Depending on which side of the water you are (USA/Europe) you may well never have come across the installation method of installing the film in one shot as opposed to installing the top half of the film and raising the glass then installing the bottom half.
I would not like to guess at the figures but in Europe, I reckon at least 75% of installation on doors are done in this way, as opposed to the USA where more like 90% are installed in the half and half method. So today i will focus on the bottom loading method and why its popular in Europe.
1. Out of the USA, lots of car window tinters like to give the perfect finish to the top edge of the door glass, this is easier to achieve with the bottom load method, you can install the film, do your bit and let it dry, then come back to it after you have completed the rest of the installation, then the edges of the window can be filed to a perfect finish. This is the preferred method over the micro edge and has become the standard in many parts of the world.
2. Olfa Shaving is another method for getting the ultimate edge finish, this is a hard technique to master and you will be pulling your hair out until you get the method down but perseverance here will be well worth the struggle. With the shaving method you can even shave the edge when it's still wet, whereas with filing the edge needs to be dry to get the best finish.
3. One other benefit of the bottom load method is that you don't tend to get pinch marks at the side of the film like you can get with the half and half method and this is a big factor in why this method is popular. The video below shows bottom loading and shaving with the olfa blade.
Ok, today I will try and address a little problem that you will come across when you begin to tint car windows.
Whilst laying your window film onto the back glass of the vehicle is straight forward enough, dealing with the rear window wiper can be a pain in the ass!
If you are not careful you will easily crease the film in that area if you let the rear wiper hit the film when you least expect it.
So one simple tip is too use a piece of masking tape and use this to tape the wiper up, so it leaves space so you can still shrink the window film without fear of the wiper dropping down and hitting the film.
i made a quick video showing how to do it - its simple thing buy maybe one day you will be able to use it.
Be aware that on some cars, you may need to remove the rear wiper and even the rear wiper motor assembly to get the job done right, cars that spring to mind here are the Mk 1 Honda CRV and the Mitsubishi Evo. On these cars, by leaving the wiper motor spindle in position will make the job a real pain and the few minutes it takes to strip it out will save you a lot of heartache.
One other thing i wanted to touch on was removing the actual wiper from the wiper motor spindle, this is something i rarely do, a lot of the wiper motor spindles have a tapered spline and over time the wipers can become seized, there are special tools available that make removal easier but my advise is work around it if you can.
In this blog I will give you some tips and tricks for keeping it safe when tinting High End motor vehicles and please do watch the included video for the best ways to protect the vehicle from damage.
Water damage is something that can prove to be very expensive and if you don't take precautions before you carry out your installations you are heading for big trouble!
The main causes of water damage are two fold, its a bit of a catch 22 situation for the serious car window tinting installer. As a professional they will know that you can get very clean results by flushing down the window with either clean water or even their slippy window film mounting solution. Take this to the limit though and you can end up damaging electric window switches , airbag connectors and even ultra expensive amplifiers that are mounted in the trunk area.
Just the other day i tinted a brand new 2012 Mercedes Benz E Class, a nice car for sure and the customer was a picky type of person, I could tell that before I started the job so i knew I had to be on my best game and make sure he had no reason at all to complain, some of these customers can be really picky but if you meet their levels of expectation and become very picky about the finished product you deliver back to them, they will be happy customers for life and will tell every man and his dog what a good job you did.
So, what do you need to consider before you start tinting windows on some high end vehicles, well I will say limit your water usage for sure, mix up a slippier mounting solution than normal and install the windows on the dry side, I like to buff mine with a micro fibre cloth and then blow them dry with my heat gun, then just flush down the edges slightly and maybe a quick mist in the main area of the window, then soak your film, I even install film with the windows completely dry sometimes ( with the film soaked only), you will be amazed how clean you can get your installations using this method. This method works well for quarter windows and drop glasses but what is the best way to tackle a back window in a sedan/saloon vehicle.
Look in the trunk area and on lots of cars they have side pockets, if you open these you may see a fusebox, or amplifier or sat nave unit or something else electronic. Take a towel or sham-wow cloth and cover all the electronics. I know on some of the Audi models the amplifier has an air intake, this faces upwards and and water just drips right into it, i have heard of quite a few tinters who have damaged these and must pay to replace them, at a cost of well over $1000.
Be careful - thats the first thing, don't go ploughing in soaking everything, tape off the C Pillar trims with masking tape as these can get wet and may get stained depending on what slip solution you are using. Only mist the back glass, don't flush it down, and when squegeeing out to the sides, be careful you push slowly, if you just flush lots of water into the 'C' panel area, on the BMW's they have the aerial/antenna amplifier in that area and they can get wet and that again can cost you money to put right. If in doubt and you can pull the trim away from the vehicle, try and have a quick look to see if their are any electonic components in the area in quetsion, and do what is needed to keep them dry. Cars are becoming more and more loaded with elcetrocnics and you need to be smart and get the knowledge as to what cars can cause a headache!
When I was doing a Mercedes Benz this week I decided to share with you what I do, I used my iphone and I made a quick video showing you how I avoid water damage when window tinting, all it takes is a towel, a few rags or I like to use a ShamWow cloth which is very absorbant and you are playing it safe and keeping out of trouble.
Watch this video for more information
So the bottom line is pay attention and do some research on the vehicle in question before commencing the installation, this information is not meant to scare you but give you an idea of what to look out for when you are working with high end vehicles and the pitfalls you may come across on your journey as a professional window tinter.
One of the first steps in car window tinting you must master is pattern making.
I will give you a few ideas of how I make my patterns and show you how to do this without cutting with your Olfa knife directly on the car.
Window Film
We will start with cutting a pattern for a fixed window, this can be a static quarter glass or back window.
This one little tip will potentially save you from future hassle.
Once you have shrunk your pattern to the shape of the window, then we need to cut the pattern , in this example we will assume the vehicle has a dot matrix area around the edge of the window.
Instead of just cutting directly on the car, use either a small piece of the plastic tape, the sort of tape they use to wrap around cardboard boxes for transporting them or use a thin button as used on a small child's piece of clothing.
Slide the tape or button under the film and sit the blade of your knife onto the button/wrapping tape - then cut out your pattern. As you will be sliding the button/tape along the glass with your blade, your blade will not have contact with glass directly and will stop you potentially scratching the glass and will extend the life of your blades.
This tip is one you should certainly introduce into your pattern making so you can cut your patterns quickly and without any risk of scratching the vehicle glass
Why not check out our new webinar, if you are interested in the car window tinting business and want a few pointers before you go and sink any real money into tools , this 15 minute webinar will run through some of the tools you need to buy to get started. Sign up below for access.
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1. Out of the USA, lots of car window tinters like to give the perfect finish to the top edge of the door glass, this is easier to achieve with the bottom load method, you can install the film, do your bit and let it dry, then come back to it after you have completed the rest of the installation, then the edges of the window can be filed to a perfect finish. This is the preferred method over the micro edge and has become the standard in many parts of the world.
