The STL Difference

Dealing with some film myths and some consumer education.

“That guys $99 tint has a lifetime warranty too!”

Autobahn’s warranty is the best in the business. No question. 100%.

Autobahn’s warranty is transferable!

Autobahn will not void their warranty due to vehicle ownership change. They warranty the film, not the person who purchased it. This is the only transferable warranty we know of in the industry.

The truth is that every bad, bubbly, faded, rippled, hazy or purple tint you have seen driving around or at your local shop/business had or has a lifetime warranty. Film manufactures found out along time ago that consumers demand a lifetime warranty, but rarely return to collect on it. Either they sold the car/home/business and the warranty isn’t transferrable, or its just playing the numbers game. Read the warranty your being offered. Judge for yourself. You should trust the manufacturer and the licensed distributer/installer.

Autobahn has a built in “No Fault Warranty”
Scratches? Chips? Broken window? Manufactures don’t warranty this type of damage.
Autobahn does!
Your film is warrantied for replacement with a small $20 deductible.
Even if you damage the film yourself, it’s covered!

There are some local competitors who claim to have a similar warranty, but they don’t have it in writing, its not from a manufacturer, and it’s defiantly not nation wide.

We will never try to deceive you into getting something you don’t want. We won’t offer a warranty that is “loose with wording” or doesn’t exist at all.

​80% of the cost with 40% of the value isn’t and never will be a good deal for the consumer.

“All ceramic films are the same thing”

Huper Optik set out to change the window film industry in 1994 with the help of famed and respected german research firm Fraunhofer-Gasellschaft and invented the 1st and only patented multi layered nano-ceramic window film with the compound Titanium Nitride. 4 years later In 1998 History was made, Huper Optik Nano-Ceramic Window Film was born and put into production. Since that moment, every other manufacturer has been playing catch-up.

Autobahn is a sister company of Huper Optik and benefits from the hard research and experience.

Autobahn now has the highest performing film in the world with CERAMIC i3.

There are over 70 different “ceramic compounds” on the window film market for automotive and architectural use. None of them actually contain any ceramic as you know it. “Ceramic” has been used a marketing gimmick in the automotive world as of late. Everything has to be ceramic. “If its not ceramic, its not cool.”

The truth is, many of these “ceramic” films are beginning to show a short shelf life and a instability that can’t hold up to the real world. This does not mean that they won’t hold up to their warranty, because the warranties don’t include solar performance and are only performing at top condition for months or even weeks after install. Some of these films are pennies on the dollar to legitimate films. They just increase the installers profit margin because they use the magic word “ceramic”.

Another term thrown around lately is “IR”(infrared). Some manufactures are putting IR in the name of their films to imply that they are better at blocking heat. This is for the most part simply not true and bad marketing designed to confuse the consumer into an under performing film.

While infrared contributes to heat and makes a large impact, its not the only thing that causes heat on the solar spectrum. We prefer to use the industry standard TSER (Total Solar Energy Rejection) numbers as the basis of heat rejection as does most of the industry.

Also don’t be fooled by stats that come with an asterisk (*) attached to them. That asterisk is usually qualifying a small percentage of frequency where the film performed well. If it is really that good, why the asterisk?

Install Quality

We concentrate on the best install quality possible. We hand cut all our window film, no “precision cut”, “computer cut” or “laser cut” (there is no such thing). Those templated window cutting software systems don’t allow for the variance that exists in automotive windows. Sometimes there are dramatic differences from passenger to driver side on the same car.​

We aim for the best film with the best quality install every time. Here are some examples of quality defects that we guarantee WON’T be in our film installations. All these defects should be cause for “re-do” by the original installer. Unfortunately some installers wont fix these issues and those clients come to us to help them out.

Light Gaps

When film is either cut too short or not installed in the proper position, it can reveal areas of un-tinted glass. These photos show some examples.

Dirt and contamination

There is always going to be a small amount of contamination that makes it into every window install. We don’t live in a sterile world and when dealing with a material that is sticky and full of static, your bound to get something. The Older the vehicle, the more embedded dirt there is inside the window seal areas. That being said, we achieve much better than normal results using a variety of methods we developed specifically for problematic installs. We excel at classic cars and rewrite the standards on cleanliness for newer vehicles. If you have concerns with your vehicle, please stop by for a consolation and in depth explanation. Small areas of contamination not visible from a 3′ distance are considered acceptable by IWFA (International Window Film Association) standards. Large areas of contamination are reason for re-do.

Whats acceptable? – A couple specks on a window not in a distracting or direct sight line.

These are examples of unacceptable contamination.

Creases

Creases are caused from various procedures while handling the window film. Simply unrolling the film can cause small defects when done improperly. Creases can be caused while shrinking (heat molding) the film, handling, cutting, and squeeging the film onto the glass. Most of these defects can be avoided and usually happen when an installer is rushed or is careless. Any crease bigger than 1/8″ in length is unacceptable and subject to re-do.

Edge Gaps

Edge gaps are at the top of the window. Many installers say that it is necessary for the gap to exist so that the film does not fail by rubbing on the top of the window seal while being rolled up and down. This is true but not. Most of the time its due to an installer that rushed or doesn’t take pride in their work. The film can’t overlap the bevel of the edge of the glass, but it can exist to the very edge without failure, and is actually less failure prone when it is closer but not exceeding the bevel. We do whats called a shaved edge on all roll down window installs, on every window, every time. Part of this process means that you can roll your windows down immediately when taking delivery of the vehicle. We are so confident in out install process that we don’t make you wait 2 to sometimes 5 days to roll your windows down.

This is a “shaved edge”

This is the STL Film Works installation standard. Every car – every time. We are so confident in our installations, that you can roll down your windows immediately after picking your car up.