DynamicATL

The easiest way is to have the shop cut a small piece to meter on your glass. This will be the only true way to see the final number. Too many variables for any formula to give you exact results.

Here is CTX 50 next to CTX 35...I believe this will be less blue than the Suntek. However, most films 50% and higher will have some level of hue to them.

On 4/2/2023 at 6:24 PM, yourock said:

 

Thank you for the reply! I got my car tinted with Xpel film. Just had one more question. Is this gap look good(see pic)? Also in the rear window the gaps are uneven. I know they did computer cut.

 

p.s. I have another car with less gap than this. 

Gap photos are hard to judge since it depends on how close you are to the glass. I've seen photos that look huge, but when you step back a foot or two, it is completely normal. I would take another photo at least 1 foot away from the glass.

IMO, 3M Ceramic IR is going to be the best option based on the performance and price. It outperforms CTX and the Autobahn Black Ceramic. Xpel XR Black matches the TSER on some shades but lower rated on others along with lower IR rating. Obviously, the shop quality is more important as these are all good films.

As @Ryker said, it is all about trust. There is no way to know for sure what film you received and nothing you can buy that will be as accurate as the film manufacturers. The closest tool is the one below but why spend $1000?

https://www.xpel.com/solar-spectrum-meter

Xpel XR Plus is measured at a singular wavelength (1025nm), over the whole spectrum it is lower. Does that make it a bad film or one that does not block a good amount of heat, absolutely not.

I have a 72" that we've only used twice in Georgia. Email me at Sales@DynamicAppearance.com and I will send you some photos.

Like said above, Llumar AT 35 Green will be the closest option that I'm aware of but will be a little darker than that.

We've also done plenty with no issues. My assumption is they think Ceramic film is metalized, which could cause interference, but it is not. I would see if you could contact the department responsible for the bulletin for clarification on the exact reason.

21 hours ago, LeadfootCJ7 said:

I know this is old, but can you elaborate on your comment?  Do they sell a large volume of 3M Crystalline or is this based on something else?

 

They install a lot of 3M Crystalline or did 4 years ago. Nobody sells it. Below is their tint company as the other one is more focused on car detailing.

https://www.autofilmspecialists.com/

On 3/10/2023 at 12:17 PM, highplains said:

Hey @DynamicATL  long time no see. Hope everything is going well. The Xpel spec sheet I've got lists IR Rejection across 780-1700nm range as well as the narrower 900-1000nm range, never seen any documentation specific to 1025nm.

👋 I guess they updated it at some point...Global is the same. Maybe it is a Garware thing. You can go to their website below and click on the specifications sheet or select the specs below. It is in the fine print.

https://www.xpel.com/products/window-film/automotive-window-tint

https://www.xpel.com/web-assets/downloads/XPEL-PRIME-Spec-Sheet-USA-V2-1.pdf

Both great films, Formula One will have the more accurate IR rejection numbers since they measure across the whole 780-2500nm spectrum. XPEL only measures at a singular wavelength, 1025nm. So across the whole spectrum, that number is much lower; otherwise, they would advertise it.

On a side note, it is funny how many people on here used to trip about 3M rating their IR rejection from 900-1000nm but I don't see any posts complaining about XPEL or Global only metering at 1025nm. 🤣

It would be the shop. Getting certified is not hard, usually the rep will want to watch you shrink/install a rear window. Do a good job and the new shop will be certified. You could see if the rep is the same for both shops and remind them you were already certified at the old shop.

Honestly, a lot of them look like residue not scratches. As mentioned, maybe tint was removed and the new tint shop did not properly clean the windows. If they are scratches, I highly doubt the shop had anything to do with it since those scratches don't make any sense from a tint installation perspective. I assume they were there already and just was not noticeable when the glass was clear but now stand out due to the black background. Lastly, brand new 2023 vehicles are not immaculate, so that 2019 is definitely not. May be super clean but impossible not to have flaws. We had a 2023 BMW M8 Competition ($140k+) in recently and blew his mind when we pointed a bunch of flaws. He would have swore it was perfect and blamed us if he noticed damage after the tint job.

I was waiting in a parking lot watching Family Guy and happened to look over to the SUV next to me. It has no window tint on the front doors but you can see the reflection of her hand while she was using her phone. Zero tint but still interior reflection.

One of our guys was just wearing one on Saturday.

The first time I did Yelp, we didn't see much return so stopped it after about 3 months. We tried it again 2-3 years ago after they changed their ad setup and been using them since. We spend about $600/month on primarily tint and receive many leads. Definitely pays for itself. However, I feel you can reach more people with Google Adwords.

Yep, better safe than sorry. We stay away from any windshield that does not have a solid black border around the camera. Without that border, you just don't know if the film will be in the field of view.

Subaru issued a warning not to tint the windshield on any models with Eyesight. There is a chance any shade can interfere with the camera which could result in a wreck. If you have any malfunctions with Eyesight in the future, good luck trying to use your factory warranty as it will be voided.

2 minutes ago, Dano said:

They make a good hp as well as ceramic.

 

Crystalline is a pain to install. They may not be thrilled because they don't actually have it in stock or are just using the 3m brand to drive traffic.

 

Other than the crystalline I'm not really a fan of their automotive line. They do have great marketing, but then again so do alot of other McProducts.

3M Ceramic IR is the real winner on their current lineup. Looks great, killer performance, and costs less than other brands.

39 minutes ago, Irazabul said:

I had dismissed 3M early because I had some installers give me the "you are just paying extra for the name" line, which is a pet peeve of mine.

 

 

Typical response from non-3M dealers. They are simply tired of people calling about it, so that is there response.

21 minutes ago, Irazabul said:

What's weird is, I just called 3 shops that advertised they were Crystalline Certified, asking for a quote on a high end tint.  When they said they would work up the quote and email me, I asked all 3 if it was Crystalline and all 3 said it was for Xpel XR Plus.  I then asked them to quote the Crystalline as well and all 3 "seemed" not as enthusiastic about it.  When I dug deeper, none of them said anything negative about Crystalline, in fact it was positive, but again, I percieved hesitancy and had to ask for it.  Just passing it along.

I can only assume the reason which is XR Plus costs them less and they can charge the same price to the customer plus it is easier to install. Another reason is they do not have any Crystalline installers, maybe they were certified but that installer is no longer there. Once again, I'm just assuming.

I am not promoting you to get Crystalline, I was just using that as examples since we carry Llumar/3M.

Llumar and Xpel dealers have territory, so you may be too close to them. Suntek usually doesn't care but maybe they do now. As suggested, Express/Global will be a good option. Starting out, you will want quality that does not cost a lot which those are perfect for that.

DAP from Xpel. It is the most expensive software because it is the best. Might not be worth it unless you're also doing PPF but every tint pattern I tested on it was 100%.

Forgot to add an example of pricing not adding up. Crystalline costs more from the manufacturer than XR Plus. Crystalline also blocks more IR heat than XR Plus. However, there is a shop is my state that charges $100 on average more for XR Plus than we do for Crystalline. Why? No other reason besides they feel they can get that price.

Honestly, the price increase between films will not add up; too many variables vary from shop to shop. The film cost is where it starts and can be vastly different between films. 3M, for example, Crystalline is 2.3x the cost of their Ceramic IR, which is the next film down from Crystalline. Some films are harder to install, requiring more difficult techniques than the rest of the lineup, which increases the installation time. From there, the shop may set the price based on what they feel they can get for that film or a recommended price from the manufacturer. If there are other dealers in the area, they might set their prices to compete with them. We call other dealers every 6 months to see how their price compares to ours and may adjust ours if we are too low. If there are no other dealers in the area and the shop is carrying a known film, they may raise the price since you can't get it anywhere else. So say XR Plus is the more popular film; they will keep a high price on it since it is in demand but lower the other options to be more attractive to consumers to upsell them to the more expensive film. Lastly, manufacturer price increases can vary from film to film. XPEL raised their cost by 4% on all films, beginning in November. However, some manufacturers may increase one film by 2% but do another by 5%. Since different films use different materials, something in the more expensive film may have increased. That said, it will mostly come down to what the shop feels they will get for a particular film, so there is no way to calculate that.

Most distributors will require you to open an account and will need a business license. I would check out Express Window Films since they offer good quality and sell to the public. https://expresswindowfilms.com/