yisrael42

I did go ahead and buy it... he mentioned that the glue melting can happen if you install the Moleskin before the tint job... supposedly something in the soapy water you use can break down the glue.

He also said that its better to do it after the tint because it takes a few days for the glue to really set once its installed so if you get it wet right away or within a few days it won't set properly?

The reason I bought it is because my old TSX was badly scratched because of the seals and honestly, I'm not the type to clean my window seals diligently.

But if you could show me the best way to install them without removing the door panels it would be greatly appreciated.

Last thing... you think I can get away with 20% in this area on a black car w/ black interior... or will I get hassled all the time?

AMIC

I've had tint for about 2.5 years and no moleskin and no scratches either. It's all in how much you drive with the windows down. Dirt will surely get down in there if you consistiently drive with the windows down. I roll my window down 2 times a day to swipe my badge at our office parking garage. Other than that I never roll them down.

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Hmmmm...I'm tinting next weekend and I've decided against the moleskins. My tinter said he could install a set but advised that it wasn't money well spent in his opinion. Dirt will collect in the the moleskin material as well....the key is keeping the grit out when possible.
I'm pretty diligent about keeping my car clean, but scratches will inevitably happen.

theklassic

This is true and exactly the advice I followed to install mine. My car was previously tinted for atleast a year before we applied the MS, so the doors were completely dry.

I hear yah. Glue is much easier to live with than scratches.


Will do, you can actually install the MS by just partially pulling the top of the door panels off. As for the %, I personally have 20%, but I also have access to a shop where the guys will remove and retint anytime. It's really up to you, but to ease you mind and lessen your worry I'd have to recommend 35% in this case.

It still looks sweet on Black/Black and provides nearly the same heat protection but with improved nightime visibility.

We can go over some samples before the job. I've got a 350Z with 35 and the TL with 20, same color combo on both for you to compare.

Collin

theklassic

Nice. It really is a shady way to take 60 bucks off of someone, but really why? I like your tinter.

With all the mixed reviews considered, if his customers want to still have MS installed they can always save some cash, spend 30 minutes, and not be robbed.

playa4real

iTrader: (3)

the consensus on this forum is that without the felt/moleskin the tint does get scratched. there are the users that, if you will, are lucky and dont get any scratches, but i think that if im going to spend 200 bucks on window tint then i dont mind spending a little more for peace of mind. finding a tinter that actually did add the felt was a PIA..i called up a whole bunch of places in CT and either 1. they didnt know what the felt was or 2. they didnt used the felt. I ended up making an appt for the 12th with Steve at TintMax because he uses the felt and is HIGHLY recommended on AZine.

Gunner11311

iTrader: (4)

Ive had my tint for about 6 months and only have one little scratch on the lower 3 inches of my drivers side window. Other than that i have been pretty lucky without having the moleskin. If i could go back and do it again i would definitely get it, just to have that extra security of knowing i wont get any scratches at all.

elkayem

I don't have moleskin and my tint is fine. =]
Maybe it's just I'm too careful.

lamv225

iTrader: (6)

Tinted my car over 3 years ago, no moleskin, no scratches. I roll my windows down all the time and never had any issues. There is no clear reason why some people have success and others don't.

Distorted Reality

I would highly recommend getting moleskin for the tint. When I first had my car tinted I got scratches all over the tint vertical scratches all over the tint. And I literally had my car retinted 4 times, before finding out about this site and finding out what moleskin was. It has held up fine for over 2 years on my car and is easy to apply to the car. The tint shop I used didnt know what moleskin was or how to use it so instead of them attempting to do it and fuck something up I did it myself and its held up perfectly fine without a problem. And I have been scratch free like I said for over 2 years get it you will kick yourself in the end for not getting it. Some people on here say they don't have it and never got any scrathes but why take the chance and get it done right the first time. And shit moleskin isn't expensive at all. Get it from flsnx on here he will hook you up. Good people to purchase it from.

heavyjdaman

i feel like a retard asking, but what the hell is moleskin?

Usalinh

I tinted my windows without the moleskin and i have lines up and down my tint now. I would suggest doing the moleskin as long as it works.

erick3

mine's messed up...don't do it

GLowrdr

It's basically a strip of felt, that acts as a cushion between the tint and the weatherstripping on the car. There's more to it than that, but now you should at least know what it is

FlyinLowTL

I've seen two people asking what the hell moleskin is thus far - make that 3 including myself. Could someone, maybe OTHER than a vendor for something explain what it is? No one has answered these other two plus myself.

Sorry for the rant, but I'd like to know as well. I had an accord for 10 years with tint - 3m to be exact at 20% all around. Not a single scratch from rolling windows.

Thanks in advance, n stuff.

jetblakTL

Had my ride tinted for about 6 months - I used the moleskin on all 4 windows initially, but the driver window kept getting wet on the inside after rain or wash and then started getting spots of glue - the other windows were fine. I took the moleskin off of the driver after about 2 weeks and have been like that since with no issues. I occassionally take a minute and blow some canned air down the window jam to clear out any debris. If you actually take a good look at the window wiper itself, it is pretty soft - hard to imagine it scratching tint on its own so it must be debris in the track causing the problem. My driver's window is totally scratch-free so far and I actually got a nick in the tint in the front pass. window, but other than that.......

PS - my front pass. window has been having trouble with the auto-up feature lately - it will go up about half-way then stopped and go back down a few inches and stop. The car is going to the dealer tomorrow for something else (still didn't get my stinkin' tranny ) and I'm going to have them take a look at the window - I'm pretty sure they're gonna blame the moleskin...

GLowrdr

Not sure which one, but within the last couple of months there was a TSB that said "If a customer has window problems - check for tint"

I'm guessing your out of luck, but hope for the best

snavarrette

Scratches......
I should have got the moleskin, and I live in 118% Arizona!

pokin

35% on mine in MD.
I have read a lot about moleskin in this forum, but have no idea what it looks like. I know that my 1 yr old tint has no scratches, lines, issues....

IGGYWOOWOO

I just ordered the mole skin. The messed up thing about this is I used to tint windows while I was in college, but have never heard of mole skin... I guess I have to get the scratched windows retinted.

I am starting to miss my Lexus.

Cheval

Got 35% 3M metallic put in new 2008 TL. Just noticed today the tint is scratched on the driver's side door from top to bottom. Some small scratches on the front passenger-side door and back driver's side door. tint has only been on there 12 days. That didn't take long! Have tint on a 2002 Accord for 6 years and a 1994 Intrepid for 14 years and no scratches so this is a shock!

BTW I checked the rubber lining on the driver's side door and there's nothing there scratching the door that I can see. The scratch in the tint is so deep it catches and stops my fingernail when I move across it!

flnsx

Buy the Moleskin Kit below.

jonbwnnab22554

I know its not as hot in Maryland as it is in California. I'd do the moleskin for sure! I heard the temps get up to like 200 degrees out that way.

freakerdude

07 tinted windows with 3M without moleskin and no sctratches. It's been 5 months and I also live in south Fla. The *other* forum's moleskin thread makes it sound like your car won't even run w/o it. Over rated!

subbuzz

<---- tint with no moleskin or scratches

paliknight

i would highly recommend moleskin. i just recently got my car tinted and after 3 days the tint got scratched like crazy. i had moleskin, but the shop refused to install it and they told me it was a bad idea to install. so i took their advice. and now im going to install the moleskin and get my car retinted. now i gotta shed another 200 dollars for damn tints in less than a month. paying 500 dollars on tints in 1 month is obscene.

psheu

sigh.... now I know why you guys are spending more money to protect a film on window.... when you spend $400+ on tint job that is just ridiculous.... I always imagine a tint job should not go over $100.... I have 20s all around and Lumnar brand tint that prevents scratchs on windows with lifetime warrenty.... and I spent ~$80-90 bucks for it @ an reputable shop here in Florida.... if it gets scratched or bubble up (which have not happened) take it back and they'll replace it for free (installation and parts).... personally, I think it's the quality of the tint film and installation job.... with that much money you're paying, you shouldn't have to invest in extra parts, that's just my 2 cents.....

KylesTL

Tint's with no moleskin and big ass scratch a week after my tints were done on my driver's side window so I can see it all the time.
Of course it scratched when I was trying to clean inside to tray and make sure there was nothing on that seal that woulc cause a scratch.

PSURob12

any update on this? Did you get it done? I was thinking of taking mine to driven dynamics as well.

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

no moleskin for me...no scratches either.

ityper

i have 10ft of unused high quality moleskin left over. $10 shipped.

flnsx

Is your moleskin Tint Protector or the generic stuff? Remember the generic moleskin is not designed for window tint.

I wouldn’t bother with the generic stuff. It's a waste of your time. You will be doing it all over again when it comes off or glues up your window tint.

FRIKI

No Moleskin......o.d Scratches.....tints Coming Off Soon

Acura3GTL

it's pretty high quality stuff. had it on my car for 2 years in s.cali heat waves and they're working like they were the first day i got them.

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

My TL-S is finally going in this weekend for tinting. I've been asking my tinter many questions for the last month regarding the possible Nav signal degradation with metallic tint(he's not concerned about that) to the scratching issue. As I had mentioned in my above post, he will install moleskin if I want it, but doesn't think it is needed.
Furthermore, he'll warranty that if the tint gets scratched, he will replace it free of charge and install moleskin of my choice for me. Now that is customer service in my book!

Then I may be coming to you flnsx for some of your high quality moleskin...until then, we'll see.

jweb12

iTrader: (2)

This is my first post but I've been visiting this site for about a year (before I finally registered) and have found this site invaluable for info on our cars and innovative ideas for mods........not to mention motivation to spend money on my Type-S.

Anyway, figured I'd weigh in on this thread because I am dealing with a lot of the issues being discussed by the OP and some of the responders. A little background......before getting my windows tinted I did a good bit of research, both here and on other sites, and decided moleskin was the way to go. I went with Tint Protector for the moleskin and they are very easy to order from. I installed the moleskin per the provided directions (very simple install for anybody thinking about it) and, like most TLers, was very maticulous in the install.

Next, the tint. After some more searching I made an appointment at Driven Dynamics. The shop is over an hour from me but well worth the extra drive. I've heard too many stories about local shops. So the tint goes on and things look good. I do have a couple spots I need to have them look at but haven't had time to get back down there (small bubble in the rear window and a couple "wrinkles" on the passenger side) but overall a quality job. For the record, they do tint the entire quarter window and also under the 3rd brake light.

Now for the real problem. After a few weeks, I noticed that I was getting the glue streaks that Collin mentioned previously. The severity ranged from a single vertical pinstripe to wide smears with embedded felt. Over the last month or so, cleaning the glue off the inside of the windows has become a weekly ritual, sometimes multiple times a week. I have removed the door panels again and the moleskin is shifted and even folded over in several places......like there is too much pressure pushing on it causing it to shift.

Right now I don't know what the answer is. From my experience so far with the TL and the other tinted vehicles I have owned, with the "tightness" of the swipes on this car, the moleskin definitely serves a purpose but I need to find a way to keep the protection of the felt while eliminating the glue streaks. I'm thinking that actually wrapping the moleskin completely around the swipe, not just applied to the leading edge would provide more surface for the moleskin to adhere to. I'm going to look into this some more because cleaning glue is getting old but scratched tint is the worst. I do have a slight scratch in one window though which goes to show nothing is perfect.

To be fair, I have not spoken with anyone at Tint Protector about this yet and I do think their product is solid. This isn't meant to knock their product in any way. Similarly, anybody looking for tint in MD, VA or DC should look into Driven Dynamics........I just need to get some time to get back down there to look at a couple things.

Hopefully this info helps.

Jim

leedogg

after pulling off my door panels I pulled out the rubber blade, cleaned and alcoholed the blade completely, then wrapped moleskin around the primary 2 blades. Basically I push the moleskin on the inside and wrap it around the outside so it folds in half around each blade. Then I put it all together and let it sit for a few days without opening the windows. Had my tint done at LA Tint down in manassas. Everything has gone perfect so far.

jsong83

dont listen to the majority. i thought moleskin was necessary but depending on who tints your car and how well the job is done as well as the quality of the tint, you wont need it. i installed moleskin after i had my tints done and it started peeling off and leaving sticky residue all over the window. i took it off and tried it without moleskin and no scratches, no sticky residue.

jweb12

iTrader: (2)

Just got done cleaning glue off the drivers side and rear passenger windows. Probably going to take the drivers side panel off and take another look. If it has a bunch of exposed glue, which I expect it does, I think I'm going to try taking the moleskin off completely and just see how it goes.

Anybody else notice that after installing moleskin and tint, the windows seem to labor a little when going up and down? I really only notice it on my rears and it's not major but you can tell there's a difference from stock.

SporkLover

I bought my car without Mole Skin and it was Tinted. Scratched Tint.

It's worth the $1 to do it yourself if your installer wont