shadytints

180 watt 18,000 lumen mounted to a underhood bracket.  250 lumen for touch ups

180 watt 18,000 lumen mounted to a underhood bracket.  250 lumen for touch ups

pro-bond on the grid stops peanuts or strong cleaner during prep.  went back to normal torch shrinking with no problems. 

winter is harder to cut top of doors.  dirt and  salt on top of doors chews blades up.  if the first pass is rough on the cut I glance at the blade to see if its rough and click another out if needed.  if the edge looked good I wipe the top of door to remove debris.  tempered doors you can change the angle and shave a 1/32 to smooth(round top).  lam have to shift up a 1/16 to recut(square edge).   vids on the tube if you want to see

1.5 hours is good time for the average car for a seasoned tinter.  busy day and things going good could hit an hour a car and maintain quality.  I was mobile with a 30 min drive between accounts.  60/40 split for 11 years,  if I wanted a raise, had to do more cars.  started training apprentices to clean and prep then slowly into cutting, shrinking and hanging film.  had a few good ones thru the years,  did 5 cars in 2.5 hours one day.  limped all the way to the bank LOL
 
Time equals money,  the more you do, the more you make.  so what does it cost to tint a car?  not the $20-$40 bucks people think.  look at every dime you spent last year on your P&L,  divide that by how many cars you tinted and that my friend is the real cost.   total sales divided by number of cars is what you gross,  goal is to widen the gap between the 2 numbers.  window tint has a great gross profit on paper,  irrelevant if you can't pay the bills.  this is why so many companies fail.  quality first,  speed is close second.  video tape yourself and study it for ways to save time.  watch video's of others to see if their technique or parts of it will fit into your style.  still look at my old video's and study others and I don't even tint anymore.  still cool to see the evolution of my style from where I was to when I stopped.
 
K-12 you were graded A-F,  what is your grade now?  its called a W2 or the bottom line if you are independent.  never stop learning! 

yup,  vid on the tube called torpedo   lol
not much faster,  need to cut a foot off to get the flame on

hit all windows with a soapy solution of J&J,  plug in my antique wagner to heat up and grab my torch,  usually does it.  steamer  if material is to close to window for torch or film is leaving glue behind.

we were comparing slips for strength.  30 min at 60 degrees none bonded.  I use a 110btu torpedo to heat my garage,  once warm have a 40k btu radiant to maintain temp.  20 inch box fan $20 bucks and 20x20 hp4 furnace filter 3pack $9 bucks filters the floaties out of the room while I cut and shrink.  shut off while I hang.  slip tends to pool into little bubbles after installation, fushion 5ES with blue or clear max applies more pressure leaving a slight haze with no puddles and quicker cure time.   ultra bond compared to J&J or other soaps/shampoo's bonds faster and stronger.   was impressed with the comparison.  have a peel board?  tint a couple spots with scrap,  vary the temp and see how long it takes to bond.  films are different.    if I tint a car in a hour, and I have a 30min drive between accounts,  a warranty redo can really cost me $200-$400 in lost time.  time is the one thing you can not get back.
 
noticed your only few hours away,  not working anymore,  want some pointers, let me know.

In colder months, I leave the car running with the defrost on and fan on high in recirc while I cut and shrink.  slip is one ounce of ultra bond in a P2 and heat the shop to 70 as film goes on and keep car inside 15min after completion.
hot BG shrinks easier then cold ones.  cars have interior filters to remove airborne debris,  shops and cars are dustier in winter.  ultra bond dries film quicker and increases bond strength.  15min in 70 degrees you will have to scrape glue to get it off.   all cars i seal edges on roll downs and use a fushion 5ES to remove slip.  windows used to texture a little as they cured with turbo,  does not with pro handle.

bought a pouch while back called dirty pouch.  #dirtypouch  #inthefilmbusiness   nothing comes close in quality,  reinforced hoops and bottom (plastic).  use many different tools and never have to hunt for one.  can even put your logo on it.

bought a pouch while back called dirty pouch.  #dirtypouch  #inthefilmbusiness   nothing comes close in quality,  reinforced hoops and bottom (plastic).  use many different tools and never have to hunt for one.  can even put your logo on it.

I do on occasion.   deep felt gaskets like 200's and old taurus and 15 malibu's.  wet the gasket and pull back on door panel and use a good hooker (radiator hose removal tool) to catch the back and pull out.  to reinstall, wet the sweep with slip and pinchwell and panel and slides right in.   guess I have been lucky,  never have had to remove panels or screws to remove them.  some are tight, helps to have a helper.  will give credit to my last apprentice,  I did fight some like focus hatch and darts.  so,,  if its quicker and cleaner to pull sweeps I will.  always trying new things to go faster and cleaner, or should say was.  might go back to work some day.

have had cars die in 5 min before.  min 10amp to keep battery up with key on, a 50amp is worth the extra couple bucks for POS's.  bought large jump box for my light and to jump cars just in case.  has come in handy for my 3 tractors, chipper and snow blower.   good for the lake,  dead battery's from stereo's.  

30% is about the average here in Michigan for a good tech.  Most techs cap out around 40k/yr in  a shop.   in 2006 I asked for a raise and they said I would have to quit to get one.  back then $10/hr cost an employer $16/hr.  By 2014 40k/yr or $20/hr cost $35/hr.  So I quit my job and formed Shady tints.  I set up different shops with a 60/40 split originally,  switched to flat rate when issues arose.   Starting your own business is the American dream,  just not for everyone.  You will be the first in, the last out and last one to get paid if there is anything to pay you.  You have to be a sales specialist,  easiest lowest paid or hardest highest paid job there is.  Inventory, advertising and accounting skills are necessary.  You are responsible for everything including your employees and their future.  Gross profit, gross margins and tracking average cost per delivery and sales projections.   Bit more then most realize.  I know many that have succeeded and many that failed.  I suggest a little soul searching before making the leap.    

never tried it.  was happy to just have a cure.  could dilute it if needed or I have added some to slip before I used ultra-bond for slip.  good for michigan winters for fast cure.

school glue sticks,  goes on purple, dries clear.
pull film back, smear glue on the dots.  hard card to put film back up,  trick is to not take the glue out of the dots.  helps if you have somebody watch on the outside to get a even coverage.

clean the window with white scrubby and squeegee dry.  wet a corner of a cloth with pro-bond and wipe the grid and frit.   pro-bond flashes quick,  re-wet cloth 2 to 4 times depending on BG.  I also have rapid tac 2,  peanut pops up, peel back and spray full strength and squeegee quick.
 
tons of data on peanuts,  stronger cleaner/degreaser prepping seems to be key.  now i can go back to torching chargers in 2 min and 300's in 40 sec with out headaches.

clean the window with white scrubby and squeegee dry.  wet a corner of a cloth with pro-bond and wipe the grid and frit.   pro-bond flashes quick,  re-wet cloth 2 to 4 times depending on BG.  I also have rapid tac 2,  peanut pops up, peel back and spray full strength and squeegee quick.
 
tons of data on peanuts,  stronger cleaner/degreaser prepping seems to be key.  now i can go back to torching chargers in 2 min and 300's in 40 sec with out headaches.

wheel acid on some steel wool removes glass coatings.

newbie assistants I start at $400/wk salary.  90 day probation and one year verbal agreement.  "If" they get good, they can choose salary or a percentage that adjusts with skills.  after a year  they can take a 50/50 split or start their own business.
 
Why this works and understanding my sales pitch.
walk into any tint shop or place you want to tint.  never at open or close or lunch.  when they ask to help you,  say I want to make you a lot of money, if you have a couple minuets I will see if I can.   talk in their interest,  they do not care about you,,,, yet
 
crunching the numbers
do they tint,  what do they charge and how long does it take?  hours of operation and how many days to get appointment in season.
average answer from tint shops here is over $200 for 4dr cars.  3 to 4 hours for install and 2 to 3 week to schedule in season.
this shop would book 2 completes($400.00) and a set of doors($80.00) a day.  if one no shows they still have to pay the tinter hourly
so lets say $500/day 6 days a week brings $3000.00 total sales
I then state I will tint a vehicle an hour increasing the weekly potential to $9600 if they can book them.  8hrs/day x $200/car =$1600 x 6/day =$9600
If they only schedule 2 cars and a set of doors i will be done in 2.5 hours allowing 5.5 hours extra to book work in that bay
my program should make them $100.00/hr with no material, labor or warranty
I offer displays and price sheets and sales training (good/better/best) to increase average gross per delivery and warranty is on me if one comes back.
ask which number they like better  lol  offer to handle overflow or if the tinter calls in, say you will try to cover them so you do not have to cancel jobs.
In Michigan,  if you pay an employee 40k/yr with benefits or $20.00/hr the actual cost is about $35.00/hr.  I only take your money if I make you money.
good to have a couple vids on phone or flash drive  instead of the typical audition.  you can also project the additional income for up/cross sales.
 
I was a home based business. low overhead and great tax benefits.  10 to 20 sales reps booking and handling customers.   go to work only when there is work, part time job.  payed $100 to $200 an hour.  good CPA got my taxable income under 10k.  no clue how he does that,  why I pay him.
 

hardest part is finding the right person.  show up for work and on time,  reliable and trainable.   takes about 90 days to see if they make it.  employees are like children, at first eager to learn and plan to be the next world champ tinter.  between 30 and 60 days,  little late to work and longer lunches testing the boundaries.  have to smack their hand and get them back in place.  hire for attitude,  teach experience.
 
newbie helper
pull up to a shop,  I go get the keys and paperwork, helper unloads the car (toolbox light film) and sets up.  I cut and shrink sides, helper cleans the back window then puts film on outside. I cut and shrink back and hang,  helper cleans sides and rounds corners.  I hang the sides while helper cleans windows and picks up behind me.  I pull car out and check while helper repacks car.  the "dance" as I call it, once learned allowed me to schedule 1 car per hour to hour and half.
 
trained tinter
helper still sets up while I get the car.  helper cleans,  cuts and hangs BG while I cut all sides, shrink sides  and hang starting with pass rear then front.  when I get to drivers side I either leave rear door and quarter or driver front door depending how far they are on the BG.  if I am almost done they clean and pack up and I deliver car.    slight variations depending on car.   best day we completed 5 cars in 2.5 hours.  limped all the way to the bank  LOL

contests are not a crock,  full of great information to learn.   clean, prep and clean up almost anyone do,  so why do it your self?
I hired an assistant to do the basics.  saved 1/3 on time for install.  increased sales with extra time with minimal cost.  made more money, did less work and was not tired at the end of the day.  its the American way  LOL

30% is about the average here in Michigan for a good tech.  Most techs cap out around 40k/yr in  a shop.   in 2006 I asked for a raise and they said I would have to quit to get one.  back then $10/hr cost an employer $16/hr.  By 2014 40k/yr or $20/hr cost $35/hr.  So I quit my job and formed Shady tints.  I set up different shops with a 60/40 split originally,  switched to flat rate when issues arose.   Starting your own business is the American dream,  just not for everyone.  You will be the first in, the last out and last one to get paid if there is anything to pay you.  You have to be a sales specialist,  easiest lowest paid or hardest highest paid job there is.  Inventory, advertising and accounting skills are necessary.  You are responsible for everything including your employees and their future.  Gross profit, gross margins and tracking average cost per delivery and sales projections.   Bit more then most realize.  I know many that have succeeded and many that failed.  I suggest a little soul searching before making the leap.    

30% is about the average here in Michigan for a good tech.  Most techs cap out around 40k/yr in  a shop.   in 2006 I asked for a raise and they said I would have to quit to get one.  back then $10/hr cost an employer $16/hr.  By 2014 40k/yr or $20/hr cost $35/hr.  So I quit my job and formed Shady tints.  I set up different shops with a 60/40 split originally,  switched to flat rate when issues arose.   Starting your own business is the American dream,  just not for everyone.  You will be the first in, the last out and last one to get paid if there is anything to pay you.  You have to be a sales specialist,  easiest lowest paid or hardest highest paid job there is.  Inventory, advertising and accounting skills are necessary.  You are responsible for everything including your employees and their future.  Gross profit, gross margins and tracking average cost per delivery and sales projections.   Bit more then most realize.  I know many that have succeeded and many that failed.  I suggest a little soul searching before making the leap.    

30% is about the average here in Michigan for a good tech.  Most techs cap out around 40k/yr in  a shop.   in 2006 I asked for a raise and they said I would have to quit to get one.  back then $10/hr cost an employer $16/hr.  By 2014 40k/yr or $20/hr cost $35/hr.  So I quit my job and formed Shady tints.  I set up different shops with a 60/40 split originally,  switched to flat rate when issues arose.   Starting your own business is the American dream,  just not for everyone.  You will be the first in, the last out and last one to get paid if there is anything to pay you.  You have to be a sales specialist,  easiest lowest paid or hardest highest paid job there is.  Inventory, advertising and accounting skills are necessary.  You are responsible for everything including your employees and their future.  Gross profit, gross margins and tracking average cost per delivery and sales projections.   Bit more then most realize.  I know many that have succeeded and many that failed.  I suggest a little soul searching before making the leap.