly they were the best in the late 90's to early 2000s and then someone did something to save money on materials and they have never been the same.

If that one little dot is all there is to complain about, then I would say you got an excellent tint job.
 
Oh, and kudos to the shop for getting $475.00 for a tint job. It's nice to see shops and tinters finally getting paid what they are worth.

I wanted to know what are the raw materials of making PPF. What is the process and machines used to form a final product of PPF?
 
Thanks

All of the advice above is on point.
Be very clear to the client regarding quality expectations.
Go over with them about the much higher attention to detail required.
Let them know why the price will reflect your efforts.

The frames do not look to bad, I would clean the window as normal, flush the edge with my tank and and then squeegee the window from the edge and to the middle and down and dry the edge with a towel, Install the film and stay away from the edge as in do not let water get to the edge while doing so " up to where the film leaves the glass to the frames edge". trim the film from the bottom up and then use a push out card and then admittedly dry the edge with what ever you use to wick the water from the frame. 

Man,  F**K  a boat...
 
 

I have a 60 inch plotter but have never used it past 30 inches.  However I bulk everything including bumpers so I'm not a good person to answer that question.  I just know most installers use pre cut kits for bumpers.  
 
Some cars like the Porsche 911 have a very large rear fender which connects to the A Pillars and lower Rockers so that will need to be done on a 60, possibly a 48 but better to have extra.  
 
I believe Suntek TruCut is $100 per month, no fee per cut, cut as many patterns as you like.  
Not sure if it works on a Mac either, I have a laptop for it. 
 
You should get in touch with someone at Suntek as I'm sure they could better answer your questions.  
 
Josh

My take is similar to Josh's...  I just bought a plotter but I still typically do bulk.  So the plotter is for the A-pillars, trunk ledge, headlights/foglights, maybe for leading edge of the roof, door cups, and door edge material... Basically smaller bits where bulk installation will give the same results but take longer.  But like Josh, I bulk the hoods, fenders, doors, and bumpers.  The trade-off is time, plain and simple.  You can install a fender or bumper in 1/2 the time or even faster with a pre-cut.  BUT I'd put my bulk install against any kit in quality any day. (Quality in my definition, is getting coverage all the way to edges, including parking sensors, around headlight sprayers, around side marker reflectors, etc.  Rolling edges everywhere possible, not just on the leading edge of the hood but around all 4 sides of the hood, plus into the wheel well, and around the back of the fender where the door-edge gap is.)
 
Ultimately,  it comes down to if the customer cares or not.. Car dealership?  Do a kit, make the $$ and move along.  But for my picky detail oriented customer, a bulk installation looks better with smaller edge-gaps where they have to be or non existent where I can wrap it around edges.
 
Last I was told by Jeff at Xpel, you have to be exclusive to buying Xpel film to use the Xpel Dap software plus you have to be exclusive to Xpel film to get Xpel film in the first place.  I do not approve of this business strategy but it's not my company and I've been more than happy with Suntek products and software for many years.
 
Back to the original topic, Applying the film clean, smooth, invisible way takes a pretty huge amount of practice and patience.  Meanwhile, you will throw away an expensive hunk of film here and there.  It especially hurts when it happens 2 times in a row due to frustration, haha.  So that is probably why a lot of installers give it a 2 or 3 week try and then quit.  The other problem is when an area has too many installers, all undercutting on price and kill the market with crappy rushed installations because they are going for Fast, Fast, Fast installations, while giving the film a bad reputation because of those fast, dirty installations.  Now the customers in those areas think that low prices are standard unfortunately, making it difficult to explain that a quality installation can't be price-shopped against a speed installation.

I'll help Mike! Yes cleaning the bugs off is a bit easier, not tons.  That bumper isn't too bad to do, but it might be a challenge if you don't do ppf often.  If you're interested I will send you a kit for your car in suntek ultra(cost plus shipping).  Maybe Jeff from Xpel could help you out on some product too.  Let me know and I'd be glad to help!

Having a history going back to 2002 doesn't matter either.  Clearing them access to get Audi R8 patterns nine months before the car is released doesn't matter.  Allowing them to use my shop to get the original Porsche Panamera patterns doesn't matter.  Taking a crew of three to Birmingham Rolex Grand Am race and spending three days filming the entire grid for free doesn't matter.  Discovering they literally stole my slogan and asking them to stop instead of taking them to court over trademark infringement doesn't matter.  Opening up a corporate store a half a mile away from my shop and using my DAP history to target my dealership account undercutting my prices by 20% resulting in lost revenue for me doesn't matter.  Reporting dozens of incorrect patterns or mislabeled shapes over 18 years doesn't matter.  Knowing there will never be a warranty claim for a pattern doesn't matter.  Giving up thousands of dollars a month (just from me) to cut patterns that are already costed out so its as close to free money as it gets doesn't even matter.
 
There are laws that don't matter too.  A company that supplies parts to venders has to make replacement parts available for seven years after that business relationship is ended.  "Tying" the software access to film purchase is illegal (I have a customer that is a  board member legal advisor from a world wide privacy management software company) doesn't matter.
 
Maybe if we were black Norm, it would matter.
 
The Core software will be ready soon and the Film Wraps patterns are better than Xpels' ever were.  

Excellent!!!
 
Some folks just have to force their opinion on other folks.  I've never understood this.  Live & Let Live people.  You don't like what someone somewhere else is doing, then it's ok to let people know once and then let it ride.  Unless your neighbor is having block parties every single night and dumping garbage on YOUR lawn, let it go!
 
Anyways, I'd typically be a bit less than $3k on a full front end, but again if it's a Porsche Macan or maybe Audi R8 with a more than average challenge, then I probably wouldn't be there.  But, again your area could have a lot to do with prices.

same as iso, about 10-15% then the rest distilled water.  

Lets suppose you are in the market for a used car and the dealership has two that are just about identical as far as miles and options.  One was protected with PPF and the other wasn't.  Would you be willing to pay more for the car that looked brand new as far as the paint condition over the one that had dozens of rock chips and scratches?  If so, there's a ROI.  Not only that, but most people would assume that if the original owner was willing to pay big money up front for PPF, they probably took better care of the vehicle, got their oil changed and did regular maintenance as scheduled vs the owner that let their car get beat up.

We get it. You don’t believe in PPF.  Thats great.  So dont comment on PPF if you dont have 20 years of experience selling and installing it. No ones going to comment on Flat Glass films if they arent in that segment.  I just dont see how, in any way, it is productive to keep down talking a product that is 1. Popular for new car owners that value the look of their car 2. Is a good product to sell for a shop that want to make a profit.  Now I remember why I got off this forum. 🤦 yall have fun 

Hey @TomTint, I respect and appreciate that you have an opinion, but man, time to move on I think. 
 
Now people are leaving the forum because of this and that kind of defeats the purpose. 
 
Plus this isn't the first scrap you've gotten into here lately.
 
I think you should take a break from here Tom. Thanks for understanding.

And like usual here's Tom to poo poo all over ppf.  Go Tom go

And like usual here's Tom to poo poo all over ppf.  Go Tom go

I'm pretty sure the last time I spend a few thousand on a supercharger for a Mustang, that it wasn't for any type of return on my investment.  Except for the better trap times.   
 
Nobody puts upgrades on their car for ROI.  Just my unnecessary two cents.  

Hey, I'm trying to be nice about this. It needs to stop.

The comment is racist not too mention misspelled...not triggered, just good to know your posts are racist garbage.