Hello all,

Just looking for some opinions on this. On my two previous trucks I had the front two windows tinted to legal limit at one shop, they did a great job, never a complaint. My only problem is they will ONLY do legal limit, so when I got my new sierra I decided I wanted to go darker, so I tried a new shop....

So I go to this highly recommended shop and they sell me on this newer "ceramic" tint to keep the heat down, which it has done. Initially they did the tint and after it had dried, I found about 25 pin head dots on each window, appeared to be contamination. I took the truck back to them and the guy told me it was from dirt in my weatherseal getting sucked in This truck is brand new, my older trucks never had this issue.

After much talking he said "well it's borderline, I've never had a perfect tint job, but we'll re-do the drivers side" Well his helper cuts out the wrong side initially so they end up doing both again. After 4 days of drying I still have pin head spots!! A cluster of 10 in the upper corner of one window alone. The other window has a 1inch long line, what I'd call a crease. I'm pissed..

Am I being unrealistic in the fact there should only be a handful of pin head dots on the tint? This sound normal? Suggestions? Bad enough they were more expensive than everyone else.

Thanks

 

You should not have any dots/bubbles in it. The "ceramic" tint sounds like a scam to me. And if he told me that he has never had a perfect tint job, I would be Super Pissed at that alone!

Dirt can not get behind the tint unless they did a shitty prep job or if the tint pealed and you pushed it back on I doubt that happened cause the tint would look like ***. So no it does not sound normal.

What state are you in?

 

Massachusetts

 

No, this is NOT normal. I have the same "ceramic" tint. I think 3M makes a variety of tints, including this one. Mine keeps out heat like you said and is absolutely spotless. Sounds like you found a crappy tint shop.

 

When I say bubbles/spots, they are like "pin heads" And I've heard SOME are normal, but it seems like mine is just not prepped well? To many...

Now what do I do lol they've tried twice now... Don't feel like wasting my time a third time..

 

Simple...find another shop. Call around to car-audio places...they seem to know who the best tinters are. High-end stereos and window tint go hand-in-hand.

 

this is BS! i have had 4 vehicles and all 4 had 5 with 35 down the windshield. and always for about the first day or two youll have SMALL bubbles but that is where the tint is settling in, but def no pin head spots. sounds like to me he didnt prep the window very good and i would def steer clear especially if he said i have never had a "perfect" tint job. thats bs! none of my vehicles after a few days had any spots in them. I would strip it off and go to someone else. hell i would prob go back to him try get money back too! good luck man

 

I work for a tint manufacturer, and ceramic tint is by no means a scam at all. That is what we specialize in with our auto and flat glass lines. Ceramic is one of the best materials used today for reat rejection, and without any metal in the film, it cant fade or turn purple like the films of long ago.

As for the "pin heads" and the "line" you talked about. The pin heads are for certain dirt, dust, ect. between the glass and the film and are by no means hard to take care of and prevent from getting in there. As for the line, that is for sure a crease, and is totally unacceptable when tinting windows wether its on a car or in a home.

I would demand my money back if it was my vehicle, especially with me working in the film industry.

 

Agreed. I've gotten ceramic tint (3M) on my last 2 rides and its amazing what a difference it makes on keeping the interior cool. I used to get just standard tint film, and even though you'd be shaded from the sun, you could feel your arm get warm if the sun was coming in the window. With the ceramic stuff thats not the case at all... its a little more expensive, but I won't get anything else from now on.

For the OP - sounds like a shitty tint shop who didn't prep the glass well or works in a dusty/dirty shop. Demand a refund and take your business elsewhere. If you bought a quality tint film contact the manufacture. Most all of them provide a warranty and installation guarantee. My latest tint is guaranteed for life against defects and that covers the install work as well.

I had my Avalanche tinted after 9k miles (I was slackin') and my tint is utterly flawless... not a spec or pinhead on it.

 

^^^agreed with everything here
I forgot to mention the warranty mine all have lifetime warranty
Like I said I'd get my money back pure BS