highplains

Definitely give Xpel a look, the clarity of their XR Ceramic was a major factor in my switching to them from 3M and I've had zero complaints about haze since.

The spots where it's lifting should be able to be fixed pretty quickly and easily. I'd give them the opportunity to do that and also get them to fix the camera properly. Hopefully it's just the clips and they can be replaced independently of the camera, if not then they owe you a camera. 

Be careful that you're not changing the angle of your blade to the glass as you're making that cut, it's extremely easy to do that and it can cause some variation in the accuracy of your cut. What I've done with good results is to wet the glass and then card the film out before making that top cut to ensure the film doesn't shift and then lead my blade with a hard card to make sure the film stays tight to the glass as the cut is made since it has the tendency to want to lift as you cut which will again effect the accuracy of the cut.

you might want to try a water spot remover on the outside of the glass and see if that helps

3 hours ago, TintDude said:

By the way, there's some stuff in the back, hope it's not in the way.

 

 

Had one like that yesterday 

7 hours ago, TintMeLongTime said:

There is no comparison i3 is a way better and clearer film. XR has high ratings but has a bad haze and you never get that with any huper products.

I've been installing XR for well over a year now and there is absolutely no perceptible haze in any of the shades I carry, which is most of them. The excellent clarity was one of the main driving factors for switching over to it and I sampled many other films before landing on Xpel.

On 4/13/2021 at 7:02 PM, LadyGrace said:

I'm looking to tint my newly acquired C-Max, and have narrowed my choices to two different shops. One carries Autobahn, and the other Xpel. I can't find a direct comparison between the i3 and XR anywhere. I'm mainly looking for heat reduction, but I'm also concerned about possible reduction in clarity and optical illusions while wearing my polarized sunglasses. I haven't decided if I will actually tint it darker or stay clear, and am assuming both brands offer a clear version. (If someone could confirm or deny, that would be helpful as well.) Thanks in advance. 

Both are known quality films, I have no experience with i3 so I can't speak to it directly. I'm an Xpel dealer so I do have a bias towards the XR. The XR film is going to offer excellent heat rejection and clarity both, the clarity was a major selling point when I switched over from 3M. There are several lighter shades available including a 70% which is essentially clear if that's the route you decide you want to go. As far as the polarized sunglasses go that can be an issue with any film but is dependent on a number of different beyond just the film itself, such as the angle of the sun, the angle of the glass of your vehicle, your seating position, and more. That said I also wear polarized sunglasses pretty much all the time and I've never had it be an issue for me personally. Sometimes it's noticeable, and when it is it hasn't been detrimental, but most of the time it isn't noticeable. 

I would use a little less, at that dilution you're ending up with a roughly 21-22% alcohol solution which is on the strong side. Personally I'd try to go with about 8oz and the rest distilled water which should put you into the 17-18% range. That's where I personally mix to with good results although depending on what film you're using it may still be a little strong, if I remember correctly suntek doesn't recommend more than 10% as an example. 

I did a 20 Elantra the other day and was surprised at how tight the side seals were as well.

On 2/26/2021 at 8:25 AM, Tint Slayer said:

Car is brand new and the lights are just stupidly bright, you can see the horizontal line of the headlights in fornt of you it's just ridiculous really like everything is white, i drive at 2am i can see the animals in the trees it's so bright. So i should try the medium smoke? anything good have a blue-ish hue?

Here's some of that mid/medium smoke luxe film on some Subaru headlights I did the other day

About the best you can do is tint the whole vehicle but even then from the inside looking out it's never going to be 100%. If you had access to a number of different films and you used something with a green hue in back and a blue hue up front you might get closer but even then it's not likely worth the potential headaches. 

New F150's have revised door panels among other changes but process is basically unchanged. There's one 7mm behind the sail panel at the top corner and two 7mm behind the access cover under the arm rest. The top of the panel will then pull back/roll off the seal and the seal cam be removed. For full removal there's two more 7mm at the bottom edge and on more behind the reflector at the rear of the panel. I only did the front doors so no info on the rears but I doubt there's anything radically different there either. Biggest improvement is no longer having to remove the armrest trim.

4 hours ago, Tint Slayer said:

Car is brand new and the lights are just stupidly bright, you can see the horizontal line of the headlights in fornt of you it's just ridiculous really like everything is white, i drive at 2am i can see the animals in the trees it's so bright. So i should try the medium smoke? anything good have a blue-ish hue?

I the medium smoke would be a reasonable one to start with and I'd avoid the blue films. The last one I bought was like bright f-ing windex blue and in my opinion asking for unwanted attention from law enforcement. 

That's a poor quality installation. I'd start with taking it back to the shop that did the work and give them the opportunity to make it right and go from there.

I would start with a legal shade, a 15-20%, and a 5%. Start with a good quality dyed film and get your feet under you and then worry about adding an upgrade option later on down the road.

I'll second the Luxe film, I've used some of their mid/medium smoke and it worked well for me. The other thing would be to maybe get your headlights re-aimed down a bit.

10 hours ago, TintDude said:

 

They filed the edge there. What else could have caused it?

Hard to say but I've seen plenty of jacked up bevels like that over the years on new cars off the lot. Really no question about the scratches though, that just sucks to see.

I'd personally go with the Xpel, full disclosure I am an Xpel dealer and as such have my own bias. That said I also research things to death and when I was ready to move on from 3M I looked at a number of different manufacturers and auditioned several films before ultimately selecting Xpel for my own shop. One of the big things that I was looking at was warranty and felt that Xpel's was the most solid. I haven't looked back and am extremely happy with my decision and all my customers have been thrilled with the XR Black thus far.

Nah, they're pretty straightforward and easy

Congratulations! 

Easy money, one 7mm behind the handle and the top will roll back off the seal. It's a little tight going back on but no big deal. 

Easy money. One 7mm behind the door handle, top will roll back off the seal.

On 9/27/2020 at 12:36 AM, Cheeo said:

what do you think about suntek carbon cxp line? i’m looking at that one and another one that is more like a nano ceramic line, u think the nano ceramic would be better than the cxp?

When I sampled suntek I found that it wasn't the right film for me. I tried their Carbon, CXP, and CIR lines as well as their PPF. Of the three tint lines I did like the CXP the best and to my knowledge it's been holding up just fine on the vehicle I installed it on. Ultimately I found their film to scratch too easily for as heavy handed as I am as an installer. 

Xpel, llumar, and Solar Fx are all solid films, not familiar with maxpro and aswf I know some other installers that had warranty issues with after a couple years. The quality of the installation is going to make the biggest difference ultimately. I personally use Xpel in my shop and couldn't be happier with the film. I run their ceramic on my daily driver and it's holding up beautifully. I also have Solar Fx ceramic on my wife's daily and have no complaints there either, it's been on there several years and looks as good today as the day it was installed.