highplains

or a sharpie on an old liner works to make a template as well or a button under the film to keep your blade tip off the glass if you're doing a back window works well too. I was specifically referring to using a blade to scrape the inside of the glass for prep/sticker removal more so than cutting your patterns, if you do you're in for a very bad day. Leave the stickers and use a gentle scrub pad (I use the blue scotchbrite) to prep.

Nice. I did the doors on a similar one a couple months ago

this was my conclusion when looking into it as well. It's a great idea, especially for my area, but the performance, longevity, and value just isn't there yet for your average daily driver.

*Has the factory UV coating on the glass - do not use a blade on the glass* Overall an easy car for both tint and ppf. Remove the cover plate behind the handle to expose a single phillips screw. After removing the screw the door panel tops can be popped loose and the lower seal removed. The back glass is an easy shrink, headrests are non removable and the roofline is low so access is a little tight if you're a taller individual like myself.

As far as the best heat rejection in the lightest shade you're probably still looking at 3M Crystalline. In terms of scratch resistance to a dog I don't know that any of them are going to be great long term. I can tell you that in my experience with various films from 3M, Suntek, Xpel, Llumar, and Global that the Global Ceramic film has the most robust scratch resistant coating of them all followed closely by the Xpel. As an installer I've gotten downright abusive with that Global and not had it scratch.

It happens from time to time, usually when you don't have enough soap or there's a spot that's not quite dry and the film grabs the glass. It's super easy to crease when that happens, I usually just lift it and let it settle back down to reset and then continue on. Gotta be careful not to overshrink it too.

What's with the Xpel hate? I've seen you pop up in multiple threads now saying not to use it but not offering any explanation for why?

@StarMan the XR Black has a more neutral appearance

Bear in mind not all window films marketed as 35% film will meter at 35% coming off the roll, I've seen anywhere from 32% up to 43%. Your 70% side glass is also typically going to meter higher, 74% seems to be about average for most newer vehicles but I've seen mid to high 80's on older vehicles. At the end of the day you're overthinking it

The only software not tied to a specific film manufacturer that I'm aware of is TintTek. They offered both tint and PPF patterns, it's been a number of years since I used them so I can't say what the current pattern quality is but at the time I switched their PPF patterns were hit or miss depending on the application.

Yep I run a Graphtec FC8600 and it's been rock solid

The Suntek CIR 70% and 60% both have that kind of coke bottle green hue to them

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've tinted a large number of them in ceramic film and not had any issues like that. I'd question if it's more of a water intrusion issue (certainly hope not being it's a Jeep), or if it's a metalized film instead of ceramic.

The 88% number is the IR rejection measurement, while not total BS it does start to set an unreasonable expectation and is definitely not the number I would sell it off of. In terms of advantages to the Xpel film it does offer a more robust scratch resistant coating than many other films I've used. I made the switch to them as an installer more than three years ago and have been extremely happy with the quality and performance of their film. I can't speak to the FormulaOne film as I haven't tried it myself.

When you're squeegeeing out your film what pattern are you using and do you have any areas that try to pop back up (like a bubble or a finger) after you go over them initially?

Has anyone used the EWF HP All Metal film? I've got a customer that I had tinted a car for with 3M Black Chrome years ago that's looking for something similar on his new ride. Getting more Black Chrome from 3M is out of the question so I was eyeballing the Express offering as a possible solution. If you have any pictures or insights I'd appreciate it

Hate it when that happens

It's hard to say, you'd need to check with the shop. They may have cut you a deal since you were doing both at the same time, or they may have made a mistake and undercharged you. Regardless I wouldn't lose sleep over it. As far as the strip being done out of ceramic or non-ceramic again I wouldn't worry too much about it as it won't make a noticeable difference with the full windshield having been done in ceramic.

Or saline

That's not accurate in reference to 3M CS. It's their mid tier film and a true carbon film with tser numbers that are fairly comparable to lulu ctx. At the time I dropped 3M for Xpel the price of it had risen to within a few dollars of what I was getting Xpel Ceramic for. 3M's entry level films are the Obsidian and FX lines and then they have another dirt cheap line that I can't remember the name of.

Night and day difference. CS is a very thin film that burns or creases easily, CR can smear the adhesive between the layers if not heated properly. CR isn't a particularly thick film either, it's about average really. I'm not familiar with how their CIR compares since I dropped 3M a couple months before they finally released it. As far as 3M films that have the logo stamp they do that on Obsidian, Color Stable, Ceramic IR, and the Crystalline, however there have been documented instances in the past of that being copied on the fake CR film some have gotten in the past. As far as shrinking goes in general it really does come down to practice and experience. Don't rush it, especially as someone just looking to learn the trade, impatience is your enemy in this business. Shrink the film slowly and really pay attention to how it reacts to the heat and you'll learn to "read" the film, for lack of a better way to put it. Experiment with the distance and angle of your heat gun and how that effects the film as it's shrinking, eventually you'll develop the technique that's going to work best for you. Starting out you're going to waste a lot of film, it is what it is and part of paying your dues so to speak. You can get a shorter roll of film from express window films that's good quality and more affordable to learn on if you're serious about pursuing this.

Where did you manage to buy that? The reason I ask is because 3M has a limited distribution network and they're pretty protective of access to their films. If you picked it up off of Amazon or Ebay there's a 99% chance that it's counterfeit

I second the NT red dot and stainless blades. I do keep some of the 30degree blades on hand for my occasional vinyl work but I'd never use them for tint. Nothing wrong with an olfa, I just prefer the NT.

The front doors of this van have the XR Black 55 installed So does this windshield. It's worth noting that this vehicle has a fine layer of dust over the whole thing.