RecklessReflections

Good stuff Bham

Thanks Bham! 

Just one of the vehicles from yesterday

2011 Camaro. Full tint, Glossy black vinyl strips on hood and trunk. 

Originally thought the customer had the "kit" for the stripes since he mentioned he had gotten his own material. Turned out just to be in bulk.

Knifeless tape is great. 

Some better photos, kinda.

Full crystalline with windshield. 

2012 BMW M6 

Full Crystalline 40%

Crystalline 70% windshield 

Will post better photos later. Camera on iphone stopped autofocusing. 

Nice Bham

From yesterday. 

This was in the morning, did some more work on the M3 and got the front fender done, rockers, and since the door was fiberglass and not locked in place I took it off to make it a bit easier. 

This old "collectors" Merc.

4th vehicle I've done for this guy. First was a BMW wagon, then his wife's Tesla, then that Merc wagon with the paint on the front end. And now this oldy.

And then a couple of 3 series.

Didn't take a photo of the last one after finishing 

To bring this story up again....with an update. 

So this is what happened on Friday

"Don't you hate it when..."

 

A customer thinks they know more than you?

 

I had a 9am appointment for one show up 15 minutes late which is fine and all. Comes in with a Rang Rover Evoque. Immediately says "I want to match the rear section tint as legally as possible in the front. I responded with; "Well, ma'am, anything on the front doors in California is illegal as it needs to be at a 70%". She responds by saying "That's impossible I've heard different and every car I've bought had tint on it except this one!!" I said well, a dealership cannot sell you a vehicle on lot that has tinted windows on the front section of the vehicle. She said well I know what I know and what's allowed so what can I put on this.       

 

I said come inside and I'll show you film/shades that could match the rear section of your vehicle but WILL NOT BE LEGAL. I showed her a CS 20% that would match closely as possible to darkness and color, then showed FXPM 25% which could also be close but has more of a green undertone. She said well tell me what would be good on there. I said ma'am I cannot say what would be good on there because its a liability on me to make a suggestion for your film because what my preference is in shade might be completely different to yours, so trying to guide you into a direction of what film you will want is not something I will be able to do accurately. She continued to say "Ugh I just want you to tell me what will look nice on there legally so I won't get harassed" I told her if you put even the lightest of FXPM 55% you could pulled over for that, and I CANNOT tell you what will look nice on there because if I do you will end up going with that film and later on if you so happen not to like the shade/color you will put the blame on me and say "well he said it would look nice on there!" I told her I can only show you the shades/color, present the VLT percentages and make you aware of the regulations and safety issues with front tinted windows and the rest is for you to choose.

 

 

She bursted out and said I am the worst person with customer service and it's unfortunate how bad I am with people that I can't tell her what will be nice on her car. Walking out yelling all that crap saying I'm the worst person ever and she's going somewhere else. 

 

I am not ever going to say "what looks nice" because that is a serious entrapment for them to use against me if they don't like the film because I told them what looks nice. 

I know some may think I was in the wrong with not just saying what would look nice or just pointing to a film, but I'm not about to have that headache come back in the future.

 

 

 

Well I'm in the bay tinting a car and see her pull up with the front windows done. 

She comes out of the car which I would expect some kind of (haaaa haaaaah I got it done somewhere else) kind of thing.

Instead she says "I don't like my tint  :sad" I said; Oh? And why is that? 

She said it's just too dark, they said although this would match the rear section it would look nice. And it's just too dark for me at night.

I replied nicely by saying "Ah, so you chose the film based on what THEY said would look good instead of what you liked? Interesting" 

Embarrassed as she was she said "You lucked out because if you told me what looked nice I would of been back here to tell you I didn't like it" 

I said this is exactly why I didn't say what looks nice because things like this can happen. In the end she just wanted me to remove the tint, so I did 

One of the cars I was able to get a photo of 

The E350 wagon, had some interesting "tribal" paint on it, the owner did it himself with whatever paint he used. It's actually pretty cool.

Full Crystalline 40% with Crystalline 90% on the windshield. 

Good day

5 series BMW full CS with CR windshield

E350 wagon full CR tint with CR windshield

A Mazda wagon full CS with CR windshield

Then two front doors with CR

seemed like Friday was a crystalline day.

"Don't you hate it when..."

A customer thinks they know more than you?

I had a 9am appointment for one show up 15 minutes late which is fine and all. Comes in with a Rang Rover Evoque. Immediately says "I want to match the rear section tint as legally as possible in the front. I responded with; "Well, ma'am, anything on the front doors in California is illegal as it needs to be at a 70%". She responds by saying "That's impossible I've heard different and every car I've bought had tint on it except this one!!" I said well, a dealership cannot sell you a vehicle on lot that has tinted windows on the front section of the vehicle. She said well I know what I know and what's allowed so what can I put on this.       

I said come inside and I'll show you film/shades that could match the rear section of your vehicle but WILL NOT BE LEGAL. I showed her a CS 20% that would match closely as possible to darkness and color, then showed FXPM 25% which could also be close but has more of a green undertone. She said well tell me what would be good on there. I said ma'am I cannot say what would be good on there because its a liability on me to make a suggestion for your film because what my preference is in shade might be completely different to yours, so trying to guide you into a direction of what film you will want is not something I will be able to do accurately. She continued to say "Ugh I just want you to tell me what will look nice on there legally so I won't get harassed" I told her if you put even the lightest of FXPM 55% you could pulled over for that, and I CANNOT tell you what will look nice on there because if I do you will end up going with that film and later on if you so happen not to like the shade/color you will put the blame on me and say "well he said it would look nice on there!" I told her I can only show you the shades/color, present the VLT percentages and make you aware of the regulations and safety issues with front tinted windows and the rest is for you to choose.

She bursted out and said I am the worst person with customer service and it's unfortunate how bad I am with people that I can't tell her what will be nice on her car. Walking out yelling all that crap saying I'm the worst person ever and she's going somewhere else. 

I am not ever going to say "what looks nice" because that is a serious entrapment for them to use against me if they don't like the film because I told them what looks nice. 

I know some may think I was in the wrong with not just saying what would look nice or just pointing to a film, but I'm not about to have that headache come back in the future.

So far just this. 

Waiting on a prius for a full R/R 

I just did a R/R on a 2001 Ford Mustang vert

Customer watched....the....whole....time 

Just finished these two, such easy fast cars to do.

320i full tint

C230 full tint

No worries. There's no disrespect taken Mike Just there's no lesson to learn when my cell phone gets stolen, dslr camera was being used by a family member for an entire month. Crap happens I guess. After getting a cell phone once again after two weeks I was able to take photos off all my work as I usually do.

Cheers.

I did a white frost job one time by beach front and the lady had a all glass entry way into her garage. And she wanted a 2 foot white frost band with one foot gap then another 2 foot frost band and so on. 8 total bracket cut outs with a handle. Next time I'm in the area I'll have to take a photo

You should take a pic of al jobs, before and after.

I usually do, but during that job and two weeks prior to it I did not have a cell phone nor a dslr camera.

 

lesson learned, grass hopper ...............

I guess

I did a white frost job one time by beach front and the lady had a all glass entry way into her garage. And she wanted a 2 foot white frost band with one foot gap then another 2 foot frost band and so on. 8 total bracket cut outs with a handle. Next time I'm in the area I'll have to take a photo

You should take a pic of al jobs, before and after.

I usually do, but during that job and two weeks prior to it I did not have a cell phone nor a dslr camera.

I did a white frost job one time by beach front and the lady had a all glass entry way into her garage. And she wanted a 2 foot white frost band with one foot gap then another 2 foot frost band and so on. 8 total bracket cut outs with a handle. Next time I'm in the area I'll have to take a photo

Nice job. Frost is my favorite film to work with. I don't know why.

Whats the best way to go about tinting the roll down rear windows on these? Just about managed it but what a bitch. also a bit too much contamination for my liking.

You'll have to remove the gasket in order to do this with ease. 

On the older models there MIGHT be a screw just on the side of the frame where the door opens. This will release the plate that overlaps the gaskets end piece.

If there is no plate then just continue to pry away at the gasket making sure how you took it off because it could be tricky sometimes to replace.

Once you've released the end, roll down the rear window and standing from the outside push against the panel to release it from the clips which are attached to the frame. 

You can do one of the following: Either pull up on the gasket and bend it behind the rear head rest so you can momentarily install your piece and then replace the gasket in place. 

Or you can remove it completely by starting from the end you originally pried out. One smooth motion give it a nice tug and slide it out. To replace put some of your bottled solution under the gasket that slides against the frame so you can slide it back in place with ease.

After that just push the panel back into place insuring it is completely snapped in place by the metal clips. Then start working the end of the gasket back into the crevices of the sidewall. 

Next time I get one of these e350 coupes with this window I will do a write up on it. 

1974 Airstream Land Yacht 

One way mirror.

Love those M4's

Not directly work related but.....

 

Left the shop to grab everyone lunch. Waited in the median for a few minutes to let traffic clear so I could make a U turn and park my car. Got pulled over for an "illegal" U turn in a business district. $250 with traffic school. Pull into parking spot after getting ticket, wait in the chipotle for 20 minutes because of the massive line. Come back outside to find a 70$ parking ticket because my meter expired.......

 

 

That rings in as the most expensive Burrito in history.

I told you to stop messing with that Chipotle mang 

But that sucks, sorry to hear that. 

Saweeeeeeet