Dot Matrix Tint Problem??

[lilaznscboii]

Hey guys, I just got my car tinted and there seems to be some 'white'/irregular spots near the dot matrix part of the rear window. I asked the guy who tinted it for me and he said this is normal for windows with dot matrix... do u guys have this problem too?? thanks.

[///kory]

I have the same thing on mine. Not sure if it is normal, I was planning on taking it back to the tint place and asking at some point.

[FVM3]

that's normal, same thing on mine

[MB Hawaii]

Had my tint done last week by someone I been going to for over a decade. A genius when it comes to tiniting....and I've the the same thing on my rear windshield. He said it was normal and I trust him completely. So I wouldnt worry too much about it.

[Legion5]

Our cars are some of the most difficult vehicles to tint out there. I had to look through over 200 tint shops before I found one that could do the dot matrix. The bottom line is it can be done right.

Read my thread here for some insight:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=513195

[RustySTL]

I don't have tint on my new e92 yet, but will later this week.

The guy that I normally use will start the tint just below the dots and then airbrushes the dotted area at the top black. It looks much better and you don't have the possibility of it bubbling or peeling later. He doesn't do that around the sides though, only at the top and only on the e92 coupes.

[Gkap]

its very common on BMW's. Some tint shops
have more experience with it than others.

[IL8Apex]

I'm sorry but that's a horrible job.

I had my tinting done at Premier. All dots had tint laid over them uniformly. I would take it back and demand better.

I see you're in CA, take it to Premier and have them take a look at it. They have a shop in both Norcal and Socal.

[chris s]

it's totally normal... hard to get the tint to adhere uniformly over the dots, which are slightly raised.

[Shake-N-Bake]

That's normal but as others stated you can get around it. The tint shop I took mine too tinted up to the dot matrix and then put a black vinyl strip along the top. Looks perfect and you can't even tell. If I get some time later I will try to take a pic for you.

[Gkap]

I have also heard of people putting a strip of black vinly over the top of the window were the dot matrix is to cover it.

[Bubbles]

I would take it to another place. I had my car tinted with Formula 1 ceramic. My dot matrix is very smooth, just takes more time to do. Refuse use of glue or vinyl.

[Sean05]

ITS NORMAL........

[tlp]

That is a terrible dot matrix tint job. They need to shave down the DM beforehand with steel wool and then apply lots of heat to the area during the application phase.

[isugoo]

Originally Posted by Gkap

I have also heard of people putting a strip of black vinly over the top of the window were the dot matrix is to cover it.

My tint shop did similar.


Those bubbles are normal if your tint shop tinted like regular cars.

When I had my E92 335i, my tint shop put limo vinyl between dot matrix and 30% tint to eliminate those horrible bubble issue.
It eliminated dot matrix issue and looked amazing.

E90 doesn't have much dot matrix so it's fine but when you tint E92, you have to take it to the shop who knows the BMW (especially E46 and E92) dot matrix issue.

Go back and asked them to put limo tint/vinyl between or if they refuse, just asked them to take it off and go to another shop who knows what they're doing.

[benzo23]

e90s dont have this problem but the 92's do...its normal ive heard both the sanding and vinal method work great...just gotta find a shop to do it. But that does look horrible lol

[Krozi]

My tint guy put a strip of black vinyl under the dot matrix and put the tint over. Looks great.

[Silvertige]

That looks terrible, but it's common. Like others have stated it can be done better, just depends on who.

[elp_jc]

Black vinyl is for lazy installers IMO . It just takes a lot more patience, and a somewhat flexible squeegee. I specifically told my tint guy I wanted that right, and he said he always do it right (a perfectionist like me). He spent quite a bit of time on that area squeeging the most moisture initially, then with the heatgun to remove all moisture and pressing on the tint to adhere it.

The moisture eventually evaporates with the sun, even the massive one on the OP's car, but the problem is tint won't adhere to the window that way. And besides looking ugly, tint can start peeling off later on. I'd try to get it fixed asap, but might be too late, as adhesive is no longer effective when in contact with moisture too long. Good luck.

[Malakas]

I just spoke with a local installer who will (hopefully) tint my E92 later this week... he said they can use a little extra adhesive and careful squeegee'ing to make it look perfect. He said the downside can be a little distortion from the inside of the the car (just over the dots), but the outside will look perfect. Going to use HO ceramic.

[tlp]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Black vinyl is for lazy installers IMO .

+1

My tinter actually uses a portable blow torch just for the dot matrix at the top of the rear window. Everywhere else he applys conventional techniques.

[lilaznscboii]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions!!
Since the place I went to tint it won't redo it again, I'll call up Premier and try them out. thanks!!