Tinting Windows (Must Read, Free Moleskin)

[Anubus12]

Originally Posted by Acura_Kid

WARNING: The door panel must be removed completely from the door. However, you do not need to undo the door lever from the panel.

Pic of door panel - Once you get the screws out you wedge your fingers in behind near each pop clip and yank firmly until it pops. NOTE: some pop clips may release from the door panel and stay in the door. You can use needle nose pliers and a screwdriver to grab the neck of the clip and pry it out (use screwdriver as a wedge to pry against). Once you get the panel off you can hold panel with one hand, and then with other hand grab and pull out the wipe. Then after wipe is out you can temp. hang the door panel back up over the window sill. If you have trouble getting the rear door lock shafts to align while putting panle back on, use a long screwdriver behind to position the lock shaft while lowering panel back over window sill.

Acura Kid,

So you really only have to do steps 1-5 correct? Do I have to do this for all 4 doors? Or this is only an issue with the driver door?

[Anubus12]

Any get tint on an 05 TL without Moleskin or something similar and not have had any scratching problems? Just wondering.

[Acura_Kid]

Originally Posted by Anubus12

Acura Kid,

So you really only have to do steps 1-5 correct? Do I have to do this for all 4 doors? Or this is only an issue with the driver door?

1. not sure what steps you are referencing. do you mean the steps in the OEM manual or just the steps i have outlined ?? all that needs to be done is the door panel screws be removed and the door panel popped off of the door, then you lift the panel up and off of the upper window sill, remove the wipes and then hang the panel back over the window sill while you install the felt. the OEM manual pics are for referencing the door panel screw and pop-clip locations only.

2. all 4 doors are done this same way.

[AdlerAudio.com]

Hello Acura Kid. Would you, (or anyone else on here for that matter) know of anyone in the Northern Illinois/Chicago area that can do an 05 TL the proper way?

[Acura_Kid]

Originally Posted by AdlerAudio.com

Hello Acura Kid. Would you, (or anyone else on here for that matter) know of anyone in the Northern Illinois/Chicago area that can do an 05 TL the proper way?

personally, no....

http://www.solargard.com/index.cfm/f..._Dealer_Lookup
but try one of these folks:

James Spizzirri - chyguy77@aol.com
3266 N. Elston Avenue
Chicago, IL 606185843
Phone 312-226-5670
Fax 847-419-9834

In business since 1995, installing since 1995
Provides Free Estimates and References
Travel Distance: 25 Miles

******************************

Crystal Clear Window Filming
David and Laura Pendleton - crystclr@netnitco.net
871 N. 100 West
Valparaiso, IN 46385
Phone 219-395-8468
Fax 219-395-8468

In business since 1989, installing since 1991
Provides Free Estimates and References
Travel Distance: 150 Miles

******************************

C-Thru Window Film, Inc.
Hannah J. Malin
425 Huehl Road, Unit 11B
Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone 847-272-8468
Fax 847-498-1551

In business since 2003, installing since 1980
Provides Free Estimates and References
Travel Distance: 100 Miles


******************************


Precision Glass Tinting (Michigan Glass Coatings, Inc. dba)
Edward Golda
10444 163 Place
Orland Park, IL 60467
Phone 708-364-6161
Fax 708-364-6467



******************************



Window Genie - Chicago
Joe Macino - vmancino@aol.com
4948 S. Luna
Chicago, IL 60638
Phone 708-594-5132

[AF Shirt]

Originally Posted by Acura_Kid

metallized films may/can affect the satellite signal that the Navi antenna receives. ceramic or dyed films will not, but dyed films are really a thing of the past.

i find it quite silly that they [Honda] did not put the Nav antenna on the roof, they should have integrated it with the XM roof wart.

I guess I assumed incorrectly that the wart was an XM/GPS receiver. Where is the GPS receiver located? Is Lumar film going to interfere enough to notice a difference?

[Acura_Kid]

Originally Posted by AF Shirt

I guess I assumed incorrectly that the wart was an XM/GPS receiver. Where is the GPS receiver located? Is Lumar film going to interfere enough to notice a difference?

i dont have navi, but apparently it's located in the rear deck.

Llumar has several lines of films, but none are ceramic. they are either dyed, dyed/metal combo, or just metal.
http://www.llumar.com/na-eng/Automotive/car-styler.html

metallized films will affect your navi to some degree.

[FastBackJack]

Originally Posted by Acura_Kid

........Solargard NR is good, should run you no more than $200. NR comes in 3 colors so be sure to see each one in person on some vehicle before choosing (i think True Grey is the best color)...........

AK

Stay away from Solar Gard NR. This is their lowest line. NR stands for non reflective. Which means it is a standard dyed film without metal, ceramics, carbon, etc. NR will go purple on you in 6 months to a year. Then after 2-3 years it will start to distort and the adhesive will break down causing the film to release and create "bubbles". The True Grey line is a good line. Little too green for my taste, but this is Solar Gards "color stable" film.

Sorry AK but I saw NR and I paniced. Our shop used to install this years ago, then we saw the aftermath... lots of redo's. Just wanted to warn everyone.

FBJ

[Anubus12]

Originally Posted by FastBackJack

Stay away from Solar Gard NR. This is their lowest line. NR stands for non reflective. Which means it is a standard dyed film without metal, ceramics, carbon, etc. NR will go purple on you in 6 months to a year. Then after 2-3 years it will start to distort and the adhesive will break down causing the film to release and create "bubbles". The True Grey line is a good line. Little too green for my taste, but this is Solar Gards "color stable" film.

Sorry AK but I saw NR and I paniced. Our shop used to install this years ago, then we saw the aftermath... lots of redo's. Just wanted to warn everyone.

FBJ

wooohh.....! I am supposed to get my TL tinted next week with SolarGard NR based on recommendations I have seen here. NR because I have NAV and supposedly NR doesn't interfere with it.

Now I read this, please confirm one way or another. The tinter has the HP line as well, but this film will supposedly cause havoc with NAV.

Please tell me which film to use if SolarGard NR is not the one. Formula One is NOT an option as it is not available anywhere near where I live.

[Acura_Kid]

Originally Posted by FastBackJack

Stay away from Solar Gard NR. This is their lowest line. NR stands for non reflective. Which means it is a standard dyed film without metal, ceramics, carbon, etc. NR will go purple on you in 6 months to a year. Then after 2-3 years it will start to distort and the adhesive will break down causing the film to release and create "bubbles". The True Grey line is a good line. Little too green for my taste, but this is Solar Gards "color stable" film.

Sorry AK but I saw NR and I paniced. Our shop used to install this years ago, then we saw the aftermath... lots of redo's. Just wanted to warn everyone.

FBJ

i was told that the current NR dyed True-Grey line was ok and that Solargard NR True-Grey used a new dye stable process. NR is the only Solargard line which will not affect Navi in any way. NR carries a 5 year warranty.

The Solargard website:
"No matter which film you choose, rest assured quality performance."
from http://www.solargard.com/index.cfm?f...Non-Reflective

i noticed that the link above says NR is available in True-Grey but it's not listed in their performance chart....?

if there is concern i would certainly call Solargard and some other authorized tint shops from the website and ask about NR in more detail, ask about purple'ing and if the film dye process has changed over the years, etc.


FastBackJack - you said "Our shop used to install this years ago", how long ago was that?

AK

[Anubus12]

Acura Kid,

OK here is the deal. I called Beakart (manufacturer of Solargard) and they told me there are basically 4 lines within NR and HP. Grey, Smoke, Charcoal, and True Grey. All have 5 year warranties except for NR True Grey and all HP line.

Now, none of the local dealers stock True Grey as it is ~3x more expensive than the others films. However, they do offer lifetime warranty on all their work. They only stock smoke and charcoal. This is disconcerting. I don't want to pay $400-$500 for tint, but I don't want film that will fall apart after 2-3 years either.

As for NAV, I have to use NR. I was told by the dealer that the NAV antenna is BOTH in the dome on the roof and either on the back deck or back windshield.

Solargard suggested I use HP on the side windows and NR on the back. According to the dealer, this is perfectly OK because the signal is transmitted through the back windshield.

Do you agree with this? Do you concur with the assessment on where the NAV antennas are located (One dealer said the only antenna is in the dome on the roof. Not exactly sure which is correct.)? Should I use HP and NR together? Should I take a chance with SG smoke or charcoal or just scrap SG and look for something else?

TIA!

[Acura_Kid]

Originally Posted by Anubus12

Acura Kid,

OK here is the deal. I called Beakart (manufacturer of Solargard) and they told me there are basically 4 lines within NR and HP. Grey, Smoke, Charcoal, and True Grey. All have 5 year warranties except for NR True Grey and all HP line.

Now, none of the local dealers stock True Grey as it is ~3x more expensive than the others films. However, they do offer lifetime warranty on all their work. They only stock smoke and charcoal. This is disconcerting. I don't want to pay $400-$500 for tint, but I don't want film that will fall apart after 2-3 years either.

As for NAV, I have to use NR. I was told by the dealer that the NAV antenna is BOTH in the dome on the roof and either on the back deck or back windshield.

Solargard suggested I use HP on the side windows and NR on the back. According to the dealer, this is perfectly OK because the signal is transmitted through the back windshield.

Do you agree with this? Do you concur with the assessment on where the NAV antennas are located (One dealer said the only antenna is in the dome on the roof. Not exactly sure which is correct.)? Should I use HP and NR together? Should I take a chance with SG smoke or charcoal or just scrap SG and look for something else?

TIA!

the roof wart if for XM only. it says right in your user manual that tints on the back glass can mess up you navi. what dealer told you such?

it wont cost you $400. i only paid $250 for HP.

as for using NR and HP films, i was told the same thing. you just need to be sure the color of the films are close enough. if my memory serves me correctly, my tinter said that NR True-Grey was the closest one in color to the HP Charcoal.

what warranty coverage did they say for NR True-Grey and HP ??

AK

[Anubus12]

Originally Posted by Acura_Kid

the roof wart if for XM only. it says right in your user manual that tints on the back glass can mess up you navi. what dealer told you such?

it wont cost you $400. i only paid $250 for HP.

as for using NR and HP films, i was told the same thing. you just need to be sure the color of the films are close enough. if my memory serves me correctly, my tinter said that NR True-Grey was the closest one in color to the HP Charcoal.

what warranty coverage did they say for NR True-Grey and HP ??

AK

The dealer is charging me $180 for all around Solargard NR smoke or charcoal. He is charging the same if I want NR on the back window and HP on all the other windows.

I am just leary about using NR smoke or charcoal at all on any window. None of the dealers have True Grey in stock, all special orders. Do you think I should ask for HP on side windows and NR on back window?

I understand your point about color matching. I was told that NR 25% and HP 28% is similar in color. That's what I am targetting.

As for the warranty, they have a lifetime warranty on all SG NR and HP regardless of what line of tint used.

I thought getting tint was a simple process, but it seems to be getting more complicated every day.

[FastBackJack]

Originally Posted by Acura_Kid

i was told that the current NR dyed True-Grey line was ok and that Solargard NR True-Grey used a new dye stable process. NR is the only Solargard line which will not affect Navi in any way. NR carries a 5 year warranty.

The Solargard website:
"No matter which film you choose, rest assured quality performance."
from http://www.solargard.com/index.cfm?f...Non-Reflective

i noticed that the link above says NR is available in True-Grey but it's not listed in their performance chart....?

if there is concern i would certainly call Solargard and some other authorized tint shops from the website and ask about NR in more detail, ask about purple'ing and if the film dye process has changed over the years, etc.


FastBackJack - you said "Our shop used to install this years ago", how long ago was that?

AK

We installed NR Charcoal 4-5 years ago. We stopped because of the many failures. Bekaert (solar gard) carries 8 different auto films. NR UV, NR Charcoal, NR Grey, HP Quantum, HP Charcoal, True Grey, HP Titanium, and HP Bronze. The most common are NR Charcoal (Lowest line), HP Charcoal (a hybrid 1/2 dyed, 1/2 metallized), HP Quantum (full metallized), and True Grey (a non reflective extruded film, also known as color stable).

Both the NR Charcoal and the True Grey are a non reflective film, meaning they do not contain any metal. The difference is that the NR Charcoal is just a basic polyester film with dye added for color and darkness. The dye in this film is very unstable and low grade causing the film to fade quickly, normally purple. The basic make up of the film is low quality also (why its the cheapest of their lines) causing the film to become distorted quickly, seperation of layers will follow, them full on adhesive failure.

What I was always told by Bekaert Reps:
The True Grey line is Non Reflective however its is a totally diifferent film. This film does not contain dye. They use an extruded method to color and darken the film (the exact method Im not clear on) It is not supposed to change color or fade. I didnt use this film too long because I did not like the color. Therefore I didnt get into it too much. However I DO know that it is a good film.

I just looked at the Bekaert website and saw that they are labeling the True Grey as an HP line. And they descirbe it as containing metal. I was always told by our Bekaert Rep that it did NOT contain metal. So actually Im a little confused as well on the difference between the True Grey and HP True Grey. When we had boxes of True Grey in our shop all were labled HP True Grey. It was not supposed to have metal in it. Bekaerts site is a little confusing. If you would like I can call a connection I have at Bekaert on Tuesday and find out for sure what is going on. Let me know.

FBJ

[Acura_Kid]

Originally Posted by FastBackJack

We installed NR Charcoal 4-5 years ago. We stopped because of the many failures. Bekaert (solar gard) carries 8 different auto films. NR UV, NR Charcoal, NR Grey, HP Quantum, HP Charcoal, True Grey, HP Titanium, and HP Bronze. The most common are NR Charcoal (Lowest line), HP Charcoal (a hybrid 1/2 dyed, 1/2 metallized), HP Quantum (full metallized), and True Grey (a non reflective extruded film, also known as color stable).

Both the NR Charcoal and the True Grey are a non reflective film, meaning they do not contain any metal. The difference is that the NR Charcoal is just a basic polyester film with dye added for color and darkness. The dye in this film is very unstable and low grade causing the film to fade quickly, normally purple. The basic make up of the film is low quality also (why its the cheapest of their lines) causing the film to become distorted quickly, seperation of layers will follow, them full on adhesive failure.

What I was always told by Bekaert Reps:
The True Grey line is Non Reflective however its is a totally diifferent film. This film does not contain dye. They use an extruded method to color and darken the film (the exact method Im not clear on) It is not supposed to change color or fade. I didnt use this film too long because I did not like the color. Therefore I didnt get into it too much. However I DO know that it is a good film.

I just looked at the Bekaert website and saw that they are labeling the True Grey as an HP line. And they descirbe it as containing metal. I was always told by our Bekaert Rep that it did NOT contain metal. So actually Im a little confused as well on the difference between the True Grey and HP True Grey. When we had boxes of True Grey in our shop all were labled HP True Grey. It was not supposed to have metal in it. Bekaerts site is a little confusing. If you would like I can call a connection I have at Bekaert on Tuesday and find out for sure what is going on. Let me know.

FBJ

from what i can gather, all of their NR films are non-metallized and all of the HP line has metal in it.

i dont have 1st hand experience with each of these films so i really cant comment on how long each will last. i'm just kinda relaying some info that i was told. i would suspect that Bekaert likes to keep the SG business going and they have improved their dyed process to minimzie any purple'ing issues.

i would take the "trident" test, if 3-out-of-5 tinters say not to use SolarGard NR (except for true-grey) then i would skip it.

Anubus12 - yep, the # of films out there has increased over the years and it's getting harder to make the right choice. 3M also makes some good films.