I've had window tint before...but..

[Silver Ecstasy]

I'm a little disappointed this time around with my MS3 tint job.

I'm noticing marks and dirt between the film and the window. I offered to clean all the windows prior to applying the film but they declined because they didn't want any adhesion issues.

Not only that, but this film was something I was hesitant from almost a year ago. When I decided to finally bite the bullet a couple of weeks ago, I was okay with it actually. But it didn't reject no where near the heat my Solarguard film did, and when the windows get dirty or dusty, it looks hazy and I have a difficult time seeing out of the window.

The shop owner is a friend of my dad's and I hate to hassle him like this, but I am not happy and I had expressed my hesitancy towards Johnson films as I had never heard of them. The reflective properties are hot, but the heat rejection is not, nor is the overall finish.

How do you guys think I should handle this? Am I being over-picky about this? Is tint just tint and no one ever gives a crap about this stuff? Because it's driving me absolutely nuts seeing these marks that are stuck between the film and the window (so no matter what side of the window I clean, it won't go away!).

 

[arkenzo]

Why keep looking at it if it's driving you nuts? Something tells me you won't be comfortable with accepting that type of mess, so in all honesty, (i mean this in a good way) man up and express your concern with the dude who did your tint job. It's your car man, if you don't like it on your car, why are you going to keep it?

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Yeah I know, but I hate to be a jerk and ruin a business relationship over my pickiness. I called today and he said he's really not sure that his tinter is going to be willing to strip the whole car down and re-do it just because of a couple of marks. Especially since it's alot of work and since the tint already cured. I'm not sure I take that as a good answer or not. It's not my problem the guy rested his arm on the film and it cured that way. Plus i'm not too impressed with the film imo.

 

[AAMguy]

take it back and complain, you bought a product and you are not happy. I'm confused as to why there is even a question in your mind??...

 

[Kain]

take it back and complain, you bought a product and you are not happy. I'm confused as to why there is even a question in your mind??...

+eleventy

You paid for a product/service, the results of which you aren't happy with. Most tint shops warranty their work, so take it in.

 

[anarchistchiken]

you bought a product and you are not happy

Exactly right, you paid for a product that you knew nothing about. If the work was shoddy, then you definately need to take it back, but if your problem lies with the product itself, that's your own damn fault. You wouldn't buy a jack from harbor freight and then go b**** at them when you realized it wasn't the same quality as a craftsman, ya know? We all know that Lumar and Solarguard are the best, and if you chose to use something else, I can not feel sympathy for you.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

Wow Mike, that bad? I have some bubbles in mine and have been pooping them myself as I know that is what they will do. You have the warranty on it dont you? Take it in so they can see it, that really is unexceptable if you are that unhappy or maybe you are overly anal, I dont know... Has Matt seen it? What does he think?

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Well it's not BAD. Back a year ago when this shop installed my alarm on my TBSS, I had asked about tint. I asked what brand he used and he said Johnson. I did a little research and decided the Silhouette was the closest thing to the Solarguard 35% I had my 03 Grand Am (and I absolutely loved it). I decided that maybe I was being too anal, and decided to get the tint done.

I think Matt's job was done worse with some of the corners not sitting flat. I can't seem to do anything to clean the windows, there's just a haze over each window and when the sun hits it, it just drives me nuts. Imagine how your window looks when the sun hits your front windshield and your windshield is covered in dust from sitting outside all day. It's like that, only I can't do anything to clean the window at all!

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Exactly right, you paid for a product that you knew nothing about. If the work was shoddy, then you definately need to take it back, but if your problem lies with the product itself, that's your own damn fault. You wouldn't buy a jack from harbor freight and then go b**** at them when you realized it wasn't the same quality as a craftsman, ya know? We all know that Lumar and Solarguard are the best, and if you chose to use something else, I can not feel sympathy for you.

Trust me, i'm regretting I didn't go with Solarguard. I tried calling my shop that did my Grand Am and they no longer used it. There were a couple shops locally that I had never heard of so I wasn't sure about going to them. The ****** up part is, as I was talking to the tinter, I seen solarguard boxes in his trunk. I was so pissed off when I seen that to begin with. I had specifically asked if they used Solarguard at all and he said no, only Johnson.

I'm going to have to postpone going to the shop until my vacation comes. I've been tied up with some family issues and have been taking alot of time off work. Because of it, they've been making me work like everyday until my vacation on August 30th. I asked him if it made any difference in time and he said "no, because the tint has already cured by now" so it wouldn't have made a difference.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

That guy has done tint on 4 cars of mine now. Mine now has some bubbles like I said but that happened with my standard 04 mz3 and he got them out with a heat gun. My civic was perfect though, zero complaints. I didnt see any problems with Matts. I havent washed his car so I havent looked intently at it but at first glance looked ok. What kind of window cleaner are you using? I used to have similar problems and switched cleaners and use a micro fiber ONLY on the inside tint side, that seams to help. Your car is still really new and you probably run the AC alot which causes build up on the windows. Try Invisible Glass in the Aerosol can only and news paper, see if that helps.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

I use Invisible Glass only. Haven't had too much luck with other cleaners out there.

I actually put my windows down alot (to avoid the po-po's). I have to wait till Aug 30th when my vaca starts, because I don't have time to run back and forth to this shop to sit and b**** with them, but between then, maybe i'll have you look at it too.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

Well, I am going to check Matts out big time tonight hopefully on my way home. If his is bad both of you need to go back together. Maybe the guy had a bad day.

 

[CWPspeed3]

That guy has done tint on 4 cars of mine now. Mine now has some bubbles like I said but that happened with my standard 04 mz3 and he got them out with a heat gun. My civic was perfect though, zero complaints. I didnt see any problems with Matts. I havent washed his car so I havent looked intently at it but at first glance looked ok. What kind of window cleaner are you using? I used to have similar problems and switched cleaners and use a micro fiber ONLY on the inside tint side, that seams to help. Your car is still really new and you probably run the AC alot which causes build up on the windows. Try Invisible Glass in the Aerosol can only and news paper, see if that helps.

Well, I am going to check Matts out big time tonight hopefully on my way home. If his is bad both of you need to go back together. Maybe the guy had a bad day.

If you really want you can clean my car and see for yourself, I dont mind at all. (lol2)

I use invisible glass in the regular spray bottle with a microfiber and am about even running the AC or all the windows down.

He probably didnt like the fact that we were standing around there all afternoon and watching him at times, maybe that messed him up, who knows.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

Are you using that cleaner Ray gave you? That stuff rocks!

 

[CWPspeed3]

Are you using that cleaner Ray gave you? That stuff rocks!

I havent cleaned my windows since then so no. I'll try that out today when my windows go under the microscope for inspection...

I just went outside to look at my car, I cant really see any huge imperfections and being my first car with tints I think it looks fine but dont have anything to compare to. Have to wait for the eye of Bill the master detailer.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Well i'm going to try and take it soon. I spoke with my dad and he put it in perspective that there isn't much he can promise over the phone anyhow. So, I won't jump to conclusions yet, i'll just take it in and see if we can resolve it from there.

The majority of the problems I've had with this guy are completely over conversations over the phone. Scheduling we did over the phone was wrong, a price he gave me a while ago was all of a sudden different in person (because he couldn't remember, but I sure as hell did, and got that price).

Anyhow, i'm gonna just relax on it and take it in a few days once I have my day off so we can resolve it. The tint job came out better than most, with the exceptions of the marks between the film and the fact I can't clean the windows no matter what I do.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Update:

I took the car by today. I explained the issues, and showed him how the tint had marks between the film and the window. He asked me "Well, what windows do you want re-tinted?". I told him I want the film stripped as I'm not happy with the brand. He wasn't happy about that, and basically told me he's going to have to call the guy and see what he wants to do.

At this point, I think it's truely up to the tinter. Either he's going to be willing to strip the film and re-tint it for free, and the shop owner will have to order a roll of Solarguard. Or he'll have to pay the tinter to remove the tint, and he'll have to eat the cost of the job by refunding my money.

The installer did a great job, other than the fact he put his arm on a couple of the windows. But I seriously don't like the film. It's like looking through dirty sunglasses, or someone's car who smokes on the inside. It's a haze that causes me grief. I've never had an issue with that, especially solarguard.

So how much of a mess does it really cause to remove tint? He said it leaves a nasty glue on the inside that has to be stripped clean as well. Said it's roughly a 4 hour job.

 

[graphicguru22]

Get your tint fixed!

You paid for a service and aren't happy with it ... go get it redone. Just got mine tinted and couldn't be happier. I let the guy know from the get-go that I was very extremely particular about my car and he assured me if I wasn't happy he would make it right.

Good luck.

 

[jdm justin]

this is why i'm afraid to get tint on my new ms3, i've had alot of bad experiences in the past (rant)

 

[tiagotiago]

I understand that you didn't want to put strain on that relationship but, like others said, one doesn't/shouldn't pay money to have something you're looking at saying "damn, I don't like it".

I think you did the right thing at going to his shop. Of course he wasn't going to be happy about it, but still, he's there to make the customer satisfied and he should stand by the product he offers. If he's offering a bad product, I dobut you'll be the only one complaining, and he'll probably want to talk to his supplier about these concerns/extra work being done.

Hope you end up with a good tint. I also have no tint in my car so far because of the exact same reasons as jdm_justin.