Need some advice on window tint I had done...

I took her in to a pretty reputable shop to have the back windows blacked out (5% charcoal) and the driver and passengers done at 50% charcoal. Product is Sun-Gard Endurance.

It's been a week now and the back looks great, but the front sides are just full of tiny fish eyes, it looks like I'm seeing through a window with tiny water droplets on it. They are had to see but the mini distortions are quite visible...

Now is this normal at first?
(It's also been cold) Will heat and time make this go away? To me it looks like a poor installation, but that is hard to believe from this shop (unless a noob did it..).

I have a lifetime warranty and they'll likely redo it if I ask, but will I get the same result again? :confused:

Thanks.

the shop i had all of my other cars tinted at told me that the tint should be fully finished after 3 days... did you roll down the windows right away? i was told not to roll them down for a few days after they were done to make sure everything was dried.. maybe longer in the winter?....i would wait until it warms up some to get it redone, installation is easier when its hot out imho

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Originally Posted by etlsport

the shop i had all of my other cars tinted at told me that the tint should be fully finished after 3 days... did you roll down the windows right away? i was told not to roll them down for a few days after they were done to make sure everything was dried.. maybe longer in the winter?....i would wait until it warms up some to get it redone, installation is easier when its hot out imho

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yup, I have yet to roll em down after a week. I'm wondering if they are still curing since it's cold.

I don't think I've ever had tint done in the winter, but on my last three vehicles, there were no bubbles whatsoever and there was no curing time. They looked great from the time I picked them up. They generally use heat guns and space heaters and whatnot in the shop to help speed up the drying process - it sounds to me like they stopped a little early to save time. I don't know whether this problem will correct itself over time, but in cold damp weather, I have my doubts.

That should never happen. Take it back and use your warranty.

Agreed. Take it back!

-biju.

I concur! crappy install. Take it back now.

Kenny,

Did you ever get this fixed?

I just had mine done today - 15% all around - and have the same exact issue. Tiny little bubbles, hundreds of them - on ALL the windows.

The installer swore it was just fresh and needed to 'cure' and dry. Said it would take longer to do so because of winter...

I'm curious if your windows got better once cured/dried?

-biju.

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Originally Posted by biju

Kenny,

Did you ever get this fixed?

I just had mine done today - 15% all around - and have the same exact issue. Tiny little bubbles, hundreds of them - on ALL the windows.

The installer swore it was just fresh and needed to 'cure' and dry. Said it would take longer to do so because of winter...

I'm curious if your windows got better once cured/dried?

-biju.

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Thanks for the reminder, I should have posted an update earlier.

Yes, the million little bubbles went away after a week or two in underground parking at work (out of the cold). The view out the side windows is near perfect now. I have to look very hard when it's very cold to see any little diffractions from the bubbles.

I'm happy with the job now - though I do have about 4 or 5 tiny air bubbles on the rear windows at the edges. They are more visible there because the tint is so dark. I'll see if I get picky enough to have them fix them in summer.

Try putting a car warmer in there for a few days and be patient. It paid off for me (actually I was procrastinating and the issue resolved itself :rolleyes: ) .

Good Luck man.

Kenny,

Your muffler probably 'vibrated' those bubbles out! :eek:

j/k

I'm glad your problem self-resolved. Those are the best kinds of problems, right?

Thanks man. Appreciate the update...

I'm using halogens to try to heat the windows in the garage... so far seems to help, but the 'fish eye' bubbles are still driving me nuts! ha.

-bij.

so i went out for a drive today to hang out by the river.. on the way back i saw a nice looking camaro IROC.. stopped to investigate it.. turns out it was parked infront of a very poorly marked customizing shop, i was talkin to the guy inside about the VX and he came out to look and was so excited about it he offered to tint my windows for $130 just so he would have a chance to work on it!... now i too have lots of little bubbles... cant wait til they go away, its gonna be purdy!

Ya, for window tint to settle correctly, sunlight is a plus. Not sunlight creeping through the 30f winter sky, but through good spring/summer skies. Think of the old Shrinky-Dinks.... it works much the same. It needs to be "baked" so to speak. Evaporation needs to take effect and it also helps the adhesive catalyst take effect.

I would love to tint my windows again, but state and county police have already had me pull my tint twice. The second time, it was completely legal, but they didnt see it that way. I will NEVER tint my vehicles again. I have actually gotten used to sitting in a completely visible bubble, heh. If anything, I get less attention now without tint. A welcome change.

yea i was/am pretty worried about getting pulled over for it.. i had the guy at the shop do 20% in the rear and he will be doing 35% or 50% on the doors sometime in the future, but i needed functioning windows this weekend so i had him hold off on the doors

Good Morning etlsport,

Where is this custom shop located?
Did they do a good job?
How long did it take?

I'm looking to have mine windows tinted.

Thanks,
Howard (0761)

howard, the shop was actually in central MD, http://www.tnscustomizing.com/home.htm probably a little more of a drive than you want to save some money.. but fwiw it looks good, ive only seen one air bubble, which it sounds like will be going away with time, but if it doesnt, i got a lifetime warranty on the tint so i can always bring it back and have them fix it, he did it very quickly too, i actually sat in the VX and gave him a demo of my sound system while he did it

if you look around your area for a shop that does tinting, i think you could get a good deal on it, he told me it was actually very easy, even the back window he managed to get all in one piece and theres so little window area he said material costs were zilch, ill keep my eyes peeled in the philly area for a good shop