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Window Tint – EVERYTHING you need to know!

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:14:05 GMT

There are MANY options when it comes to tinting your windows; and many of them may be fairly similar. However, we would like to help clear up some of the confusion and misinformation surrounding window tint options. There are significant pros and cons between the different tiers of window tint films which we will break down next.

Why does window tint matter?

Interior sun damage, sun burns, cabin ambient temperature and life expectancy of the film are significant variables between the types of tint. As of late, this is becoming increasingly important to electric vehicle owners due to the correlation of AC usage and battery consumption. Most electric vehicle’s AC performance is arguably relatively poor; and the more AC used, the more battery is being consumed. So it makes sense to get the best performance, heat rejection, tint on the market to squeeze the most out of an electric vehicle.

Types of window tint:

Dye Based Tint

This is your traditional, as cheap as possible, tint option. Dye base tint is where it all started and definitely has its place in the market. These films have MINIMAL heat rejection, typically less than 20% and not extremely durable to UV damage. Have you ever seen a car with purple tint that is all bubbled up and peeling? That is dye base tint after a few years of wear and tear from the sun. Typically these films have lower optical clarity, making them visually hazy when you try to look through them. If this film is applied on the windshield, this can cause headaches, distractions and be generally unappealing to look through. Although we carry dye base film for our non enthusiast clients, we NEVER recommend them to anyone. Get it done right the first time with quality film and never have to worry about replacing it.

Metalized Tint

These films are OUTDATED technology and not needed in today’s marketplace. Metalized films do an okay job of reflecting light / heat and UV penetration but they also cause issues. The metal particles in this film will mess with your key fob, GPS, radio and alarms. There is no reason to still be using this type of film in modern times, if a shop is highly recommending it – RUN!

Carbon Tint

Ceramic Tint

NOT ALL CERAMIC TINTS ARE CREATED EQUALLY.

So you want the best of the best for your vehicle, and nothing less will suffice. Look no further than Ceramic Tint, but be careful on which one you choose for your beloved ride. Premium ceramic tint will block 99% of UV penetration and ~85% of heat penetration (even on 70% clear options). This is fantastic for slowing/eliminating UV damage on your interior, sun burns on your skin and keeping the cabin nice and cool. However, some brands skimp out on this level of performance for cheaper price in order to use the ‘ceramic’ buzzword. We have seen (and admittedly carried) “ceramic tint” that only blocked ~35% of heat penetration. This is extremely unfair and misleading to the less informed clients and feels like a scam.

In our shop there is only one ceramic tint that we stand behind and trust, Xpel Prime XR PLUS.

This is a great middle tier option for tinting your vehicle. Carbon film is made up of microscopic carbon fiber particles in the film that are semi-effective at blocking the sun’s powerful rays. On average these films will block 40-50% of heat penetration to the inside cabin, which is good but not great.

Ceramic Coating VS Paint Protection Film

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:37:13 GMT

Both Paint Protection Film and Ceramic Coating protect your vehicle, BUT what they protect against contrasts significantly. What most people do not immediately realize, is that you can have BOTH. We HIGHLY recommend this as the ultimate solution.

Ceramic Coating

Benefits:

Hydrophobic Surface
Increases Gloss
Increases Chemical Resistance
Some UV Protection
Hardens Clear Coat (Only 9H coatings)

What is Ceramic Coating?

With Ceramic Pro Silver package and higher, the flagship “9H” product is utilized. This 9H coating is literally a hard ceramic glass. This glass shield increases in durability and protection as it is stacked onto the surface. The 9H coating will increase chemical resistance, last longer and give your vehicle more of a ‘plated’ shiny effect. As the 9H is layered, the benefit are an increased sacrificial barrier effect and more chemical resistance as well as more gloss. When the Ceramic Pro 9H is stacked 4x, not only does the coating last for LIFE, it is 3x harder than OEM clear coat! Thus providing some scratch resistance. However, given how soft clear coat is to begin with – you CAN still scratch and swirl mark when not correctly handling the clear coat surface.

You can also still get rock chips and thats where Paint Protection Film comes into play.

Paint Protection Film

Benefits:

Sacrificial Barrier
Extremely Durable
Prevents Impact Damage
Limits UV Damage

What is Paint Protection Film?

Paint Protection Film (aka Clear Bra or PPF) is a thick and extremely durable plastic layer that virtually makes your vehicle invulnerable to surface level damage including scratches, chemical damage, highway debris, low speed impacts and rock chips. One of the coolest features of PPF is the self healing capabilities for superficial scratching. If you need to wipe down part of the film to remove debris and ultimately micro scratch the surface – the film can regenerate and heal itself! Kavaca paint protection film, by Ceramic Pro, accomplishes this at room temperature while other films need 85degrees+ heat on the surface and some do not do this at all.

With proper installation, PPF is INVISIBLE to the naked eye. The edges get tucked, emblems get removed and there are no seams or lines to see. This way the vehicle retains its original factory aesthetics while maintaining the ultimate form of protection.

Most modern films come with a 10+year manufacturer warranty that include excessive yellow, bubbling, cracking or any other kind of general film failure. Wrapping your full car in PPF is THE BEST WAY to protect your factory paint job.

Vinyl Wrap?

Formerly, clear bra was only offered in the clear option with no variation. Now manufacturers offer a frosted ‘stealth’ version that will turn your factory gloss paint appear to be a satin / matte finish. Even more recently, manufactures have been offering colored variants such as black, red or yellow. So now you can actually protect your vehicle while changing up the look. You may be thinking, vinyl wrap already does this – no it does not.

Vinyl wrap is a thin cheap film that does NOT stop rock chips and impact damage and is not durable against UV damage. Vinyl actually quickly begins to break down from sun damage and lose its integrity causing the adhesive to start separating from the film and starting binding to the clear coat and actually cause permanent paint damage. What if you want to change the color to an option only available in vinyl wrap? Wrap the car in paint protection film FIRST then wrap the vinyl wrap on top of the PPF.

Paint Protection Film + Ceramic Coating

What is Paint Protection Film?

The epitome of vehicle protection technology. We know the paint protection film is a skin that makes the vehicle nearly invulnerable and that ceramic coating makes the vehicle shiny, easy to wash and chemical resistant. When you apply the paint protection film first, then apply ceramic coating on top of the film – you get the best of both worlds. The ceramic coating will help add chemical resistance to the film, make it more shiny and easier to clean. At the end of the day, the PPF is a durable thick plastic layer, adding ceramic coating on top of the film keeps the film looking fresher, cleaner, longer. Full car paint protection film will help retain a PERFECT finish for the life of your ownership and is highly recommended by any professional detailer.

How To Clean Your Windows – The Right Way!

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:12:12 GMT

Cleaning windows can be one of the toughest parts of the job! It is not easy to get that crystal clear finish without any streaking or hazing if you don’t use the proper techniques. But we have nailed down the process to achieve perfect spotless windows consistently with minimal effort. There are a few different approaches depending on how contaminated the windows are. But if you follow this guide closely, struggling with streaks will be history!

Required Tools Needed-

Soft Microfiber Towel
Waffle Weave Towel
Crystal Clear Window Cleaner

Optional Tools Recommended-

Grade #0000 Steel Wool

Window Cleaning Process

-Spray Crystal Clear window cleaner directly onto the clean microfiber towel sparingly. Using too much product makes the final buffing process more difficult and increases odds of leaving streaks.

-Use the microfiber towel to scrub the windows in STRAIGHT LINE motions up and down to pick up the dirt.

-Use the waffle weave towel to buff off the streaks (up and down lines).

-Your exterior glass should be SPOTLESS

-Repeat this process on all of the glass.

-When cleaning the interior glass use SIDE TO SIDE motions in case there is any streaking. After finishing, you will quickly identify if streaks are on the inside, or outside, of the glass due to the direction of the streak lines.

If the glass does not feel smooth or is heavily contaminated with tree sap, overspray or harsh residues – spray Crystal Clear on a piece of steel wool and attack the contamination directly with the steel wool, rub as hard as needed. DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR PAINT, IT WILL SCRATCH.

Pro Tip:

When your glass is professionally ceramic coated , maintaining them becomes significantly easier. We have found that the windows are often spotless after normal washing without needing any of these additional window cleaning steps- unless the vehicle is heavily contaminated.

How to CORRECTLY wash your car

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:04:29 GMT

One of the most important issues with caring for your vehicle is the damage left behind when dirt is dragged across the surface. This creates micro scratching and ultimately wears down the clear coat, leaving a dull lackluster surface. Most of the techniques and products used in this guide will help limit this type of damage during a car wash. This process is exactly the same technique our technicians follow for our exterior slick up.

It is recommended to hand wash your vehicle AT LEAST once per month and no touch rinse in between washes. It is important to not allow contamination to bake into the clear coat over extended periods of time causing etching, staining and possible permanent damage. If bird droppings, tree sap or hard water finds their way on your paint, remove AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If your vehicle is ceramic coated, most of these steps become SIGNIFICANTLY EASIER to accomplish.

Required Tools Needed-

Car Wash Specific Soap (PH Balanced)
Crystal Clear Window Cleaner
3 Buckets With Grit Guards (Wheel Bucket, Soap Bucket, Clean Water Bucket)
Wheel brushes and wash mitt specifically for the wheels
1 mitt for the paint and 1 mitt for lower, more dirty, areas of the vehicle
Master Blaster Dryer or Leaf Blower
Microfiber towel for exterior touch ups
Microfiber towel & Waffle weave towel for glass
Final Finish Quick Detailer

Optional Tools Recommended-

Tips

Deionized Water Purification
Pressure Washer
Foam Cannon
Wheel IronX
Tire Degreaser

Do Not Wash In Direct Sunlight or If Surfaces Are Hot
Always Work With Top Down Workflow So You Are Not Repeating Steps From Falling Dirt
If Surfaces Start To Dry Before Intended; Add Soap & Water!

Hand Car Wash Process-

-Add 3-5oz of soap to Wheels Bucket & To Soap Bucket (and foam cannon if applicable) and Fill All 3 Buckets With Water. Submerge your cleaning tools in their corresponding buckets (Soap & Wheels Buckets)

-Start with the wheels & tires first: ensure they are not hot! Pre rinse the tires and wheels with water. Spray tire degreaser all over the tires and agitate with an abrasive/coarse brush, rinse off immediately. Spray and soak the rim in IronX, be liberal. Allow 1-2 minutes for the Fallout Remover / IronX to penetrate the surface and then lather the wheels with soap from foam cannon without rinsing off the IronX. Use your wheel bucket and wheel cleaning tools to agitate the contamination with the IronX and Soap mixture. DO NOT ALLOW TO DRY, work on only 1-2 wheels at a time. Rinse thoroughly before moving on as the IronX and Soap can stain the wheel finish.

-Rinse the exterior from the top down to remove as muh loose debris as possible.

-Attach your foam cannon and soak down the entire car in soapy suds to help encapsulate the debris and slide down to lower surfaces.

-Starting with the roof, slide the wash mitt from left to right in straight lines to remove the debris. DO NOT GO in circles.

-After completing the roof and windows, RINSE the mitt in your clean water bucket, then dunk it in the soap before proceeding to the hood. It is recommended to do this after EVERY panel in order to avoid tracking dirt all around the car with a dirty wash mitt.

-If you encounter more stubborn contamination, feel free to ‘aggressively’ agitate with the mitt and LOTS of soap to lubricate the surface. If it is not coming off – more advanced techniques will be needed after completion of the wash.

-After washing all of the exterior panels- use a separate mitt to attack lower areas of the vehicle (bottom edge of side skirts, wheel wells, exhaust tips)

-Refoam if surfaces are drying to avoid soap scum before completely rinsing.

Drying Process

-It is HIGHLY recommended to perform a blow dry finish in order to limit touching of the clear coat. We recommend the Master Blaster or even an electric leaf blower.

-Start from the top and blow the car completely dry.

-Double Back With a Soft Clean Microfiber Towel and Final Finish To Catch Water Drips And Any Missed Contamination. Use a ‘Dabbing’ Motion Instead of Wiping In Order To Limit Scratching.

– Always be sure to thoroughly wipe the door jambs immediately after the wash in order to avoid staining.

detail-union-quantum-leap-dark

Window Tint – EVERYTHING you need to know!

Why does window tint matter?

Types of window tint:

Dye Based Tint

Metalized Tint

Carbon Tint

Ceramic Tint

Ceramic Coating VS Paint Protection Film

Ceramic Coating

Benefits:

What is Ceramic Coating?

Paint Protection Film

Benefits:

What is Paint Protection Film?

Vinyl Wrap?

Paint Protection Film + Ceramic Coating

What is Paint Protection Film?

How To Clean Your Windows – The Right Way!

Required Tools Needed-

Optional Tools Recommended-

Window Cleaning Process

Pro Tip: ﻿

How to CORRECTLY wash your car

Required Tools Needed-

Optional Tools Recommended-

Tips

Hand Car Wash Process-

Drying Process

Pro Tip: