argh, i need to vent. tint debacle.

long story short, i use suntek hp50 tint. i bought a roll for my last car, a mazdaspeed3, since no installers anywhere near my area deal with suntek. hp50 it is a very high quality light light blue tint that is barely noticeable, looks like mercedes quartz glass, but still offers almost 100% UV protection and some other benefits. plus it looks awesome.

i had some left and decided to get it applied to my new tacoma, just the two front windows due to rear privacy glass.

the guy who installed it on my ms3 has disappeared - this was 3 years ago, and none of the reputable shops around here install anything but their brand of tint, whether it be llumar, johnson, whatever.

so, upon a recommendation of my brother in law, i set up an appointment with a guy about 20 mins away who does mobile trim stuff - stripes, tint, whatever. my brother in law always has his vehicles tinted so i figured i'd try this guy.

i took the truck to his house and stayed while he worked on it. his personal cadillac had some bubbles in the tint, so immediately i was skeptical. i asked him if my tint would be like that, since i am pretty anal about such things and he said it might have a few but it will be very hard to see with my light tint. the installation that was on my ms3 had a few little ones so i figured that is acceptable.

the guy pulls the truck into his garage and there is no light except 2 regular halogen light bulbs in the high ceiling. i couldn't understand how he could work in such conditions, i mean, i detail on the side and even i have several banks of fluorescent tubes on my garage ceiling for crazy lighting. i also set up halogens to see paint marring on the sides of vehicles, etc. and i'm doing it on the side! this guy is supposedly a pro...

so, he does the job and i pull the truck out. it's raining a bit so i can't really see that well but i noticed a few wavy portions. he re-squeegees them and they go away, so i go home. when i come home, i pull the truck in the garage and i wipe the windows on the ouside to see better.

not only were there tiny dust bubbles and waves everywhere, THERE IS A DEEP WIDE SCRATCH on the outside of my passenger side window now. it's about an inch or so long, maybe a hair longer, and really deep. it catches your nail easily. it was 100% absolutely NOT there before i took the truck to this guy. first of all, i notice everything, period. secondly, i detailed the hell out of this truck a few days ago, and cleaned my windows again before i took it down today. the scratch is VERY visible when i look into the side mirror, i can't believe it!

so, i pulled the damned tint off because it was so horribly applied, and then i have this scratch to boot.

the problem is, i have no recourse. this isn't a shop, and while he is probably insured because he does dealership stuff, etc., he could deny deny deny all day long. i guess now even with tint work i have to point out and show them that there are no scratches on the glass before they work on it.

i'd leave it, but the truck is brand new!

the glass is like 130 from toyotapartsbarn so i'll probably order new glass just because this scratch will f'n torture me as it's right in my line of sight.

argh!!!!

 

i suppose it was cash under the table, huh? i guess it's always worth asking him to refund/pay damages...yeah right! i've never heard of anyone who can repair scratches in glass but i wonder if that can be polished out? sorry to hear this man especially since it sounds like you keep your rig looking perfect.

 

That sucks man. I hate people that do shoddy work. No excuses for it.
Best of luck!

 

No dice on polishing it out. There are glass polishing systems, but they are for window re-surfacing (think grimey windsheilds) and they are $$$. All said and done, the new glass might be cheaper.

On a side not, 2 winters ago I picked up what I believe to be a stone between the window and the rubber seal. On the way down, the window cut it just right and I have a 2+ inch sratch vertically on my drivers window. Every time I looked out that window I would get pissed off. Now, I see it but I don't see it.

Sucks, but it will pass.

 

thanks, i'm definitely a bit bummed. yep, it was indeed cash. i don't even think it's worth trying with this guy. it's hard enough with brick and mortar places, but this dude...i'm going to cut my losses. i'm out 65 for the labor, my tint, and now the glass @ 130 if i replace it. light scratches can be leveled with leveling discs and various special glass polishes and pads, but it's pretty involved, and the deeper the scratch, the higher the risk of making the glass "dip" or wavy in the reflection.. regardless, this scratch is WAY too deep for that. this is not a surface scratch - i can't even imagine how it happened but i know he was using a pretty sharp blade so maybe he leaned on it, i have no idea.

if this was a stone, or some random accident, fine, but the compound of the truck being new, the tint job being shit and the scratch in such an obvious spot makes it aggravating.

could be worse, i guess ; )

 

yeah, i've been in that type of situation when you come to the realization that, as much as you got screwed it's actually better if you just bite the bullet and let it go.

 

it's almost unbelieveable, that not only is the tint job horrible and had to be removed but there is permanent damage too. anyway, thanks for your support man. i'll laugh about this later i'm sure.

 

Could you "fill" the scratch with say some clear nail polish or clear coat touch up paint? Just an idea. Apply it with a toothpick or something.

 

what the heck caused the deep scratch in the glass???i have tinted before and regular pressure from a utility knife shouldnt of done that.

 

Pay for good work. The guy who did my tint quoted 75, I paid 90 because I was happy as hell with the work. And it's been worth it.

 

you can also try doing it yourself? ive done mine before (the right suggested way) and it looked perfect for the 2 years i had the truck. even when i sold it it looked as good as the day i did it. no bubbles or anything. just remember, there is no such thing as too much water on the window. after squeeging the water out, the bubbles will still be on the window for a few days up to a week. i just left my truck outside and left the windows rolled up so the sun could evaporate the water in the bubbles.

 

I wonder if those windshield crack repair kits would help? No experience with them but just a thought.

 

Should have left the tint on, took pictures and told him you want your money back, plus the cost of the glass. If he says no, small claims court. People who do crappy work need to learn that crappy work wont be accepted. I hate anyone who doesnt stand behind what they do.

 

yeah, i have in the past - just flat windows. without going into too much detail, i'm very obsessive and tint is one of those things that i can see myself going overboard and obsessing over it being perfect or very close to it. i'd do it over, worry about it, waste tint, etc. for the time spent, i'd rather pay a real pro. there are a few things in my life that being so detail-oriented help - this ain't one of 'em. the funny thing about me is i'd rather do it for someone else than for myself because i know very few people care as much as i do.

me too. for this case though, when it is all said and done time-wise i'd get what, $200 for the tint and the glass. i'd rather just save the time and hassle and get it fixed on my own accord. if it was double that, i'd consider small claims court or something but i have to weigh out how much more time, aggravation and gas this guy will cost me.

?

i didn't price shop or cut corners. price wasn't a concern and never is for me with labor-intensive things. getting it installed properly was my main point. i followed a recommendation in an area without many options.

i do full correction details that take 20-25 hours and cost 500-600 dollars, so i do understand you get what you pay for.

 

If the guy seems like he has the money to cover it, I'd hit him up - especially if he does it for a living - legally or not. That's one vote against the little guy.

RZ Rob

 

i called gary at toyotapartsbarn and he said he'd hate to ship glass to me for risk of breaking. apparently it is hard for the shipping companies to not break such things ; )

list is like 174 or something, his price is almost 130 plus shipping.

so i called the dealership that is 20 minutes away and the one that is 45 minutes away. one was 194+tax, the other was 186+tax.

so i ended up ordering the OEM glass through my friend at a body shop and will install it later this week.

i still haven't told the dude and like i said i don't even want to waste any more time with him, but i might. who knows.

 

Dents and dings and scratches on new vehicles cause heartburn.

 

haha, yep!

especially when people do them to your vehicle. argh!

 

take the old glass and smash it in his driveway

 

Ok, or you could go to him and tell him how you feel about the job he did and give him a chance to make it right. If he is not so inclined, then break the glass on his.... or not.