Sunbreakers

The reselling of Llumar film to third parties is an absolute crime according to the manufacturer. If it has llumar logo on release liner then it is legit. I would steer clear of those folks and transactions as you have no warranty and it could limit your options in the future. 

Lay them down is always better instead of standing on end. Humidity can cause the film to tunnel if extreme, but yeah, like JH said. I have film that I discovered the other day that was a roll of Llumar Platinum Plus...it is prob 10-14 years old and looks just as good as the day it was put up. 

Call your software vendor and get them to help you. Llumar/PCS had to create a plotter for me in their driver files so I could use my vinyl express Q 42's and 64. Put it on their tech support to help you resolve. 

A soak shield rope has become my new favorite. Prep is most important. After you clean run your hand over the entire windshield while wet looking for sticker, tape, glue, spray whatever remains on the window. Remove the mirror if you can and any other obstacle..A pillars are sometimes a must like on Audi A4. All this has been said before..just practice and take your time and it will work out for you. 

Express window films is a sponsor in the banner at the top of this page. @whitehog is a member who deals with Solar fx among other brands and can help you as well. Those should be great places to start. Good luck. 

1 hour ago, CaliTINT said:

That's strange because I have a couple rolls of 40"X100' in 80%. I go through Express though, not sure about you. I wouldn't order the 60" cut 36/24 if you don't have 40".  I had a van come thinking I could do it in 36" but NOPE! Had to order a 40" to do it. 

Hey Cali, did you have to call in to order the 40"? I looked and looked and don't see that on their website....just 36 or a 60 or am I missing something?

Dynamic said it well. 36" and 40". Sometimes I like a 40" where a 36" will work so I have extra room to shrink top corners and/or stretch. I don't know what film you use but a problem you will run into is with Llumar for ex. they don't sell the air80 in a 40" unless you order a 60" and have it cut down to a 40/20. They only stock 36 in precut. The only situation you might have where you would even consider splicing is when you put a strip on the top and then tint the rest of the way down with the 80 but I don't recommend it. It is very noticeable and much easier to tint the whole windshield and then apply strip over that. 

I would recommend 50%. 35% looks too dark and could get you a ticket a lot easier than 50% and in some cases will be too dark to be reasonably safe. Go 50% with a ceramic film from somebody...Llumar, Global, Express or whoever is near you to get some heat rejection going and darkness won't matter. 

That is just awful..Did you have to replace door panel?

I cover panels like that with a big travel towel. One of my guys had the same thing happen to him and we pulled it outside and it dried out and was fine. It did not show any obvious sign of damage. Maybe we just got lucky. 

1 hour ago, blackoutauto said:

As for tinting I find they all have ups and downs.

Currently using precision cut 4 and Precision cut 5 beta

 

My fvd just expired, not gonna renew

Well said for ups and downs. I started out with Tinttek. Great folks to work with and great software. You can easily move the pattern around and know exactly how much film/area you can use on a given size. Software based on Flexi. Patterns are not the best and sometimes off. Call in and report it and two months later...they may still be off. PPF patterns are ok for the most part. Haven't used them to the extent as window film. You can't find a person any better than Cindy Wayne. She is the best period!

FVD has better patterns than Tinttek. I find that all windshields are too big. Doesn't matter which pattern you select short or long the windshields are going to be too wide. They also suffer from same as everybody else...they have a windshield pattern that either isn't close to what you have or it looks close but doesn't work. I find I am much happier these days hand cutting all my windshields. Brett and Brittany are great to work with. The guy who handles patterns, Marcus maybe??, is great to work with. Ppf is not included and costs extra to have both it and window film. 

Precision Cut has the greatest selection of vehicles...you can usually be sure what you are looking for is going to be there as far as make and model. A couple of years ago they changed being able to modify the size of windshield strips. I think all of them now are locked and tend to be only legal width..sometimes you just need them 8 inches!! Another issue is they tend to NOT have a windshield or front strip that FVD will have. Usually their doors and such are dead on good patterns. Everything fits. A couple of years ago that was not the case but they are really working on it lately. Ppf is included and I use these patterns the most..seem to be pretty good. The people you deal with are the least personable. Often times they seem to be bothered if you call them and most of the time you are dealing with someone in customer service and not software department as they usually leave earlier than everyone else. You call to renew and fun things happen like they charge you and then you pay for a day or two without software before you can get it reactivated. You are also subjected to yearly minimums for the privilege of using it. 

5 hours ago, jh812 said:

Really like this film clear glass ripple I think.

Hey JH...what brand film is that? I actually have a customer wanting something like that. 

7 hours ago, Bham said:

Can someone please explain why one quarter window will show the dot matrix and then the other side of the car doesn't show any matrix.  

 

Hellcat = driver's side quarter is perfect, passenger side is perfect also, but shows the matrix.    

What happens sometimes is you will somehow clean or scrub with a pad more on one window than the other and the film sticks better or it could be the film simply hasn't dried long enough to look like the other side that you don't like? When I use Llumar's Dirt Off sometimes the solution has more time to work on one window than the other so it does like that or it could be like Dynamic mentioned...it's just typical. 

I use a snap on radiator clamp tool....a big version of a hook tool and also use a yellow pry tool from Harbor freight. Stick the pry tool between the door panel and the gasket. Pull up on the pry tool and you will see the black clip snapped into the hole on the door panel. I stick the point of the pry tool right next to the clip partially in the hole and wiggle the clip...It will pop due to the pressure and come apart no problem. After you practice on a few they pop right apart. Pull gasket out and tint with ease! 

A 30" will do most back windows, but, as JH said a 36" usually is what you want especially if you are using a plotter and can then cut the whole car out with same roll. 

Also did a vehicle that took me back to the days of learning to tint....1978 Chevy El Camino   Llumar CTX 5%

2018 Lamborghini Huracan with 884 miles on it done in Llumar CTX 15% 

I did a coupe on Friday...Just like superdave said...shrink rear quarters and doors..very little shrink and no need to pull panel...slides down nicely. On the coupe the front quarters are tight to get into but no issues. 

Armolan, one of the sponsors in the banner at the top of this page carries it but only in a one ply and not color stable. Also I think they only have 60” 100 feet. Of course they will cut down to your sizes needed 

Ok yeah..that makes sense...the reflective part of it is what makes it safe...N1020 works on a lot of stuff but I feel really limited when a customer wants something really dark or something he can see out of but them not see in etc...reflective is only way to go and they don't like "mirrored". What do you guys apply if a customer asks that question about seeing out and them not seeing in...I feel like even though reflective it is still going to be reversed at night...see in better than see out. Hope that ramble is understandable. LOL

The paint should come right off with a razor blade or #0000 steel wool and maybe some window cleaner. If you want to simply paint over it then a flat black paint will be your best match. Several light coats. Avoid spraying heavy coat. When I did those cars brand new we tinted the matrix. I think most will go that route...The reason for painting was because it would turn white at the very top...you can sand the matrix a bit and that will help but usually not prevent all of it. Hope this helps. 

Last time I reached out to them they only had 20" rolls in maybe 35% and they were on clearance. Also I seem to remember it was not color stable. 

So I don't do residential all that much and Llumar has these charts to look at to determine safe install shades and materials...I never seem to get anything as dark as all of you have mentioned here...Are 25, 15, and  5 safe for dual pane windows since it is dual reflective or what am I missing here?

Did you get that back glass in one piece? If it is like the one I did it had to have been intense. Sorry I wasn’t there to help you buddy.  Been out of town since Friday. I would be happy to help you whenever you need it. 

People drive me crazy with windshield strips. I always do them in 5%. Makes sense that is what everyone would want but always a few that want them the  same or lighter than what they have. Then most likely waste the rest of that piece of film used.