highplains

I have no idea if they still offer it or not but as of a couple years ago (2018/19) Suntek still had an HP Bronze film in an 18% and a 40%. That'd be my best guess currently.

Do you have any experience or are you starting from scratch? 

For your stated purpose almost any film from a quality manufacturer will accomplish what you're after which is blocking the UV that's going to fade/break down your interior materials. Crystalline is a great film that offers higher IR rejection, but it certainly comes at a premium. As far as the light refraction with the rear window goes it's unavoidable unless you want to remove your defroster grid, that said some films are better than others in that department but there are a number of variables that come into play.

I haven't one-pieced one yet but my inclination would be to reverse roll it and try to apply it to the glass from the top down and then squeegee as normal from there. I'm sure it's probably going to still be a PITA with as big as that glass is. 

Carbon largely gets used as a marketing buzz word and as a result muddies the water causing confusion. There are very few true carbon films out there, most have just enough added during the dye process to justify use of the name. To answer your first question, yes most "carbon color stable" films are just a better quality dyed film. In the case of the two films you mentioned Suntek Carbon is a dyed film and CarbonXP, or as it's more commonly known CXP, is their ceramic film and will offer higher heat rejection.

It's less noticeable than the 50% but if you're looking for it you can generally tell it's there. I think @Dano's recommendation is spot on, go for a 70 or 80 ceramic and add the strip later if you feel you need it. I will say that if you didn't like the contrast on your visor strips previously you're not likely to like it going forward. The visual difference between a 15% and 5% strip isn't going to be that noticeable. If you wanted less contrast a 35% strip may be a better fit but the utility of one that light may be questionable, although it may be closer to the old blue shaded windshield strips so it may still be worthwhile. 

I've been installing Xpel at my shop for about 3years now and this has not been my experience. When I switched to Xpel the robust scratch coat was one of the major factors I took into consideration. I switched from 3M and tested a number of other films including offerings from Eastman and Global. Global without a doubt has the best scratch coat out of any film I've tried with Xpel coming in second. Not sure what might be going on in your case but I do have to say I'm surprised, I'm heavy handed when installing and cleaning and the only time I've had problems was when my tools have needed addressing or my towel picked something abrasive up that I didn't notice until it was too late.

Also if you look at most of the major major manufacturers like Avery they tend to have a number of training seminars all over the place. The wrap institute may be worth your time to check out as well.

Their PPF is made in the USA, the tint doesn't specify so I can't say 100%. I remember reading in a thread a while back that it was being manufactured for them by Garware/Global but take that with a grain of salt because it's unverified hearsay. As far as the film itself it's all black toned with no real distinct undertone (blue/green/brown/etc.) in the lines/shades I carry. It's got a great scratch coat on it that you can get pretty aggressive with and the liner peels easy. I typically get it within 2-4 days depending on how early in the day I get my order in and which warehouse it ships from. The majority comes from San Antonio so it's quick to me and I'd imagine even quicker to you given your proximity. Every once in a while a roll will come from California and those ones usually take an extra day or two compared to Texas but it's never been an issue.

On 3/6/2022 at 1:15 PM, TNTLady said:

OR SHOULD I JUST PUT ALL MY MONEY IN SILVER AND SIT BACK??

Silver's good but I certainly wouldn't park ALL your money in it. Silver, gold, copper jacketed lead, other durable goods, some crypto, spread it out so that you're not reliant on any one thing.

8 hours ago, TNTLady said:

These times are definently different and unlike any other time I’ve known. If gas keeps going up folks will have less for the luxury of window film at least for a time. The length of that time is the big iffy part. I was hoping more tinters would chime in on this to get a feel of what’s going on and hear their strategies on surviving this cluster f….

So far I'm staying the course largely as normal. The local dealers seem to have a little more inventory trickling in, most are still presold. While budgets are getting tighter for pretty much everybody I'm finding that people are more receptive to investing more into protecting their vehicles because they know they're going to be keeping them longer. 

Tinted the fronts on a new 2022 Tundra, easy peasy. Can't say I'm a fan of the new look though

3 hours ago, TNTLady said:

Got another email about a 5% increase in film and PPF Prices going up beginning April 1st. We just had an increase3-4 months ago. This is craziness!

That was a factor in me switching from 3M to Xpel, seems like 3M was hitting me with a price increase almost every quarter there towards the end. Made the switch almost 2.5years ago and have only seen one modest price increase from Xpel and their film is much better all around in my opinion/experience. 

 and also inspect your blade closely if it was ran without the cutting strip and was cutting through both the film and liner. I've also back bladed my cutting strip after it's been gouged before to help level it and remove any high spots which can cause those problems with inconsistency. 

I haven't done a ton of vinyl work so take everything I say here with a grain of salt. It's probably as good as any to attempt on your own, that hood is pretty wide in the rear corners so not sure how that's going to figure dimensionally for you without being able to measure it myself. You're going to need to address the peeling paint one way or another before wrapping it otherwise it'll give you adhesion problems and you'll see the ugly spots ghosted in the film. As far as material goes Avery is supposed to be the most forgiving for the beginner from what I've heard and in my limited experience. I've done some work with Avery, 3M, and most recently Hexis.

19 hours ago, Tint Slayer said:

...Do any of you have limits in your head that you just wont do? I know some will tint anything, but what limits do the rest of you set?

 I won't double layer film and I won't go darker than 50% on a windshield.

You likely need to replace the cutting strip and make all cutting adjustments on the machine, not in your software. 

I wear RedWings work boots, they're a little spendy but they're waterproof and comfortable 

@Danothat makes more sense now. In my situation I'm generally only running a vehicle or twos worth of PPF before swapping back to tint so it's not seeing that difference for a prolonged time period.

On 2/1/2022 at 9:34 AM, Dano said:

I use a 25° blade for tint and either a 45° or 60° for clear mask and vinyl.

Switching between tint and any other material is hell on the cutting strip and causes plenty of waste from getting the blade retuned for the thinner material.

That hasn't been my experience. I also use a 25* for tint and a 60* for ppf and switch between the two regularly without issue. I use a FC8600 and have separate blade holders and presets for tint and ppf. The only time I've had an issue that effected the cut strip was when I've screwed up and forgot to change either the blade or the preset back.

I've been with Xpel the past couple years and haven't had any issues so far.

On 2/7/2022 at 1:42 PM, Bham said:

The new Maverick  

 

 

How was that one to do?

Express and Suntek were the only ones I was aware of that still carried bronze, and even then it's been a while since I looked.

42 minutes ago, Sleekwhips said:

....but that’s so pricy.

Ya gotta pay to play. Stocking your shop to start out is always going to be a hefty investment up front. As far as shades go your market will dictate what you need to carry but I'd seriously consider adding a 15 or 20 to your mix.  In my shop I stock 5, 20, and 35 in a color stable dyed line as well as 5, 15, 20, 35, 55, and 70 in ceramic. I primarily use a plotter to cut so all my film is stocked in 40" rolls and I always have one full roll of film in reserve alongside the open one so I never run out of a given shade.