I went to several tint shops and i keep different opinions. Some say I need to felt to keep the windows from scratching the tint and others say I dont need it. Of course it will cost extra to add the felt but is it really necessary?

 

IMHO, i would do it.

 

Mixed opinions, but I for one didn't get felt installed and I don't have any scratches on my tints *knocks on wood*

 

I, personally, would do it.

If your for some reason against it though, I would just take a thin rag and some ammonia free cleaner and run it under the rubber strip were the felt normally would be. That way, your at least lowering the odds...

 

Moleskin

 

I told the guy who tinted my windows to put felt in.

He said no.

I was like... "What?"

He said no, flat out. Nope, don't need it, don't worry about it.
I explained to him that the TSX is known for scratching tints and whatnot.

He told me my kind of tint, Llumar Axcess, is built to withstand what would
normally scratch tints. He said if this tint got scratched, ever, he would just
replace the whole window (the tint), no questions asked, but he doesn't ever
see it happening.

Strange. He gave up money and work because he's so confident.

So there's some tinters out there that just won't do it period if you have
certain tint on your windows. He's been doing this in this town for 20 years now,
so I guess I trust him...

 

mmstsx... how much was the llumar tint + labor fees? also, did you get it done at one of the locations listed on the website or are there certified stores that provide this kind of tint?

thanks in advance

 

It was about $350-$375 total.
Something like that.

Normal tint would have been about $150.

I called around to all the local tint shops trying to find one who had it.
I had to call about 8 before I found one. (There's about 12 tint shops in my city)

I had to endure hearing shop after shop telling me how I should just come to
their shop and put their crappy tint on my windows. And how there was no way
I'd find a shop anywhere around here that carried that sort of thing...

I'm glad I found the shop I did though.
They do custom upholstery too, so I'm gonna have them do my car with some much
nicer leather.

But remember, the Axcess isn't normal Llumar tint. Llumar has several different
kinds.

 

I didn't go with the moleskin either. I ordered it but ended up selling it to another local member. My tint has a lifetime warranty. So if it ever scratches I could have it replaced.

 

I didn't go with moleskin and I do have some scratching on my tint, but not very bad or noticable. It seemed to happen right when I first had the windows done (Oct06) and really hasn't worsened at all since.

Also one user on here had moleskin put in and then had horror stories with it leaking and absorbing water every time it rained, and then leaving water marks all over his windows when he raised/lowered them.

No thanks!

 

i would get it just to be safe. I had my tint for months before I got a scratch. Now I just have one vertical scratch on my passenger side window, and one barely noticeable vertical scratch on my driver side window. They are closer to the edge of the window though so they are not as long as if they were in the middle of the window.

 

I would do it. It's not hard to install at all. Just remove the inside door panel, just like you would to install aftermarket speakers and remove the long plastic strip up top. clean and install. I 've seen a TL without felt and it has vertical stripes from not having felt. Dust accumulate over time and scratches the tint.

 

Due to how the door is built, felt is necessary for most tint. The piece that the felt is put on is rubber, and it sits in position to swipe the window. If dust/debris ever get on it, then that piece becomes a scratcher/etcher.

It isn't necessary for tint that have lifetime warranties...you won't have to pay extra money...you just have to pay for time as well as make sure you get some time off work.

Some tints advertise that they won't get scratches. Maybe they get very slight scratches that are hard to see, but you can see them up close. In any event, any type of film is still susceptible to scratches...they might just require a little bit more effort.

I would have it installed. It gives you piece of mind, and you won't have to waste your time to get it replaced later on if something ever were to happen. It's very easy to install it yourself (there's a vendor on one of the TSX forums that sells them). Otherwise, the installers will charge $20 a door for it.

Some installers don't know how much the TSX hates tint.

 

I would get them, my tints, on the driver side are scratched all over, why not be safe then sorry.

 

get them.

the guy that did my tints installed felt. while i have a lifetime warranty with the tints as long as i own the car, why risk scratching them up?

 

thanks i went to the acura tech guys and they said they've had a lot of complaints especially from TL owners about scratches on their tint. he said its shouldnt be a problem but its worth it

 

Interesting! My tinter said the same thing about the moleskin. He looked at me like I was goofy. He then told me that he's never had problems with Honda's and Acura's coming back for scratches on the tint. He told me that if it does scratch, he'll replace it. So far, I don't have one scratch, and I tinted it last Feb. I don't really roll my windows down that much, but my driver's side one goes up and down pretty frequently. I have yet to see any scratches. (knock on wood) By the way, he uses Madico tint, which he claims has a scratch resistant coating. So, I guess we'll see what happens!

 

My story:

-$150 tint job
-No felt
SCRATCHES!


I guess you get what you pay for?

 

I have a small scratch on my Madico Onyx tint. It's not scratch resistant.


To OP:

Just get the moleskin, it only costs a few bucks and it's worth it. Simple enough you can install it yourself.

 

I think it only scratches when it gets really cold and that part touching the film gets hard and scratches it, but after awhile you dont really give a rats ass.

 

Better than my story:
-$350 tint job
-No felt
SCRATCHES!

I didn't even know about this felt thing till i read this post randomly, and unfortunately i've moved half way across the country so can't get it replaced (it does have a warranty but I dont feel like driving 3 days to fix it ).

The scratches are minor and only on the drivers door window but it still ticks me off since I had a high-end tint job done.

morale of this story - just get felt. (ooh that sounds wrong)

 

Do it, I got scratches on my tint after a few months. Though I don't think I had it as bad as others. It was bad when I spent $200 a beautiful tint job.

 

What brand of tint did you get? I would think if it was a brand that was sold nationally the warranty would be honored nationally.

 

I just had my windows tinted yesterday and I got 50% 3M film. I questioned the tinter about the felt and he said that it was not needed. However he did say that if for any reason the tint should get scratched that he would replace the piece for free so we shall see since I cannot use my windows for a few more days.

 

Get the felt (moleskin), I went to a very respected and recommended tint shop here (Acura gets all there cars done there, as Benz and BMW also ) and they said you have to get it on the TSX, just cause of the shape and how tight the window is to the door. You get any sand or dirt in there u get scratchs. It just makes sense to protect your investment.

 

I have no idea why people are against the felt, especially it doesn't cost much for a peace of mind. I guess it doesn't matter since everyone has life-time gurantee on their tint.

 

The moleskin vendor is kind of secretive about the installation. The do say that there are two ways to do it. The first, obviously, is to remove the door panel. The other sounds like you can work without removing the door panel, and possibly with some tools (and procedures) that they provide. Without infringing on their "secrets", can anybody here vouch for that second method - how easy, how effective, etc?

 

I watched the guys tint my car, and to properly tint the TSX you have to take the window off the car, so the owner said "while the window is out anyways, we install moleskin, because thats the proper way to do it" It took them like 5 mins to put the moleskin on and they didn't charge any extra to put it in , because they do it to most cars anyways, when the window is taken out.

 

You mean the door panel is taking out, not the window?

 

no no they take the door panel off and take the windows right off the car(except back window of course), its was so they could clean them everywhere and properly dress them. These guys were very good.And to put moleskin on you have to take the window off the car so u can get to right area to put the moleskin on.
http://www.europeanautotinting.com/

 

Can you post pics of your tsx and tint? I'm thinking about using 40 or 50% tint on my windows. I love dark tint but I just starting in my career and I wanted my car to still look tasteful and professional so i thought 35% might be too dark especially on a grey tsx. Can you guys post pics of yours and if you have 35% or higher?

 

I just got my tint done and the guy basically said teh samething. Refusing to put felt in...

 

55 in the front 20 in the back if you were wondering

 

I had my Huper Optic tint put on last spring and there are no scratches. I got rid of the felt because it keeps coming off. Cost me 450 bucks to get the tint done.

 

My tint is 17% on the back and 35% on the front. Its dark enuf to make it look really good, but light enuf to have good visibility . I too am a young professional, so i know what you mean, but i have got lots of good comments on it. Here is the link to see my car with tint (i now have black custom rims on it and it is lowered so these are old pics from a few months ago).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23557700@N08/2242267223/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2355770...n/photostream/

 

Here's my CGP/ebony with 35% all around (moonroof, too).



It looks pretty light because of the light building behind it, but I actually think it looks a little too dark sometimes and that I should have gone a bit lighter.


BTW, am I crazy or did my car get slightly quieter at speed after tinting??

 

I've had HO for over 1.5 years and I put my drivers window up and down at least twice a day just to get into work. No scratches and no felt either. My installer said that the key is to properly clean the wipers in the door after the install. Some adhesive from the tint can get on there and collect dirt which can lead to scratching. He says he has not had a problem with scratching and would replace any scratched tint. No scratching and I'm happy. I've heard some people with moleskin that had problems with the adhesive coming loose in the heat and I definitely didn't want that here in Southern Texas.

BTW the HO ceramic tint is the best tint I've ever had. Worth the price premium for the ceramic tint.

 

Sure! I will get some up this week.

 

i have no moleskin; my tintguy garantees if anything happens to the tint hey'll redo it for free. (unless i like throw a key at it and it rips a chunk out or something, it has to be natural causes)
I have the llumar tint. paid about 300 for all 7 windows (although i went in two seperate times, it should've been cheaper)

 

Preciate it!