TomTint

VLR is 12% ish...very low.

The Huper Ceramic is not reflective, and yes I can feel the heat radiating off of it more than the QDP

There are 3 things Window Film is capable of doing with heat and light. Absorb it, Reflect it or Transmit it....nothing else.. if it's not shiny...it's absorbing the heat ( ceramic ) if it's absorbing it..it will re radiate it. ..( think about asphalt ) ..soaks up the suns radiation and re radiates it back.. Film is no different.

FWIW, I have Huper ceramic on one of my trucks and global QDP of basically the same V!T on another one of my trucks. The ceramic gets noticeably hotter and I can feel the heat radiating off of it....not so with the QDP. ... from the exterior they both look similar.

When you call these reps, rest assured, they will check on your web page, reviews etc, before calling you back. If you do not have a professional on line presence..you will likely not get a return call.

Depending on which Llumar product you have.....makes a huge difference in the amount of heat that will be rejected. Good old fashoned Silver 20 is going to be the best performing of the bunch, but many home owners don't want to make the reflective compromise.

..02........ let others be the guinea pigs....... you have been warned.

If you own a property and fall off a ladder...you then rent your property. ...if you fall of a ladder and are locked into a lease.... you still need to cover that lease and most landlords frown of sub leasing...

For flat glass I prefer the film to bo on the roll liner out. Autoi would assume liner in would be preferable.

I don't know your financial situation or your geographic location, but ..if you are mobile now and covering your expenses..and are able to save a bit of money..keep saving until you have enough for a down payment to buy your own space. Renting or leasing is only good for the land owner. You pay their nut..and they ride the wave as the property escalates in value.. then they raise your rent... IMO..wait till you can swing a purchase and thank me in a few years.

Hard to put that cat back in the bag.

If you are going to use exterior film, look for a dealer that uses Hanita. Virtually every other MFR just slaps their AG coating on their solar film and calls it "exterior" ... And on a skylight it may last less than 3 years.

Eastman bought ST for 2 reasons. First they wanted their PPF technology and 2nd.. They posed to much competition for them. After the purchase they systematically gutted quality control at ST deliberately. Its now the red headed step child of the Eastman portfolio. As others have suggested look at Global. It's a rock solid product.

You could use matt PPf

If you have a FH you can probably get 4 good edges..at least 3 and only have to trim 1. You will need the big set of rollers as the film comes on 6" cores. A cutting table is nice to have as long as the guy who is looking at the smart end of the tape measure was good, and you have a good system in place for organization and getting film to the project.

Nice set ups.. looks li,e they are well thought out and well built. A couple things that may add to them would be a gutter type water catcher at the bottom of the glass board, and a tape measure apparatus below the roll holder. . Not knocking your product at all, I think it's beautiful.

I have always been a big advocate for telling dealers with in house tinters to F.O. .. if. You are truly a skilled tinter.. ( and not in just 3-4 models that were plotter cut ) ..than your skill set is in demand. Like Roach said, there is more to running a business than just slapping plastic on windows. In fact... many of the most successful business owners I know..don't tint themselves at all.

Many years ago I had him make me a couple pouches and a nice bag to carry tools.. used that bag for years until someone left the cover off a Triumph and slit the side wide open..

FB groups.....how many times can you look at a picture of a trash filled car that some clown is tinting. ... and complaining about the trash in it....that's a typical FB group post...

Some will tell you that PS is advanced to the point where it will last longer than the films expected life cycle... this is usually parroted by those who have PS flat glass films they want to sell. I have been doing this for the better part of 35 years.. I do not recall ever seeing a DA adhesive failure ..where as I have seen PS failure more times than I can count. While DA adhesive is most certainly a PITA to remove..PS requires a razor blade in most cases as well.. which will inevitably cause the same issues in glass with fabrication debris or other surface 4 coating. That said, the glass that is being produced today is typically such high quality and energy efficient..adding window film is quickly becoming a loser based on ROI. ..

There are plenty of DR films with PS adhesive. Huper , Solar Gard, Express, Global, just to name a few. As far as how long will it last.. install it and let me know how it looks in 15 years.

If it's 90-100* outside.. it makes no difference what you have on your windows..it's going to be hot. You need to temper your expectations. And 3M did not go the ceramic route..because Huper has the only true ceramic ( patented ) film on the market. All the others are one type of hybrid or another. As far as ceramics go..Huper is the best of the options.

Our in house data shows that Llumar out performs 3M using the miter E scale test. Performance was tested using #7 unwashed aggregate at a 46 mph velocity and 72* angle of impact. No damage was noticeable to the Llumar test media, the 3M was damaged beyond the point of being salvageable

You first need to understand that window film is not a AC unit. It makes zero difference what film you put on your car and then park it in the sun.. it’s still going to be like a oven inside. Think of it this way, imagine you have a empty cup and then turn on a faucet full blast. The cup fills up very fast ( now imagine that water is the suns heat and the cup is your cars interior. ..same cup, same faucet.. but you cut the flow of water ( heat ) by 50%... that cup is still going to fill up..just a little slower. Also..ceramic films absorb and retain heat.. so that alone plays a part to a certain degree. ..ceramic = today’s gimmick.02

It's convent ....that you can supply your own test results....... how does it perform when rocks hit it on angle....