Jkatfelix

Or just turn the a/c in the car on whilie you tint it.

Sometimes baby shampoo works when all else fails. Remember hotter=more slip solution. If the baby shampoo wasn't working for you...add a drop or so more till you get something you can work with. You will like the slime...the fusion is good also. 
 

Im a old school tinter these new cars have tight gaskets on some ...that almost made me quit then i got on here and YouTube and networked with others that help me alot..pulling seals and panels on some of these cars is a must saves stress..
 

Man, somebody on here said don't chase the money, let the money chase you. I've spent a lot of time doing shit the hard way, search the car on here before you take it in. Listen to music while you work religiously, if I'm struggling I play blues or if I'm running I play megadeth or something that gets me moving. It's getting hot,  temperature, temper, need for more soap in the bottle are all on the up. Quit in the wintertime..

Oh I love it when they are watching you and they say oh you missed a spot ! My fave ! 

Let me Google that for you

There are different stages in figure this out and the first part would be location. If you have a location in mind then you would want to walk the property with the mindset of what it will take to get it up and running.  Second, what is the overhead on this property?  Rent, Utilities, trash etc etc. Once you have a basic number to run your business then it comes time to inventory.  Do you want to buy film one roll at a time and replace as needed (recommended for new shops) only if your suppliers can deliver quickly does this apply.  So lets run some examples.
 
Monthly Recurring Costs (AP)
Rent: $1500
Utilities: $500
Trash: $75
Insurance: $120
Total: $2195
 
Your personal income needs:
Rent: $950
Utilities: $400
Insurance: $130
Phone: $120
Vehicle: $350
Gas: $175
Food: $300
Misc: $250
Total: $2675
 
Combined Total: $4870/month, $58440/yr
 
Looks like a large number....holy hell what are we going to do??? Break it down to daily...$160.11/day
That is just the cost of doing business and living expenses, adjust your numbers accordingly.  Once you get your numbers where they need to be, project them out 6 months, and in this example we would get,  $18245 add 10% for a safety net and we are looking at approx. $20k needed to save to open a shop and have 6 months of expenses.
 
This does not include things like marketing, inventory, tools etc etc  Those would be above and beyond the initial $20k.  Having started numerous retail shops over the years I have done this many many times.
 

Man I feel like you need to take a breath bro. First, ask yourself is this what you really want to do? Everyone always says do what you love. Or do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.
 
There is always going to be challenges when encountering new vehicles and if this is what you want to do you need to accept that and be ready to take it on and learn. Rome wasn't built in a day as they say so learning the techniques to tint all makes and models takes time. Take a breath and try to practice patience as patience is virtue my friend.
 
I took a factory ring training class myself. Some great advice a trainer gave me is "It doesn't matter if it's a Honda or a Lamborghini you are just putting film on glass". In other words dont let the fancy expensive brands intimidate you bro. You are tinting glass. Just tint the glass regardless of the vehicle and you will be good.
 
And as far as going in I would just go in and do the best you possibly can. Be the better person and blow their minds. After that you can get your check and roll out if you want. You dont want to ruin you reputation in the industry because it's always a much smaller world than you think.
 
 

Why work today.... should've taken the day off honestly. Take advantage of the 2 day weekend....

I used to shave with Manual Gillette but now sport  a beard.
 

I feel you one that one. I tinted an 18 Nissan Sentra this weekend that blew my mind. I never could get the windshield to shrink all the way. I’d like to say that the top corners are way tighter than they look but then again it was probably just me.

Move north and we'll open a shop called super no ma'am  we don't deal with stupid  and start  at noon

Hell yeah that's all I needed to know

Why work today.... should've taken the day off honestly. Take advantage of the 2 day weekend....

Why work today.... should've taken the day off honestly. Take advantage of the 2 day weekend....

The art contained in the thread thus far appears to be plotter cut, weeded and transferred to glass using transfer tape. There is talent in achieving the end result similar to what it takes to lay vinyl.
 
Back in the early to mid-80's the shop I owned in Cocoa FL began doing graphic art in window film on cars. We eventually graduated to doing window film pictures on flat glass to hang in a frame, which eventually led to store front work. Solar Graphics in St Pete area was doing this type work, too. Unlike Richard, our team mainly remained relatively unknown and did not pursue larger deals such as those done by Solar Graphics since that time.
 
We bought surplus overhead projectors to enlarge line drawings via liner material, sharpie marker and tracing the right sized projected image onto a large piece of liner hung to a white wall. These final 'templates' were then taped to the glass opposite the surface film would be applied to. A sampling of a liner/sharpie trace is below (I still have a book full of liner images). The trick is cutting the applied film in the right way to leave behind the image from the trace template. You can layer over and over to get darker coloring or shading effects.
 
The other picture attached depicts a large glass that would eventually be placed in the building opening above my head. But first, a seal layer of silver film would be installed over the entire surface sealing in the image and to accentuate the image. This large example was all hand cut because plotters cutting window film was unheard of in those days. The year was 1990 when I first arrived in Naples FL. When in Cocoa the team I had was myself, Louise, Donna and Lee. All of us have artist in our blood.

Nice car week

All is possible .If you do whats right in front of you. Allways be leave in your gift. Even if we said it cant be done wouldnt you try anyway. I wouldnt do it that tint is soo expensive i wouldn't want to waste any of it. Just to maybe go faster or look 😎 er. Good luck. Just my two cents. I thank the father for all.

Yes it’s possible. That is all I use unless we have the fans on; controlling the heat with distance is the key. If it is windy or fans running it affects the torch and grab a heat gun instead

Spot on   The other problem that has been created, in my opinion, is the "lifetime warranty" terminology.  This should have been smashed years ago  
I hate that phrase and do my absolute best not to use.  If someone (a customer) asks if I have a "lifetime warranty" , I tell them that my film will last 8-10 years and I stand behind my work and products.  

If you complain, they will take it off. $300 is cheap for dealer tinted windows. A ford dealership down the road from me adds $499. And that’s even on the trucks that they only did 2 fronts on, with the cheapest tint they could get! Still amazes me when customers with hundred thousand dollar cars are trying to get ceramic tint done for $200 bucks.

First time shrinking and installing crystalline by myself....
Am i a tinter now???

Nice work jkat !!!!

I hate windshields! 

Crystalline does get harder darker the shade...this is when the ghost marks from shrinking is easy to spot, no so much on lighter shades.  Once you have that done, then step up to Huper Ceramic 20 and lastly Huper Drei.  Once you can install those on most vehicles without ghosting, you're king ding-a-ling.  Crystalline is harder, but far from the hardest.