Take It from Me

By Joe Doyle

Window Film magazine debuts a new column with this issue— Tint My Ride by Joe Doyle. We hope you enjoy Joe’s insights.

Welcome!

I started tinting windows in 1985 and still do it full-time today, so I have a few things to share. I’m self-taught, learning almost entirely from a dealer’s lot where I put vinyl stripes on new and used cars, trucks and custom conversion vans. You can trace many of my techniques back to this beginning.

Shared Wisdom

My name is Joe Doyle, and I believe I’m the original “Tint My Ride” in Florissant, Mo. My goal is to provide you with tips and information to increase your talents so that you can better apply film and thus be more efficient than the next guy.

It’s Only Water

Let’s start small. How do you deal with water streaks on door panels? Wet the whole panel evenly when applying the film. If you want it to dry evenly, then wet it evenly. Spray the whole panel just before applying the film or while you are doing it. Don’t be scared. I’ve never had an issue doing this. Use your hand to smear it around evenly if needed.

Next, let it stay wet, keep working and let the panel dry on its own. Tint the right door and, by the time you tint the left, the right will be half dry. Now soak up any puddles in the door pull, but don’t dry the panel. If you want it to dry a little faster, smear it around with your hand or wipe lightly with a towel. Do not try to dry it completely.

Charged Up

Now for something big, I mean really big: The Dodge Charger, Challenger and 300 rear windshields.

These three cars do not have a higher grid that needs to be scraped down. The chemical in the grid reacts with water. The Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 do not have this problem. Think of your customer if he paid $70,000 for a Charger Hellcat. He will not be happy seeing the tint guy scraping off the factory-applied coating on my new car.

I hear that the defroster still works after scraping, but I won’t do it and never have. My solution? Let it react with the water, and get it out of its system. My option is easier than scraping. All you need is the “clear” from a previous rear windshield of a Charger, Challenger or 300. “Clear” is what I call the liner that you peel off the film before you wet it and install it. I have
one for each car that I use over and over. I have three clears that have been previously heat-shrunk and perfectly cut to size.

When you bring one of these cars into the shop, begin by cleaning the rear glass as usual, then spray the inside windshield with whatever soap solution you prefer. Take the clear, apply it to the glass and then smooth it out with your hands— not a squeegee—leaving ample amounts of water trapped inside. Then, let it sit and tint the rest of the car, but re-wet the windshield every hour or so, pulling the clear back and spraying it again.

Of course, don’t do this in the sun. After the rest of the car is done, I move on to the next job, keeping the windshield wet for four hours. After roughly four hours, tint the glass as usual and remove the clear soaker just before installation. The average amount of “peanuts” I get is two, and they can be removed easily. Of course, you charge accordingly for these cars, and I tell the customer to expect the job to take six hours. Good luck!

Joe Doyle is the owner of Tint My Ride in Florissant, Mo. You can reach out to him at joyall@protonmail.com.

To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.