LeadfootCJ7

Wow thank you for the comment about the tax advantage. I'll definitely have this noted for my taxes. And thank you for the recommendation for Madico Optivision. For $47 more, I would not mind going with them after what you said.
 
On that Madico proposal, I've been going back and forth about the Front Bedroom. These windows NEED to have a mirror like finish and I'm between the 25 and 35. The 25 is definitely very mirrorlike, but I'm afraid it might be too much for a set of windows facing the street, so possibly the 35 would be better? What are your thoughts? Attaching a picture of the front windows that currently have this Kespen tint I bought off Amazon. Which of the 25 or 35 would be closest to this finish?
 
I'm okay with doing 25 on the Master Bedroom though since it's in the back of the house and facing West. I don't have any neighbors directly behind me due to it being a greenspace where a pipeline runs underground. I've had the samples up and keep going back to look at them, but it's sometimes hard to tell.
 
I don't have a sample of the 45 for the living room, but I think that's as high as it goes, so I'm fine with 45 to allow max amount of natural light through.

Like with most things- Pick your favorite most experienced installer and go with his/her recommendation. An excellent installer is more important than splitting hairs over specific film 👍 However, in the same breath, I will tell you I am only familiar with one of those films (so I am not 100% sure if the three are equal enough for that analogy), the SunTek SYDS. We used SunTek for nearly a decade. I liked the SYDS film a lot, used it often, never had a single complaint or failure to this day. I personally have not one bad word to say about SYDS.

If it does not have to be adhered by adhesive, you can try static cling. I do this for my driving pass. Add sticker to the cling and the cling will hold onto the the tint and still be easily removable if needed. Of coarse, assuming the sticker will stick to the static cling.

Take those stupid spoiler guards off, jeez.  Stupid!!  Just stupid.   

They are very fragile, my experience I was hand cutting the back window & quarter window and it left an etch mark from my blade that was fresh and I wasn’t pressing too hard. Also if you just google fragile glass rivian, you will see that they have weak glass all around. 

Interested in this scenario but here is my  from the "not so smart" section.   I see problems with the enclosures being made of glass.  I feel the reflective properties of glass itself combined with the reflective properties of water, both of these combined are going to be a problem with this experiment.  I just feel like the multiple pieces of glass that will have to be used are going to create multiple reflection issues. i.e. - the way a fish tank looks at the corners.
 
Also the fact that film will change the environment much like putting film on a sunroom and killing all the plants in the room.  Film is going to change the environmental conditions to where they are incorrect.  
 
Water temp I would think would also be a factor in this experiment and is going to be difficult to get correct without some sort of heat lamp or water heater option.  Using light to have one side brighter than the other is going to also hinder keeping the same temp in all areas of the test.  
 
Fish generally group according to size and safety. Size being key because we all know big fish eat little fish so the grouping will need to be very consistent in that aspect. They also use the cover and currents to determine where they feel safest. 
 
All in all I just think this test will be rather inconclusive because of the difficulties of recreating the "proper" situations for said testing and man made tanks with minimal environmental similarities will be the reason for it.  
 
Again, just my two cents.  

It's tough to do anything unsolicited in email. I'd prepare some kind of concise presentation and go personally to the service managers with your offer.  

We are a long-time LLumar dealer and sell a lot of IRX, CTX, ATR, and ATC.
 
On the ceramics, IRX and CTX, but especially IRX, within 30 minutes of finishing the install, the film gets a banded look to it. Consistently. Enough so I made it a habit and part of my post-sale routine to tell every IRX customer "these are NOT bubbles, they WILL go away."
 
It's usually not very thick stripes/bands either. Finger width or less. Mostly noticeable on the front two sides driver's and passenger's doors more so than any other.
 
The best way I can describe it and how I describe it to them is it might look "streaked" "discolored" or "milky" at first. Not 100% of the time, but I'd estimate 3/4 or so show this at first.
 
I don't know why it's prominent only on ceramics in my experience, and why much more so on IRX, but it does always go away. In the worst heat of summer, within a few hours. In temperate 70s, within a day. In the two weeks a year it gets cold here it may take 3-4 but I rarely see that.
 
I live in South Georgia so it's a very hot climate, humid climate which probably worsens this some.
 
It seems to be just residual water vapor coalescing and dying in a banded fashion rather than evenly distributed across the film and not visible. But never has been an issue and never had to redo a single window due to it.
 
This is distinctly different than the grids/lines you see through polarized lenses or on metallic films.
 
And it is pretty hard to catch in a photo to show others.
 
Not sure if this is what you're referring to but if it is, I'd simply reassure customers it's just water vapor, not bubbles, and is part of the drying and curing process. And it will be gone within a few hours to a few days and dry up completely clear. *Patience, You Should Have; Young Padawan..* Okay don't tell them that but the rest works pretty consistent and solid for me to get that out of the way in less than a minute, reassure them, and get them moving along.

So just to wrap up this thread, there was really no change to the clarity of the film from about a week following the install of the ASWF tint. I really couldn't live with the low quality of that film, especially on the windshield. The blurriness when the sun was at lower angles and then the ghosting of lights at night was too much.
 
I went to a shop which installs Llumar and Autobahn (Huper Optik) products. I had stopped by this shop earlier to get a second opinion after I had noticed the issues with the initial install. Yesterday, they installed a 70% VLT ceramic i3 film, which was a hard pill to swallow in terms of price plus the cost to remove the ASWF film. However, what a huge difference in terms of quality/clarity even with just one day of curing (there is still some moisture which needs to evaporate). There is virtually no low-angle haze I can discern, unlike the ASWF film, and no issues with lights at night.
 
I guess to some extent you get what you pay for. Lesson learned in the end after being out an extra $350 for the american shitty window film.

As said above.  They should want to refer to someone who does high quality work so it doesn't look bad on them.  Giving them a discount so they can charge the customer 100% (or maybe even more) seems like a bad idea.  Plus, what if they start offering the customer discounts and want you to take even less?  What if the customer is being difficult and doesn't like the film and this "partner" makes you redo it for free?  I wouldn't want to go down this road with anyone.  

As said above.  They should want to refer to someone who does high quality work so it doesn't look bad on them.  Giving them a discount so they can charge the customer 100% (or maybe even more) seems like a bad idea.  Plus, what if they start offering the customer discounts and want you to take even less?  What if the customer is being difficult and doesn't like the film and this "partner" makes you redo it for free?  I wouldn't want to go down this road with anyone.  

I worked with anyone that touched windows for whatever reason; whether replacement, new install (construction), a broken pane replacement, or window cleaners. This was done ONLY on a referral basis with no $$ exchanging hands either direction; just pure refer to you and you refer to me.

As TD has shared, there are relationship traps when getting too cozy.

In my experience, even in the best of circumstance, these kinds of partnerships always end in tears. 

I have Global ceramic 86 on my windshield.  It's been on for 6 weeks.  You can't even tell it's there.  I have shown a bunch of curious people and they can't tell either.  I believe this is where the installer makes the difference.  

There is plenty of junk products made in the USA. I've never seen that printed on a product and thought, must be high quality. Premium products can come from any country, just depends on the build house that is making it.

Run....
I've never seen any reputable shop using that film that stayed in buisness without switching off of it and doing a bunch of warranty work. Absolute bs about the a/c.
 
Dispute the charges and find someone using a name brand, ie: Xpel, Global, Llumar or 3M. 
 
Take it back there again at your own peril. Looks like you got lucky that there's no vehicle damage from those clowns. 
 
 

Yeah, two weeks is BS, and the AC thing is also BS. Sounds like he was trying to be a dick honestly.

The batteries are my number one complaint. Anyone who's ever seen a lithium or copper mine and thinks their saving the environment is out of their mind.
 
Nevermind the poor bastards that are charged with getting the rare earths out of the ground and the corrupt backwards govs that rule the area where they lay.
 
Then we get to the recycling issues and God forbid one of those turds catch fire....my thoughts on that goes for the entire ev scam. I'll take a '97 Accord over any of them everytime. 

You forget the government subsidies, mandates and incentives.

Their quality did improve but they still have intentional low standards set for quality. That was Musk Idea, put nothing into, but inflate the price. Tesla will be nothing but a memory in next few years. Porsche, Merc, BMW one uped Tesla big time. Thats why Tesla dropped the price..to liquidate theit shitty cars. Last few I did were all beat up. One was for a teenager. Again, its a car for show off wannabes. 

That's nothing.
Prior to this one I tinted a couple of small cruise ships that were bound for Tahiti.
They were still in the process of being built at the time, so as I finished each cabin, I taped clear/opaque plastic sheeting over the window so protect the film from being damaged by other tradesmen.
As it happened, the other tradies liked the view out of the windows so much that they were removing our plastic so they could see out properly. 
By the time I'd finished the second ship there were that many windows that needed to be re-tinted due to scratches that I ended up virtually doing a 3rd ship worth of work, at their expense of course.
A couple of months later the ships sailed to Tahiti with numerous tradesmen on board, still finishing their work whilst trying to make the delivery deadline.
I was asked to join them to re-tint yet more cabins, but circumstances didn't allow me the time away from my shop.

Yeah, that would never be covered as anything else with Tesla. They are #1 for the worst quality control. The customers suck too, bunch posers. I charge a bunch for dealing with these. 

Be careful we have tinted thousands of Tesla’s today two side doors cracked with very little pressure cars fresh of the lot
 

It has been awhile, few job pics.

Is it the windshield or side windows?
window film is technically sunglasses for your vehicle or home. Looking through it with polarized sunglasses will give you a fuzzy vision feeling. Let it dry for a week and take off the glasses when you drive. 
why would you wear sunglasses while in a vehicle with tinted windows?
hope this helps. 😎