Guys,

As a tint shop, we’ve received quite a handful of requests for the installation of “moleskin.” I’d like to take some time to discuss the product, briefly detail the history, and offer my evaluation & thoughts. I hope this post will help shed some light on the subject for those unclear on this modification. It’s my intention that this article will not only be of use to customers, but to tinters, and other window film professionals as well. Additionally, at the very end of this discussion you will find sample pictures of the moleskin application done on my car, which our shop plans road test in the months to come.

The Product:

What is mole skin? Simply put, it’s a felt like material lining that’s applied to the rubber seal within your car’s doors. The reasoning behind this product stems from a problem with newer cars and their tight door seal design. On a car without tinted windows, these tighter, completely felt free, rubber window seals help to reduce road noise, provide insulation, and keep windows dryer in rainy weather. For those that do NOT have tinted windows, there is absolutely no problem with this setup. However, due to the tight fit these linings provide, some with tinted windows have reported hairline scratches and streaks on their film due to dust particles on the seal pressing in and onto the tint. This is a problem I believe more and more tint shops are going to have to address as more manufacturers adopt this type of door seal method.

I’d like to point out, that even on cars with known tight fitting seals, customers may not experience any of the problems above on their window film. It varies from car to car and manufacturer to manufacturer. From what I’ve read on the various car forums, some cars with this problem include newer model Acuras (TL & TSXs), Hondas (Accords), BMW (X5’s), and certain models of Ford (Mustangs & 500s).

The Solution: 

So what’s the remedy? Aside from moleskin, the universally accepted answer is to clean your door seals regularly. In other words, about once a week simply swipe a clean, dust free cloth between the seals to rid your car of any sand, grit, or foreign material that may scratch your tint.  For those who want to take extra precaution, moleskin is recommended.

Caveat Emptor:

Now the catch. Driven Dynamics has not offered this product before due to a few simple reasons. The first reason is significant - moleskin has NOT actually been proven to effectly prevent scratching. There is still a great divide on the subject and a quick “Google” will reveal as such. There are those that are certain it works, and others who report the same occasional scratches. For me, personally, I leave the call up to the customer. The second reason centers on related problems with the application itself. There are various reports of regular occurance dealing with glue streaking and water retention. The glue streaking may be a symptom of improper installation. But in summary, customers have reported that occasionally on the hotter summer days, they may find glue on their window (from the sticky back of the felt). Others have reported that in rainy weather the felt sometimes retain water which at times may take days to dry. This again results in water on the inner side of the window.

Note: Although I’m documenting these problems, I consider them to be extremely minor. And again, I want to present all the information I’ve found (good and bad) so that a more educated decision can be made for the product.

Installation:

Now, in an interesting turn of events, I recently had another customer contact me about mole skin installation. I detailed for him the above and went over my concerns with installation, longevity, & quality of a product we had not fully tested. In the end, I lucked out and he agreed to help evaluate it for us in long term. This is how I came to include below pictures of the mole skin installation on my car — which is one of the models known for scratching. 

Before taking on the task of installation on our customer’s car, the team spent considerable time with the application on my car to familiarize themsleves with the product.  Though, we can’t provide a warranty at this point in time on the moleskin application itself, for those customers unwilling to pull apart their door panels themselves, we can now offer thorough, by the book, professional installation on the product.  Our lifetime window tint warranty remains unchanged.

The Outlook: 

With one of our very own cars equipped with moleskin, we’ll be soon able to provide a clear cut yay or nay recommendation for our customers.  In the interim though, we now have hands on experience with the product and will glady offer installation to those customers in need.

As a double precaution don’t forget to keep those seals clean!

More updates in the weeks to come!
Collin

Guys,

We just got back from the DC Auto Show - here’re a few pics of our favs.

Enjoy!
Collin

I would like to first wish everyone, even the people that vandalized my mother-in-law’s car, a very Merry Christmas.  That’s right, two days before Christmas, some would be thieves attempted to break into her Mercedes SLK that I borrowed for the week.  From what the policemen tells me, it seems that some individual(s) possibly attempted to steal the car or something in the car.  The visible damage left by a crowbar on the driver’s side suggests that the would be thief became frustrated when they could not forcefully pry the door open.  The person(s) made multiple attempts to gain entry until they ultimately resorted to smashing the window with a wooden post.  Needless to say, there was glass everywhere, so much in fact that the criminals could not climb into the vehicle and were forced to leave.

As a DC resident, I make it a point never to leave personal or valuable objects inside a parked vehicle.  That being said, there was absolutely nothing of value inside the car except for maybe an airbag that could be stolen and sold for $500.  Even though the automotive window tint laws are extremely strict in DC, 70% VLT in the front windows and 50% in the rear, I now see the value in having to retint my car every two years.  As many DC residents know, vehicles must pass a rigorous inspection every 2 years.  Many fail to pass inspection due to illegal tint.  I now see the value in having to retint my vehicle every year.  If I had tinted my mother-in-laws car, the thieves would not have been able to easily see inside the car nor would they have the ability to break the window with ease as window film reinforces the glass and prevents shattering.  Oh well, live learn.  Better luck next year.

Please visit our shop so this doesn’t happen to you.

Happy Holidays,

Nakapan

P.S. I’ll post some pictures up soon

Although Driven Dynamics has only been around for a short while, we have already received rave reviews about our facility and our service.  I wanted to share a testimonal written by one our many satisfied clients. 

On behalf of the Driven Dynamics Team, we really appreciate the time Chris took to give us feed back about our company. 

Dear Driven Dynamics,

I am writing to thank you guys for doing a fantastic job with the window tinting on my 2005 Acura TSX on December 8, 2007. I was extremely satisfied with the quality of the tint, and more so the quality of the service. At every step of the way, I felt I was given knowledgeable information and professional advice in making the right decision in the tinting process. As a owner of 4 tinted vehicles, I have to say this experience has been the most enjoyable of all, compared to my other experiences. The facility was clean, and the duration of the wait was more than reasonable. Special thanks to my tinter that day (Nakapan’s cousin). I have spread the word about my tint experience on tsxclub.com and on clubrsx.com forums, as well as to many of my friends who are interesting in tinting. Hopefully they will see you guys soon. Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Chris Hsu

Hello Everyone,

 I wanted to quickly thank Collin, one of our Managing Partners, for getting our blog up and running in such a short time.  We now have a place to post personalized messages and information about everything Driven Dynamics.

We look forward to sharing our thoughts and experiences online.

Nakapan

Welcome to the Driven Dynamics blog spot!

Collin