We thought we could handle any film job until we tried car window tinting. We can wrap a whole car in any colour, protect the body with paint protection film, or apply mirror window film to shop windows and apartment windows. But people often ask me about tinting car windows. That service has a story of its own.
It started about four years ago, when we moved to our new office at Laki 4. Our team completed a full training course in car window tinting, and we bought the materials. We set our price a little below the market at the time, around €120 for the rear side windows and rear windscreen. The film cost about €40. We expected the job to take two hours. The profit seemed clear.
Then the first customer arrived, and reality hit us. Instead of two hours, the team spent eight, working late into the night. The film creased, got damaged and formed bubbles. We kept removing it and cutting new pieces, using three times as much film as planned. Neither the customer nor we liked the result. We removed everything, cleaned the glass and refunded the money.
We decided to practise on my car, and it seemed to work. We took a second booking and did better with the film. But another problem appeared, because we apply the film with soapy water. Despite covering the door trim, water soaked into the fabric. We paid to have the door trim cleaned and put right. Another loss.
For the third attempt, we learned from our earlier mistakes and carefully covered and protected everything. But the rear window of a sedan was a real challenge. We had to apply the film from inside, with very little room to move. We finished the job, and everything seemed smooth. The customer was happy and drove away.
A week later, the customer came back because the film had gone wavy. We replaced it, but after a while the waves came back, though not as badly. In the end, we refunded the money again.
We sat down and added up the losses and the stress. There was too much risk and work for a €120 job. We decided to stop offering car window tinting until better times. Those times have still not arrived.
We still do a great job with window film on flat glass in offices and homes. Those surfaces are straightforward for our team. As for car window tinting, we now happily send customers to our partners or recommend specialist workshops.
