The ultimate guide to dot matrix Part 2

In the last post we discussed dot matrix, I mentioned about the thickness of the film and how this can affect the look of the dot matrix after the window has been tinted, and the method used to shrink the film has a big impact again on the finished look.

 So in this article now I will talk about a few things that can have a positive effect on how the dot matrix looks, one option after you've tinted the  windows is to heat of the dot matrix and try and dry that area of the film out more and then apply some pressure with a hard card wrapped in a cotton cloth or using a piece of blue max squeegee, you can then apply pressure to the heated film.Using this method, you heat the film for about 6-8 seconds over an area around 6 inches constantly moving the heat gun  backwards and forwards you will see the matrix area change  its state slightly, this is the time when you need to remove the heat and apply pressure with your hard card or piece of blue max squeegee. You need to be very careful doing this, you can burn the rubber trims that are close to the dot matrix, or  you can even cause the film to blister as you have used too much heat.

This method really does take some testing to establish how much heat you can give the film before it blisters,one thing you can do once you get the dotmatrix ready to push down into place, is the spray some  cold water on the glass, you may see some smoking or steaming at this point is the glass cools, you then push hard with your hard card or piece of Blue Max squeegee push the film down and almost embed into the dot matrix area.The effect here is that you will improve the look of the dot matrix dramatically, by pushing the film into the heated dot matrix area that white silvery look that is common to see on a lot of vehicles which have tinted windows, will almost look like a factory tinted glasses if you get this method correct.

 NOTE:- Be careful when heating the matrix and cooling with water, their in an extremely low risk of glass fracture but you have been warned!!

The next time you tint some windows allow the film to dry for a  while before you practice this method, it does take some trial and error to establish the timings that work for you and each film responds differently to this method so this is just one of the things you can do to improve the look of the matrix and elevate the quality of finish of your car window tinting

 Another area of dot matrix is a big problem but not just car window tinters, but for customers as well, is the big band of dot matrix at the top of some vehicles on the back window.Common vehicle that causes a problem for a lot of window tinters is the BMW 3 series, this vehicle has a deep dot matrix at the top of the back window that is around three or 4 inches deep, I'll discuss now a few ways of dealing with this area of the glass.

 One method that is used on these type of windows is the sanding method, I'm not a big fan of this method but have tried it a few times over the years, you need to sand the matrix very carefully using 1000 grade wet and dry paper,be careful when sanding this area as if you stray onto the clear glass you will scratch the glass, it may be advisable to apply some masking tape to the top of the screen just below the dot matrix area.Sand the matrix in  even strokes and wipe off any black residue that may come from the matrix, I'm talking here about sanding with a wet sounding method, when the matrix is ready you should find you have no more black residue coming off the dots.Really clean the dots well after you have sanded them using an alcohol solution like IPA or Dirt Off which is a Llumar product.If the dots are not clean then you will spoil the look of the installation as the cleanliness means the film will stick very well to the dotted area.

 Another more popular method of dealing with this dotted area is to use Glue, install the film in the normal manner and squeegee out all the water, then peel back with film from the dot matrix area and apply a thin bead of glue along the bottom row of dots.You need to make sure you use a water-based glue,  a popular choice of glue is Elmers Blue school gel. (This is available in America,  I have yet to find it in the UK, but their are plenty of water based glues available) . What you need to do after applying the glue, is using a MacTac squeegee or a regular hard card with a piece of tissue wrapped around it, push slowly in upwards direction and push the glue through the dotted area, you may see some glue come out of the top of the film and this is quite normal, if you push too hard you will push all the glue out and defeat the object of the procedure, so push gently as what you are doing here is replacing the air and water that is trapped in the dotmatrix area with the glue, it is a good idea to have somebody stand on the outside of the vehicle watching those you work,  they can tell you if you miss any areas and don't leave any  patches, this method works great but like everything else with car window tinting it takes practice,.

 That's all for now for this part of the dot matrix trilogy, next time I'll talk about dry dropping and using an alcohol mix makes to  improve the dot matrix.

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The Ultimate Guide To Dot Matrix Part 1

Following up on my previous post on the dot matrix , the ceramic dotted area that surrounds the edge of a lot of car windows and the battles you will have with this, I will post here for you now a few of the methods I have tried over the years to improve the appearance and Silvery look of Dot Matrix after window film is applied and and some of the factors that will affect the levels of success you will have in your in efforts to get the dot matrix looking good,and as close to the look of factory tinted glass as is possible.

1. Film Thickness!
This will have a major effect on the look of the dot matrix, if you are using a thin dyed 1 ply film it will lay down far better on the dot matrix than a high performance 2 ply film. Most 1 ply films are 1 micron ( 1mil) thick whereas a 2 ply film with be 1.5 microns, so the extra thickness means the film is not as pliable and won't form to the shape of the dots like a single ply film.
This leaves you in a dilemma, although there are colour stable single ply films they tend to be like tissue paper to work with and don't have the body that a two ply film has and you can easily crease these films just by looking at them... ok not quite that bad but they are much less forgiving especially to a inexperienced installer just finding his feet in the car window tinting business.

So your first thing to decide upon is will you sacrifice film quality for the look of the Dot Matrix??

2. Heat Shrinking Process!
Although you may not realise it but the way you shrink your back windows can have a big affect on the outcome and appearance of the Dot Matrix! If you are a powder shrinker, then you maybe don't realise that you are leaving lots of tiny un-shrunk areas of film, and as you shrink more towards the edge of the glass, into the matrix area, the film will become very distorted in that area and will not lead to the film sitting down nice and tight onto the dot matrix.

I would consider a switch at this point to either the soap shrink or the Ryk Shrink. The Ryk shrink is a little unknown and little used technique in the car window tinting industry and involves using 2 heatguns and shrinking very large area of film at one time, this means you are not focusing on the area of the film over the dot matrix but applying a more general shrink of the window film. The end result is that the film is less distorted and can result in an improved look on the dot matrix area.

Why not try this technique and see how your results can improve.

3. Cleaning Technique!!

People often neglect the dot matrix area in their cleaning preparation and this can have a major effect on the end results. One thing I do that does allow the film to adhere well to the matrix is spend a few extra minutes on the dot matrix, so what do we do to take our installations to the next level?

I use a 000 gauge wire wool to clean the back windows and heater lines and then will spend some time on the dot matrix and give it a a good scrub with wire wool and glass cleaner, I use foaming glass cleaner and spray the dot matrix with the cleaner and let it sit their for a few minutes, then I illuminate the rear window and cut out my film, the foam glass cleaner highlights the edge of the film making pattern cutting easier.

Ok, back to the matrix...after squeegeeing the glass clean in the normal manner, i will use some IPA (
Isopropyl alcohol) and wipe the matrix clean, and i mean "clean" and that means that no black dirt comes of onto your micro-fibre cloth. Then i will use compressed air in a can or my heat gun and dry the dot matrix completely. This super clean and dry matrix will be ready to take your film and stick like crazy!

Thats all for now in this first part of the The Ultimate Guide To Dot Matrix - next time i will tell you about sanding matrix, glueing, slip-mix,baking and quenching and a few other advanced techniques that can help you get the best finish ever.

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Dealing With Curved Windows When Car Window Tinting

Quick and Dirty Tips For Dealing With Curved Windows

Curvature is one of the things you will learn to deal with early on in your car window tinting career, if you have undergone any sort of formal training, you will no doubt have spent the first few days of your training heat shrinking rear windows. I remember back to my first training session, the instructor grabed a window from a Renault clio, which at the time was one of the most difficult rear windows to shrink, he was just showing off basically that he could shrink the film in a few minutes, I was pretty blown away when i saw that to be honest.

I spent a good 2 days powder shrinking windows with talc, that was the technique we used and i continued powder shrinking for at least another 5 years, now I use a different method using Soap, but if I had to go back to using that damn powder shrink method I would not be a happy bunny. You can see my previous post on soap shrinking here. Although I found that I could shrink curved windows OK with powder but once I migrated to soap shrinking, the time taken when it came to heat shrinking pretty much halved overnight.

So what are the differences between the 2 methods?
When powder shinking, you use the powder to stop the film from sticking to the glass,  the powder sort of allows the film to float on the layer of powder and when you shrink the film with the heatgun, it doesnt stick to the glass.

The technique for powder shrinking is completely different to soap shrinking, when you powder shrunk, you still anchor the film in the 'H' pattern but then use a small circular motion with the heatgun as you flow left and right and dont focus so much on the fingers in the film like you would when wet shinking., it takes time to shrink a complete window, I would say around 20 minutes when you are a beginner, and thats for a fairly standard window, then you must perform a wet check, here you flush the powder out from under the film and smooth the film out with your hands, be careful as if you have'nt shrunk the film well, you may get a crease at this point.

With the soap shrink method, you tend to shrink a larger area of film at one time, not the small circles like when powder shrinking, and there is no need for a wet check either, as when you use a hard card with a felt edge, you can pin the film to the glass and make the film like a tight skin, you will get far fewer fingers popping up on the inside when you install the film. I just wish i discovered soap shrinking earlier in my carerre, the guys that are coming into the game now have it easy if they get a good trainer, one who taches tinting with door panels in place and soap shrinking. You can find out more on soap shrinking here.

When dealing with extreme curvature on back windows you may need to learn another technique as powder shrinking has it's limts and although I find you can do some pretty urved windows in soap, you will need to learn the Lift & Pull technique. this is a mix of wet shrinking and pulling, you need to leave the film longer than normal as you will need to pull the film by hand, i will try and find a video of the lift and pull method as a video can explain it better than I can.

Forgot to mention - to the guy who is using my articles and passing them off as his own, I am onto you! I dont write articles for you to rank your own site with!

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How To Avoid Water Damage When Tinting The Windows On High End Cars

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 lecetrocnics 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.

Here is a post on my technique for reverse rolling rear windows. Read more

Obstacle Course

Hey guys,

Here Is Another Car Window Tinting Tip

First up, it was nice today when i logged in and saw that i had about 1000 views on my blog now so its good a few people are getting to see it.
If you have any comments or would like me to address any particular issues you may be encountering then shoot me a comment on the blog and if I can I will help you out with it.
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.

Car Window Tinting For Beginners - Please Comment

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Car Window Tinting Tips - Reverse Roll

Car Window Tinting

The reverse roll installation is something you really should learn to master in your quest to become a master window film installer.

For a good result like in most things in life, you need to do the ground work, this involves making sure you have shrunk you car window film well, I always advise you use the "Soap Method" of window shrinking, this technique was developed by chance from a guy i know in Texas named Mike, he decided one day to just rub soap onto a cloth and smear it onto the back glass, he let it dry and then proceeded to shrink his film- the result was pure Magic..!

The soap shrink will save you time and will lead to much better installations..why you may ask?, because using this method to can miss out the step of wet checking your shrink, you dont need to use Talcum Powder, this is dusty and can get into your installation once you have completed the installation and it is far more forgiving than wet shrinking, which is fine for simple windows but you will struggle when dealing with compound curves in the glass.

If you want to progress into car window tinting, then master the soap shrink technique!

Ok, back to reverse rolling, make sure your shrink is really tight and cut out your pattern on the back glass, most people will roll the film directly off the back glass, i normally use a peel board for this but if you don't have one of those, the back glass will do just fine for now.

Make sure your film is tacked well into place and spray the film liner, with a micro fiber cloth carefully clean the areas at the edge of the film, where it meets the glass, so when you spray down your film, you don't wash any contamination into the film.

Peel the liner back half way and soak the film, lay the liner back down onto the film and smooth it out a little, repeat for the other half of the film. Now you will roll the film up into a tight tube, this takes some skill and you will need to practice this a lot.

From which side you roll, depends on where you would like to start the installation, the left or right hand side of the back glass, personally like to start my roll from the drivers side of the vehicle ( for Left-Hand Drive cars).

Now you have you film in a nice tight tube, you will take the release liner which should just be protruding a little and fold it over onto the back of the film, so when you roll the film over the glass, the glue side of the film will contact the glass, and the release liner will end up on the back of the film facing you.

Prior to installation, make sure your slip solution is slippy enough and if suitable, flush down the back glass well, beware on some Audi's and Bmw's that you may cause damage if you use too much water.Check out the video in this post to show you the best technique. If you master this technique you can use it for most of your back windows, even on hatchback type cars as well like the VW Golf.

The video below gives you a good demonstration of this technique - watch and learn.

Next Time - A Guide To Purchasing The Right WIndow Film For Your Car

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Managing contamination when car window tinting

This post addresses issues you may be having with contamination.

I found the best way to deal with this is to increase my water usage.
Be careful when tinting newer cars though or anything with electrics in the doors , if in doubt dont flush down the windows but do a dry install with extra slip in mounting solution.

When flushing, I have now worked out that de-ionised water works really well, use it in a clean spray bottle, flush down with this first then give a light mist with your mounting solution on the glass and really soak your film well. There are lots of videos online about car window tinting and you can pick up a few good tips from watching these. Read more

car window tinting - heat shrinking

today I'd like to talk to you about technique known as heat shrinking.
this technique is used to form the film with heat on curved windows, It takes a long time to master. Start by cleaning the back window of the vehicle, then using some ivory soap on a wet rag your place over the back window like to dry.

lay your film on the back window, using a heatgun, shrink the fingers, you can only shrink these fingers in vertical direction.

Be careful not to burnthea window film, carry out this procedure across the whole window until the window film fits like a glove.

using a bright light on the inside of the vertical cut out your film pattern on the back window carefully with a stainless steel blade.

practice this at least 100 times to become confident with this method.

I will add more information on the subject in another post.

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