TintDude

Weather strip comes off the top of the back doors easily. I pulled all the panels and rear deck. Didn’t do the shield cuz hell no. 

Yup! I’ve had three do that to me through the years. Now I just cut around them. Also helps that I save a liner from one that I did and I use it to cut out the windshield strip to make installation go quicker with no worries about the mirror and bracket. Sorry it happened to you. 

Thank you all, this has made me feel a little better knowing it wasn’t totally my fault lol I will not be removing any more Ford rear view mirrors. Not worth the risk 

Add me to the list.  Brand new F150 and did the exact same thing.  Never, ever attempted to do it again lol.

I refused to pull one and had my customer (wholesale flipper) say "I'll get it"....and broke it. Comes back with a new windshield and did it again a few days later...
 
I sent another to the ford dealer, after refusing for their customer, and watched their tech with the "proper tool" snap it right away. Since they had to replace it at their expense, word went out that day to not do another one.
 
Those mounts were never a good idea.

They seem to be engineered for quick assembly at the cost of being serviceable. Plus the whole planned obsolescence thing.

They seem to be engineered for quick assembly at the cost of being serviceable. Plus the whole planned obsolescence thing.

The only glass I have ever broke has been ford windshields and its been a handful.  The tools work 95% of the time, its the other 5% when you want to just kick the mirror through the windshield.

Ford and just about anything euro, I'm probably not effing with the mirror mount.

Those Ford mounts with the spring retention clip are the worst. One time on and not supposed to come back off.  The tool they make for removal is sketchy at best. I spent a very long time, trying many different methods learning how to take those off properly.  If you don't know for sure how to remove these, then skip it and cut around it.  I am glad to see they have gotten away from this style of mount now. 

Over the years there have been similar posts and they have all been Fords. I had one in a mustang come off in my hand just adjusting it.

Over the years there have been similar posts and they have all been Fords. I had one in a mustang come off in my hand just adjusting it.

Over the years there have been similar posts and they have all been Fords. I had one in a mustang come off in my hand just adjusting it.

As soon as I read Ford F350, I knew it was the rear view mirror. We broke one a few years ago. Even with the removal tool, it is a PITA. Now we do not remove any Ford rear view mirrors. Just slit the film to go around the base and seem them together on top.

Iv been tinting windows for about 7 months now. Iv worked on over 40 different vehicles with no accidents. I was tinting a 2015 Ford F350 super duty Black ops edition. Went to remove the rear view mirror and a huge chunk of the windshield came with it. Now I’m having to pay to get the windshield replaced. I’ll only be out about 400$. It’s not much but it definitely hurt my profits.  
 
I was just wondering if anybody else has had this happen before? The whole metal bracket came off the windshield. Iv never seen or heard of this happening before? Here’s a picture of it 

Autobahn I3 56 has a higher TSER (overall heat rejection) than XR Black or XR Plus. It also has a high IR rejection, but both films are metered at 1025nm so across the whole spectrum, those numbers could be very different. I would check out both films in person to see which looks better to you. If the Autobahn I3 looks better, it might be worth the price due to that and the performance. If the same level of appearance, the performance jump might not be enough for the price difference. Go with the shop that you feel gives you the best results since the difference in the films is not drastic.
 
As for the LED lighting, it depends on your vehicle. Some OEM LED headlamps are great, like Acura, and other brands are garbage. My S63 and Tesla both have amazing LED headlamps that are much better than HID. However, I drove a Cadillac XTS rental, and I could barely tell they were on. I literally had to pull over and check. I also drove a Mercedes C Class that had good LED headlamps and a GLA Class that had horrible LED headlamps. So it varies from brand to brand and even between models. My CL63 that has factory HID has horrible light output, so I upgraded the bulbs to LED, which were about 30% brighter. We are also an automotive lighting store which is why I chimed in on this.

We finished the car and the rear doors are really the only issue. The panel needs to be removed, then the power screen has to be removed, then you need plug the screen back in and leave the panel off. The window can be nudged up and down from the driver door. This is how we did it, if anyone has a better way, please share.

I'm half way through tinting a Lucid Air and just thought I would give you all a heads up.
The rear doors on this model have screens which are in the way. Even if you tint with panels on,
it will be a problem. There's a wide rubber molding that is also in the way. Add in $$ for time and effort.

I've got the ceramic 70 in a heat/light cube with the ceramic 30, HP30 and clear glass. That stuff is amazing, especially when you can see it side by side. I suspect it's two layers of ceramic base films laminated together to meter at 70vlt. I hope they never change it.
 
 
Thanks @Bham.  Believe it or not I really enjoy educating the customers to find out what they really need and not try to oversell just to turn a buck. Most of my new clients come from older referrals and when they find me I keep em for years.
 
For sure more people are catching on to the product name and I've yet to have a piece of HP or the ceramic fail that wasn't my own fault.
 
It's nice to know I'm not paying for a bunch of marketing collateral and a butt kissing salesman to travel around pass out tshirts and coffee cups that's added into the cost of my roll stock.

Ppf is going to be the easiest for you to transition to coming from detail and being familiar with car body shapes.
 
Tinting can be alot more challenging to get right in a detail shop, even for an experienced installer. 
 
Taking the class from Xpel would probably benefit you in your position because it would (1) give you brand support for ongoing install questions. (2)becoming a dealer would probably be easier after having gone through their training and beginning a professional relationship. (3) likely give you access to a protected product area. Ask first to make sure that access will granted. (4) you would most likely be added to their list of installers on their website if you are accepted as a dealer. 
 
For someone just starting out the dealer/marketing support would be helpful, even if you pay a few dollars extra as compared to taking a random class and whinging it.
 
Once you've been at it for a few years any solid brand/product will do, however, some prefer the dealer model for the obvious benefits and build their buisness around it. You'll find what works for you after you've been at it for a few years. 
 
Good luck and post any install questions you might have once you get started. This is a really good/helpful community here.

GR Corolla is the new hatchback from Toyota. Easy vehicle, no issues; it just has front quarter windows.
 
 

It appears film suppliers are tightening up on warranty claims.
 
If I was still installing, all they ask for would stick in my crawl for awhile and when it comes to vin # I'd take a picture of it and attach to the submission. F**k writing/typing the whole thing down.
 
Then again, the consumer should be the one to register while the installing firm need only supply VLT & lot/roll number to the client via their receipt.
 
Change is the only constant in our lives. Ugh!

1. Paint your floors with cheap epoxy and sprinkle a light dusting of play sand over it while its wet to make it less slick.
 
2. Get your peel board as close as you can to your prepped glass. Mist the air before you open your pattern.
 
3. Rope off the area that you don't want people walking into.
 
4. Build nice, easily readable signs to look like your running a top knotch install shop. 
 
5. Save every dollar you can and keep an eye out for a better location. Move your signs to the new shop for brand recognition.
 
6. Turn the old location into a detail shop (keeps someone else from capitalizing on your good name) and send the tint over to the new place. 
 
7. Treat your customers like gold and they will follow you. Everyone likes to see a good shop grow.
 
8. Start tinting the crusty diesels in ceramic for top dollar. They spend more time in those trucks than they do at home.
 
9. If you have a plotter offer vin, dot and company names on the trucks. Every one of them need it.
 
10. Hustle and improve where you can. If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.

^^^
Just be the guy that can do it reliably and possibly discount their personal cars unless you're getting some serious volume on contracting the whole lot for preloading. Dealerships will sell their mothers to scrimp a dollar tomorrow. I've seen the tinting at dealers start and stop on a dime....literally. 

My thoughts on this are that tint shops should have never started agreeing to discounts for dealerships.  I mean why? Because they bring you " a bunch of cars ".  Well so what.  That doesn't make them any easier to tint.  Dealerships ask for outrageous discounts and blame it on the volume they bring you.  Tint shops should have never started agreeing to these type of discounts.  Dealerships can well afford normal pricing.  If anything, give the 10% off the total of an invoice, not 10-20% off each vehicle.  At least that will cover you if they don't bring you a bunch of cars and will also give them a better reason to bring you more at one time instead of one here and there.  20% is not necessary in my opinion, but they will want at least that just because they are a dealership.  
 
This is just my take on this subject.  Many will have a different opinion, but I think if shops had stood their ground years ago on this, dealerships wouldn't expect these type of discounts.