highplains

It just takes practice and time. @Tint Slayer is right on the money with how you should approach it. That is definitely an expensive film to be practicing with but it is a good film and not the most difficult to shrink so keep at it.

In the future if you use bath towels instead of plastic it will do a better job of keeping the panels dry

On 5/28/2020 at 9:32 AM, Trent said:

Currently tinting a 14 High country Silverado. I’m covering the panels but some water got behind my plastic. What is the best dressing/solution for helping with the streaks?

I use maguire's quick interior cleaner, it's worked on every one I've ever had streak. Just mist it on a microfiber cloth and rub it in across the streaks.

Everyone I know recommends the classic charcoal 1.2 as it's reboxed global qdp.

Between those two I'd personally go with the Express. I've sampled the Suntek and found it scratches waaaaay too easily for me. The express has a solid reputation and history for holding up even in harsher climates. I use xpel and feel like in my experience the express has a slightly (and I mean slightly) more aggressive adhesive but not to the point where it should really make a difference as far as peanuts are concerned but I also don't have peanut issues with Xpel, certainly not compared to the 3M I was using before. If I remember correctly I think the suntek is a slightly thinner film compared to express and xpel so that may account for you different experiences with it laying down on defroster lines without peanuts.

19 hours ago, no ma'am said:

Wtf is AE ceramic? 

Dirt cheap mystery film (a 60" roll of their ceramic is less than half the cost of a 60" roll of CTX and I'm certain that the llumar price sheet I have is outdated since it's from 2017). I get mailers from them every 6-9mos or so trying to get me to sample their film. I've yet to talk to anyone who has actually used it. A buddy of mine just asked me about it the other day, the local shop he goes to was trying to sell him on it for the windshield of his new car. Guess they've been having issues getting ahold of Johnson which is what they usually use. Funny and ironic is that the very next day I had a new mailer from them.

I had to warranty out over 2k sqft of film a couple years ago with a similar issue

I have a McCullough that I got off Amazon for about 8 years now. It was cheap and gets the job done well.

10 hours ago, alberts316 said:

white vinegar is working just fine.  Smells like vinegar, works like iso 70.  Been using it for over a week now, and no issues

At what ratio are you diluting it?

5 hours ago, poppawilly67 said:

sucks you got  to pull the panels to remove sweeps. 

 

Yep it sure does. Only the fronts though, I've been able to just pop the tops back on the rears.

Few more

A couple recent ones

8 hours ago, niagaratinting said:

3m color stable film removes clean at room temperature.

Not in my experience 

3 hours ago, Jkatfelix said:

Glad to see post going up. I hope everyone is pulling thru all this crap.

 

 

Picture info 

My side project civic I wrapped. I tinted the windshield madico 35% madico 20% on the 2 fronts, the back half is xpel. Xpel back window is starting to blister at defroster lines, less than a year.

Which xpel film?

21 hours ago, Ryker said:

Isn't it frameless doors on a challenger? So where is a need for felt taping?

You're correct, maybe he's thinking charger.

As a first timer you're going to need more than that guaranteed. I'd get at least double that, better to have a little extra than not enough at the end of the day.

Interesting that they advertised a salary range and came back with an offer that was $15k less then their advertised minimum. 

A few from the past couple days 

Hell yeah, that'd be fun

3 minutes ago, DynamicATL said:

 

 

That really depends on your area, I have seen CA rates double that of other states.  I would just call around to the local 3M shops from a cell phone and get a price quote on a coupe and sedan...I do this every 6 months.

 I do basically the same thing, I get a quote on a sedan and an SUV although I only do it once a year unless something comes up to prompt a check sooner than that. 

Couple from today.

Sierra got Xpel XRB 35 on the fronts, Outlook got Xpel XRB 15 over the factory and 20 up front.

Hey @TomTint and @MikeMN this back and forth  match is honestly a bad look for both of you. There's clearly something personal between you two and it doesn't appear to be an issue that's going to be resolved in this thread so why don't we move on. If you want to keep bickering maybe take it to PMs. 

Here's one from a couple weeks ago to get things back on track 

15 hours ago, Bean3M said:

Obsidian 3M

My condolences, that film pushed me over the edge and solidified my decision to drop 3M. I agree with @no ma'am in that I like a softer tool initially along the bottom, personally I still use the bulldozer and titan as my go to and follow up with a slim foot for any stubborn fingers. I've also been using a different squeegee pattern as of late, instead of doing a cross and breaking it up into quadrants like that I've been starting in the center and pushing as much as I can out horizontally along the defroster lines and then doing the last couple inches top and bottom vertically. Typically I end up with about 3 inches at the top and 5-6 at the bottom. It's been working well for me so far and seems to have helped cut down on contamination and peanuts. Like @no ma'am said it could be your pattern being oversized as well or a combination of everything. That Obsidian doesn't seem to like to lock down very well for me, especially the 5%, and I use a blue max in an Unger handle and a heavy hand when I squeegee so the film may very well be playing a part in it too.