Window tinting - are my expectations too high?

[DrytheRain]

Hi all.

I got my 110 tinted today at an independent place in town and they used a 'Sunsmart' UV reduction tint, which is not the darkest tint they offer, but more of a middle grey tint. I believe I had the same tint on my last car (done through the dealer) and was very happy with the result. I've searched the forum and can't find any discussion relating to my issue.

I picked the car up this afternoon and without studying it, it all looked good. However, as I was driving home it was getting dark, and when I glanced over my shoulder while merging off a roundabout, I noticed in my peripheral vision that there was a gap in the tint at the top of the Alpine window. It was getting too dark to do a proper check by the time I got home, but from what I could see, there are little gaps around the tint film on the alpine windows, at least one of the little fixed windows in the rear doors, and on all three rear windows. Also, the outer panes of the sliding windows are only tinted up to where they overlap, although this is not really so much of an issue.

I was expecting the tint to be basically imperceptible in the sense that it would run neatly to the edges of all the windows and may even be tucked under the edges of the seals, although I'm totally clueless when it comes to the technicalities of window tinting. I also acknowledge that the Defender's construction is completely different to modern vehicles. So, I put it to you all, do I have unreasonably high expectations of how my car should be tinted, or is the work sub-par?

Cheers.

[Cracka]

I can say that when I picked my deefa up from a Sydney dealer, bear in mind I'm a 5 odd hour drive from this dealer and had flown up to get the car. I had arranged to have the windows tinted by them. I specifically told them I wanted the alpine windows tinted, "No problem" I was told. Well when I arrived lo and behold, they weren't tinted. The BS excuse was because of the type of glass they were made of, yeah right.

Well I bought it home and spoke to one of my local car window specialists and had them tint them. They actually popped the windows out and tinted them, once dry replaced them and I had them run some mastic around the seal as it can be a water ingress point, all good.

On your other windows though, in my experience they can never get the tint hard up to a hard edge just due to the nature of cutting the tint up to the rubber seal, but it should be minimal.

I have had some horrific tint jobs done here by another mob, over 3 cars (he was the only one here at the time) every one had to have some of the tint re-done as it was scratched by his smoothing tool :censored:

The last straw with him was with a used 4 runner I had I wanted all of the windows tinted, they have a factory brown tint on the rear side windows. I asked if he could do these as I wanted the windows all the same grey colour, he told me he could, it would just be darker.

When I picked up the car I inspected it as usual. Well the clown did scratch these 2 side windows, not the tint but the actual glass where he had used a razor to scrape the glass to ensure it was clean. He told me because the glass was factory tinted, and curved, it was actually a softer type of glass. Well these were a mess, believe me. Well the upshot is he had to replace the 2 windows at a cost to him of about $800 and then I went elsewhere to have them tinted.

[BilboBoggles]

I've had two defendered tinted now when I purchased them. The first came with a lifetime warranty, even if my kids scratched it - and that was perfect, no visible gaps in the alpine windows, and hardly any gaps around the rear window demister. I was very happy.

The second has uneven gaps on the alpine windows and looks like they used their teeth to cut the holes for the rear window demister - I was not very happy - but too lazy to fight them into submission.

[weeds]

two places I went to refused to do the alpine windows............based on previous experience.

I just went with the windows

[PhilipA]

X2
I tried to add tint to my D2 alpine windows and it was THE most frustrating exercise I have tried.
I cut the stuff a bit oversize , but could not get it to stay in place. The D2 alpine windows have a compound curve , they are not just a bit of constantly curved glass.
After several hours and several bits of film I gave up.
An answer may be to get the exterior film that you can buy around the place and do it from the outside.
Regards Philip A

[specwarop]

Just out of curiousity, whatd it cost you guys to get the Defender done?
And do you guys advise to stear clear of the bigger brands like Tint-a-Car?

[AndyG]

I Andrew,

Thanks for that info.

Price to tint your vehicle in 3M Scotchtint including the Alpine Windows & Windscreen strip is $495. Normally we do not tint sunroof’s due to the risk with the glass breaking.

Kind Regards,

Emily Fleming

Solar Style Window Tinting
111a Cullen Ave West
Eagle Farm QLD 4009
Ph: 3630 1121
Fax: 3630 1128
Mob: 0410 111 657
Brisbane Window Tinting - Solar Style Window Tinting (http://www.solarstyle.net.au)

Apparently they do the European Exotica for Dealers, so the Defender will fit in well.

[Tombie]

When I had our last defender tinted they removed the Alpine windows and tinted then refitted.

No gaps on our tinting were visible.

[muddy]

Had mine done in Wollongong no problems --not through a dealer

[Basil135]

Having had many experiences with window tinting, :angel: I have never had an issue getting the Alpine windows done.

I would be taking it back, and getting the manager to explain. Have a look at some other cars they are working on, and see if they have the same issues as you are experiencing.

[DrytheRain]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Unfortunately it gets worse; I noticed today two not inconsiderable scratches on the rear right-hand sliding window frame and a really bad scratch all the way down the A-pillar section of the driver's door. I haven't had the car off road yet and I'm pretty certain those scratches weren't there yesterday morning. I didn't make a big deal about the scratches on the window frame, as they could happen in the bush, but the one on the driver's door is a shocker and almost certainly the result of a razor blade or stanley knife.

I took the car back and was met with relative indifference and an explanation of how they can't tint too close to the window seals, because the water would draw dirt and dust out from under the seals and under the tinting film. I doubt this would be an issue, especially on such a new car, but I was assured it wasn't an excuse. They acknowledged that one or two windows could be better (all but five panes of glass could be better) and offered to replace the tint. I asked if they could or had ever removed glass to tint it and they seemed a bit bemused by the idea.

As for the scratch on the driver's door, one guy was adamant that he hadn't been anywhere near the outside of the door while working on the windows, but the other said "oh, I've maybe done that when I was cutting out the template, we'll need to get that fixed." Unfortunately, that was all that was said on the subject.

I stayed calm and pleasant and said I'd get back to them on when I could bring it in for the tint to be fixed, so I could mull over what my course of action should be. I'm absolutely sickened by it. I mentioned it to a work colleague this afternoon and she told me that they do shoddy work; the guy who used to work for them and probably tinted my last car went independent because he was sick of their approach. If only I'd known this last week. I've decided that I don't want them touching my car again and I want my money back. I reckon I'll go to Consumer Protection tomorrow for advice on how to deal with them, then a panel shop for advice and a quote on repairing the driver's door. I foresee a respray to make it right, which is a nightmare on a two month old car.

Wish me luck.

[Cracka]

Bloody hell mate, I do wish you luck and I'd be pretty p...ed off I can tell you, I'm pretty anal and it annoys me no end when you get morons to do a job for you and they stuff it up, and most of the time they don't seem to give a stuff:censored: Hence why I try and do everything myself, but unfortunately it doesn't extend to window tinting......

Good luck and MAKE SURE they do right by you.

Mick

[101RRS]

I had my D1 windows tinted by a backyard operator and he had no issue doing the alpine windows with them in place. Was a top job that lasted very well, even where the dog used to lick the window.

If a back yard operator can do it - a "professional" output should be able to do it.

Garry

[DrytheRain]

Thanks. Mick, I'm exactly the same mate. I can bolt stuff together and run a few wires, but unfortunately my mechanical knowledge is minimal and dark arts like window tinting completely outfox me. I do what I can though for the exact reason you describe.

Anyway, I spoke to Consumer Protection today and they've recommended writing to the tinters seeking the matter to be rectified. I that fails, I have to lodge a complaint with them. I also got a quote from the panel shop; $310 if they can't polish the scratch out and have to respray the door pillar.

I'm no sure how this is going to go. As I've said, I've no confidence in them to be able to fix it.

Can I ask those of you with tinted Defenders, what does the tint look like? Are there any gaps between the tint and rubbers, specifically on the rear and alpine windows, even if they're narrow? Is it neatly cut around the heated rear window connectors?

On my car, there is a gap between the tint and rubber on the left-hand edge of the rear door window, which they consider acceptable because it's in-line with the inside edge of the rubber (which as you know has a curved return). There are gaps of probably 5mm+ at each end of the alpine windows and along part of the top edge of the right hand one, which looks terrible from inside the car. They say they can fix the gap at the top, but probably not the ends without risking getting dust or dirt under the film. One of the small rear side door windows has a gap on its trailing edge and both rear quarter lights have inconsistent 1-2mm gaps around their edges. The sliding windows have a strip on each of the outer panes where they overlap with no tint, although this is probably unavoidable without removing the glass. There is also no tint on the glass to the outside of the heated window connectors.

I'd appreciate any feedback you can give.

[Tombie]

As I mentioned earlier, none of mine had gaps visible on the small, alpine of main windows.

The sliding windows had an area left clear at the centre edge to avoid contamination.

[isuzurover]

I removed the alpine windows from my 110 and refitted after tinting. The tinter said that is the only way they would look good. Even then he had some problems getting the tint to stick to the curve. The tint runs under the rubbers.

[voltron]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Unfortunately it gets worse; I noticed today two not inconsiderable scratches on the rear right-hand sliding window frame and a really bad scratch all the way down the A-pillar section of the driver's door. I haven't had the car off road yet and I'm pretty certain those scratches weren't there yesterday morning. I didn't make a big deal about the scratches on the window frame, as they could happen in the bush, but the one on the driver's door is a shocker and almost certainly the result of a razor blade or stanley knife.

I took the car back and was met with relative indifference and an explanation of how they can't tint too close to the window seals, because the water would draw dirt and dust out from under the seals and under the tinting film. I doubt this would be an issue, especially on such a new car, but I was assured it wasn't an excuse. They acknowledged that one or two windows could be better (all but five panes of glass could be better) and offered to replace the tint. I asked if they could or had ever removed glass to tint it and they seemed a bit bemused by the idea.

As for the scratch on the driver's door, one guy was adamant that he hadn't been anywhere near the outside of the door while working on the windows, but the other said "oh, I've maybe done that when I was cutting out the template, we'll need to get that fixed." Unfortunately, that was all that was said on the subject.

I stayed calm and pleasant and said I'd get back to them on when I could bring it in for the tint to be fixed, so I could mull over what my course of action should be. I'm absolutely sickened by it. I mentioned it to a work colleague this afternoon and she told me that they do shoddy work; the guy who used to work for them and probably tinted my last car went independent because he was sick of their approach. If only I'd known this last week. I've decided that I don't want them touching my car again and I want my money back. I reckon I'll go to Consumer Protection tomorrow for advice on how to deal with them, then a panel shop for advice and a quote on repairing the driver's door. I foresee a respray to make it right, which is a nightmare on a two month old car.

Wish me luck.

I've been sickened by a few things done to my car now, and the most worse was getting a car window place to fit my gullwing window. Absolutely ****ed it up. My alpine windows turned out ok, but a little like yours that there is a slight gap but nothing extreme to bother me. It's all a nature of the beast unfortunately, like a hot girlfriend that treats you bad but you persist cause she is hot..

[BilboBoggles]

It's probably reasonable to lay out your expectaions before you enter into the deal - for example you want no visible seams - no dog chewed look around the rear demister - and the damned alpine windows tinted. Probably. But you should not have to lay out the expectation that they won't damage your car - that's a reasonable assumption....

I recently had my brand new limited edition defender with not a single even swirl mark on the paint in for a service at my Dealer. I specifically asked them not to dent it. I asked them up front. But it came back with no less than 14 dents 2 caved in wings and a gouge out of the door where they had opened it up on a concrete pillar. :censored: arseholes. I was so angry I could not even take it back to them to fix it - I paid for the repairs my self. I was even surprised to find someone elses service manual and portfolio in my cubby box and they had forgotten to fill out mine... Incompetent. I'm still to angry to discuss with them.

[DrytheRain]

Thanks for all the extra input folks. I'm going to see a different tint shop today to see if they would be able to do a better job. Dependent on what they say, I have two versions of a letter to the original workshop drafted, both asking for a refund, on the basis that I'm not confident of their ability to rectify the work satisfactorily and asking for them to pay to have the paintwork fixed. The only difference is a mention of having sought advice from another professional in the field.

I'm sorry to hear the other horror stories from some of you. Voltron, I remember seeing your thread on the gullwing horror show a little while back. Did you get that resolved? BilboBoggles, no wonder you're angry. That's disgraceful. I presume you now tell anyone who listens not to use that dealer. I wonder if they realise how much business they can do themselves out of with that sort of carelessness?

UPDATE: I spoke with another shop and they reckon it's a pretty poor job and that the scratches are a disgrace. I sent the letter mentioning that I'd sought advice from another professional window tinter. Now to wait.

[DrytheRain]

Sorry for the double post, but I got a call from the window tinter today and they were very decent about the whole thing. They've offered to give me a refund for the tint and to pay for the paint repair to the door pillar, so that's a positive result. Hopefully now the paint shop does a good job and I can find a better window tinting workshop!

[Photodude]

I Andrew,



Thanks for that info.



Price to tint your vehicle in 3M Scotchtint including the Alpine Windows & Windscreen strip is $495. Normally we do not tint sunroof’s due to the risk with the glass breaking.



Kind Regards,



Emily Fleming



Solar Style Window Tinting

111a Cullen Ave West

Eagle Farm QLD 4009

Ph: 3630 1121

Fax: 3630 1128

Mob: 0410 111 657

Brisbane Window Tinting - Solar Style Window Tinting (http://www.solarstyle.net.au)



Apparently they do the European Exotica for Dealers, so the Defender will fit in well.


Does anyone recommend a window tint company in Sydney to tint a 110. Including alpine window?

[Aguy]

I recommend " Hunters Hill Window Tinting " in North Ryde.
He did an excellent job tinting the two alpine windows on my 90. Much better job than the mob my dealer used for the rest of the car.

[donh54]

A mate of mine used to do tinting. Compound curves he did using a heat gun to soften the tint. Never saw him leave a gap or a visible join. Your expectations are NOT too high.

Sent from my HTC One XL using AULRO mobile app

[DrytheRain]

A bit of an update on this saga.

I finally got the car into the panel shop and they appear to have polished the scratch out of the door pillar, rather than respray. There are still a couple of faint traces of the scratch in the paint, which I can see because I know it was there, but no-one else would ever notice, so I'm happy enough with that.

However, having now let the tint fully cure and having lived with the car for a few weeks, including finally opening the windows, I've started finding scratches on numerous panes of glass throughout the car. Some I can feel with my fingernails, others I can't, so I'm not sure which scratches are in the tint film and which ones are in the glass. The worst are on the driver's door window at about shoulder height, definitely on the inside of the glass, but I think under the tint film. There are also a couple on the rear right-hand passenger window and long scratches along the tops of both left-hand side door windows, where they were hidden by the door frames. I can at least feel those, so hopefully they're in the film. The tint on the top edges of all the roll up windows are ragged, whereas they were imperceptible in my previous car. There also appear to be some scratches in the left-hand alpine window.

Bearing in mind my car was only a couple of weeks old when this tint job was done and is now approximately four months old, do you think I'd be unreasonable in writing back to these guys and asking that they pay for the replacement of damaged glass? I could have a pretty hard time proving that they caused them, but the condition of my car speaks for itself. I'm still waiting on accessories and an underseal, so it hasn't even been off road yet. I probably won't know how many panes of glass are actually damaged until I get someone to remove the tint, but it's so amateurish that a more competent professional might vouch for me.