Super Black The Exception

I had PLU (or Knight Rider: K.I.T.T. as RyanA calls it) tinted. In the same lines as my Brand X post last march, I looked around briefly for an affordable car tinting shop that could offer a relatively good service. There was one such shop within the grounds of Makro Cainta that offered a "Tint Promo" for only Php 800. This was only for a generic tint (no brand) and the place seemed reputable and the tint men were very accomodating.

I considered a branded Solargard tint from this place as well, but they didn't have it in "Super Black" and it was more than 3 times as pricey than the generic one. I really wanted a Super Black tint anyway because I didn't want my passengers to be seen inside, I don't like the heat/sun, and Super Black matched my car's jet black finish. My friend, Ian Tecson, also advised me to go with scratch-proof tint so that it won't break down after years of closing and opening windows. So ultimately, with the help of MaeDei and Drei, I decided to go the Tint Promo route for 800 pesos for a generic-semi-scratch-proof-Super-Black tint at the sides and back. No tint for the windshield (yet) as it is unadvisable to tint it black for safety reasons. (You wouldn't see shit even if you had HIDs and branded tints.)

I realize now that my affinity for cheap working products does not always turn out to be sunny, so to speak. The finished product turned out HIDEOUS. The tint had a lot of those "dreaded bubbles" at the sides and top part of the windows and at the back there were even a few hints of peeling. I guess my fault was that I brought the car around 5:00 in the afternoon and it was already dark when they finished; plus it rained around the time they were finishing up.

So I brought it back the very next day, and since they were working on another car they advised me to return the next day. I had assurances from the tint men and the owner of the shop that they will work on it first thing. So the day after that, I returned and they did a do-over on the back windows and they tried to "hagod" all the bubbles out of existence. Well, the tint job improved but not a whole lot. It improved only on the do-overs and not the hagods. The freakin' bubbles were still there. My windows had like these constellations of small bubbles everywhere. I felt like an astronomer trying to look for the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

After the tint men were done, I asked "Wala na ba magagawa diyan sa mga bubbles na yan? Ang dami eh. Sayang pa-tint ko kung ganyan kalalabasan." In the end, I heard phrases from the tint men along the lines of "Wala na, sir" and "Ganyan talaga ang tinting hindi perpekto" and "Kahit mga brand new na sasakyan may mga bubbles talaga, kahit tignan niyo pang mabuti sa iba." Okay, so I went off pissed and I guess being upset and disappointed are a few ways of putting it lightly.

But to tell you honestly, this experience enlightened me. There was still a silver lining around the time and money lost. I analyzed this situation and then it dawned on me. I was ready to give up on Brand X products, but then I realized: There is nothing wrong with Brand X products, it is Brand X services that you have to worry about.

I'm sure a whole lot of other tinting shops could have done way better with the exact same Super Black tint than what these guys did. Yeah sure, you get what you pay for in terms of the quality of the product. But a little research and effort could help you with decisions on different Brand X products and you are not limited with just choosing the expensive brands. With cheap services, however, it maybe an entirely different story. You KNOW you are not getting anything nearly as good. And more often than not, your expectations will not be met.

So I have a new lesson to learn and impart: Brand X products = sometimes okay. Brand X services = often not okay.