FAQ

Good film lasts for years. We warranty auto film for life on installs we did. Cheap dyed film can fade, bubble, or turn purple in a few Texas summers. Ammonia or a razor on the inside shortens the life of any film.

Leave them up for the time we give you at pickup. That is often a few days. The film is still drying. Don't pick at the edge. A light haze and small water spots are normal and clear up on their own.

In Austin, yes, if the vehicle sits in the sun. Ceramic rejects more IR (infrared) than carbon or metalized film, so the cabin stays cooler. All three of our films block up to 99% of UV (ultraviolet) and do not fade. Ceramic is the one we put on a daily driver. Darkness is optional. Heat is the point.

Regular usually means dyed film. Dye makes the glass look dark and does little about heat, and the dye can turn purple. Ceramic uses a ceramic layer to reject heat without that dye. Metalized uses a thin metal layer. Carbon uses carbon. We don't install cheap dyed film.

Front side windows must let at least 25% of the light through, film and glass together, and they can't be more than 25% reflective. A 35% film on clear front door glass that already passes about 70% of the light lands near that 25% line. Rear side glass and the back window can be darker if the vehicle has an outside mirror on each side. Dark film does not go on the windshield. Texas allows a non-reflective strip above the AS-1 line, or the top five inches if there is no AS-1 line. A clear ceramic film that does not block visible light can cover the whole windshield, and that is the one we install. A signed note from a physician or optometrist can be a defense for darker side glass. It is not a free pass, and mirror film is not legal.

If we installed it, call us. Don't peel it. A small water bubble in the first weeks is the film drying. A bubble that grows, an edge that lifts, or film that cracks is a warranty look. Lifetime on auto and home. Ten years on commercial. That is on film we installed.

Ceramic has no metal layer, so it does not block a phone, GPS, or a toll tag. Metalized film has metal in it and can weaken a signal in some vehicles. Toll tags usually still read. If one is fussy, it can sit on clear glass. We spec ceramic when the signal matters.

Most vehicles are a few hours. Old film that has to come off adds time. You don't have to sit in the lobby the whole time. We give you a time once we know the vehicle and whether it already has film.

The dye in cheap dyed film breaks down in the sun. That purple color is the dye failing. It is not what happens to every film. The ceramic, carbon, and metalized film we install is non-fading. If our film changes color, call the shop.

Front doors get a 35% film so the meter can land near the Texas 25% line on clear glass. The back can be darker. 20% is a common middle shade. 5% is the dark privacy look, and it is harder to see out of at night. We meter the glass first. Factory privacy glass in the back is already dark, so the same film looks darker there than it does on a clear front door.

We price the panes, the film, and how hard they are to reach. A slider is not the same job as a west wall of glass. Around the trade, professional home film often falls around $8 to $15 a square foot installed. That is a range, not our menu. Tell us how many panes and which way they face, or call 512-323-5325.

We warranty home film for life on installs we did. The film is made to stay for many years. Ammonia, a razor, or a scrub pad on the inside is what shortens it.

Yes. House film rejects IR (infrared) before it heats the room. West and south glass is where you feel it. It is not an air conditioner, and it is not blackout. You still see the yard.

Yes, when the film is approved for that glass. Low-E already reflects heat. The wrong film can trap heat in the pane and stress the seal. We don't put auto film on a house, and we don't put a dark film on glass that can't take the heat.

With the film we use on most houses, yes. It is light enough to keep the view. A very dark privacy film, the kind people ask for on a bath or a street-facing bedroom, is harder to see out of after dark. We match the shade to the room.

Texas vehicle tint law does not apply to a house. An HOA or a historic district can still have a rule about how dark the street side looks. Tell us if you have one and we will look at the front before we film it.

A few rooms can be a few hours. A whole house can be a day. We tell you after we know the pane count and whether anyone has to work off a ladder.

A clean install on glass the film is rated for does not etch or crack the pane. Some window makers say aftermarket film can affect their seal warranty. If the windows are new, bring that up before we start. We use film made for homes: Hüper Optik, Johnson Window Film, and 3M.

Lighter film on a view you want to keep, and on low-E glass that can't take a lot of heat. Darker film where you want privacy, like a bath or a bedroom on the street. West and south glass is the heat problem. North glass is usually a glare or fade problem, not a cooling problem.

Yes. Quality home film blocks up to 99% of UV (ultraviolet). That slows fading of floors, fabric, and art. Visible light still fades things over the years. Film is not a blackout curtain.

We quote by the square foot and the film. In the trade, professional commercial film often runs about $8 to $20 a square foot installed. Security film and glass that is hard to reach cost more. That range is not our menu. Send the address and roughly how much glass, or call 512-323-5325.

On glass that faces the sun, usually yes. You cut glare, heat, and fade for a lot less than new windows, and the film can come off later. A north wall with no glare is a weaker energy case. We will say so.

We warranty commercial film for ten years. Good building film is made to last through that, and often longer, if it is cleaned with soap and water instead of ammonia or a razor.

On west and south glass, many buildings see the film pay for itself in a few years from lower cooling, not in a month. A shaded elevation may never pay back on energy. It can still be worth it for glare. We don't promise a payback date.

It can lower the cooling load on the glass it covers. It does not cut the whole electric bill by a fixed percent. The sun-facing panes are the ones that move the number. Ceramic building film takes IR (infrared) off the air conditioner.

Ceramic and spectrally selective film has little or no metal, so phones and Wi-Fi stay normal. A heavy metal film can weaken a cell signal near that wall. If the building already has a weak signal, we spec a film that doesn't add to it.

Sometimes. Utility rebates come and go, and the federal energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction, Section 179D, only applies when the project meets an energy target and a qualified person certifies it. It is not automatic, the dollar amounts change, and we don't file the taxes. Ask your tax person before you count on a deduction. We can give them the film performance.

Usually, yes. We work from the inside, one section at a time, during the day or after you close. A normal office does not need a scaffold or a shutdown. We plan around the counter and the desks.

Yes, with film rated for that glass. Low-E already reflects heat. The wrong roll can stress the seal. We check the glass before anything goes on it. This is building film, not the roll we put on a vehicle.

Film costs a fraction of new glass and goes on in days. It does not fix a fogged seal, a rotten frame, or a pane that is already broken. If the window is sound and the problem is heat or glare, price the film first. If the unit has failed, replace it.

It depends on the vehicle and whether you want a simple alarm, remote start, or the 2-way pager. A new push-button vehicle needs a data interface, so it is not the same job as an older truck with a key. Call 512-323-5325 with the year, make, and model.

In Austin, break-ins cluster at trailheads, parks, and shopping centers. An alarm does not make a vehicle impossible to steal. It makes a smash-and-grab louder and slower. Remote start is the comfort half of the same visit, so the A/C is already working in August.

A siren, a shock sensor, and a starter interrupt stop some thieves and slow others. A determined person with time can still get in. The point is to not be the easy vehicle in the row.

An alarm shouts and can keep the vehicle from starting. A GPS tracker shows where the vehicle is on a phone. Link R is the app side on our Excalibur systems. The AL-1880-3D and the AL-1680 are both Link R ready, so you can add location without giving up the alarm.

A hidden switch that opens the start circuit. The key or the fob does nothing until that switch is on. It does not depend on a siren someone can ignore. We hide it where you can reach it and a thief is less likely to look first.

Sometimes, on the comprehensive theft portion, if the insurer still discounts an approved device. A lot of companies only count a factory immobilizer, or they don't discount at all. Ask your agent and give them the system name. We don't promise a discount.

A one-way remote sends a command and you hope the vehicle got it. A two-way remote confirms it. The Excalibur AL-1880-3D is the LCD 2-way: lock, alarm, and remote start show on the remote. The AL-1680 is the 1-way 4-button system, without the screen.

Most of them. A late-model vehicle with a security gateway needs the right T-harness and firmware. A few are a poor fit. We look the vehicle up before we tell you yes.

Often half a day. Remote start on a vehicle with a complicated security system can take longer. We tell you when we see it.

Excalibur. The AL-1880-3D is the LCD 2-way with a pager remote, shock, tilt, and remote start. The AL-1680 is the 1-way 4-button system. Both are alarm-equipped and Link R ready.

The radio, the speakers, and the amp are different jobs. A head unit with a dash kit is one visit. Door speakers, a sub, and an amp are a bigger one. Send the vehicle and what you want to hear, or call 512-323-5325.

You are paying for the radio, the kit that fits the dash, and the interface that keeps the steering-wheel buttons and the factory data. We quote that as a package. It is not a labor-only number, and it is not the same on every dash.

No. It does not void the whole warranty. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the dealer has to show the stereo caused the problem they won't fix. We use Maestro, Metra, and PAC so the dash still talks to the vehicle. We don't cut into airbags.

Yes. If the factory screen runs the vehicle, we leave it and add speakers, an amp, or a sub behind it. An integration interface takes the signal without ripping the radio out.

Yes, unless the box is a powered sub with its own amp. A factory radio does not have the power to run a real sub. The amp is part of the job, not an extra we talk you into.

Single-DIN is the short slot, about two inches tall. Double-DIN is about twice that, the size of a lot of touchscreen radios from the 2010s. Most new vehicles have neither. They have a factory screen, and we use a kit for that dash instead of forcing a DIN radio in.

Yes, on vehicles the interface supports. Maestro, Metra, and PAC are how we keep the buttons. We check that before we order the radio.

On an older vehicle with a plain slot, people do. On a vehicle from the last decade, the radio is tied to cameras, chimes, and warning lights. A wrong wire is a harder problem than the install. We do the data side in the bay.

A head unit is often a couple of hours. Speakers and a sub can take half a day to a day. A Harley or a boat is its own clock. We say which when we see it.

Alpine, MTX, Memphis, Sony, JVC, and JBL. Maestro, Metra, and PAC for the dash kit and the data.

Two-year ceramic coating starts at $1,100. Five-year starts at $1,500. Ten-year starts at $1,750. The number moves with the size of the vehicle, the condition of the paint, and how much correction it needs. Call or ask if you want add-ons priced.

For the term you bought: two, five, or ten years. The coating has to be registered within thirty days, and it needs an annual inspection to keep the warranty valid. We register it and walk you through the inspections at pickup.

If you want the paint to stay glossy and easier to wash, yes. It beads water and stands up to UV (ultraviolet), bird droppings, and chemicals better than wax. It is not a cover for neglected paint, and it does not stop a rock.

It helps with light wash marks. It does not stop a rock chip, a key, or a door ding. Those go through clear coat. Ceramic is a bonded layer on the paint, not a film you can see.

Not by itself. A factory paint warranty covers defects in the paint. The maker has to show the coating caused the problem before they can deny that claim. We don't sand through the clear coat. If the paint already has a defect, tell us before we correct it.

Wax sits on the paint and lasts weeks. Ceramic bonds to the clear coat and lasts for the term of the package, with harder water beading and less work at the wash. Wax is a top-up. Ceramic is the job.

If the paint has swirls, yes. The coating locks in the finish underneath it. Every package here includes a wash, chemical decontamination, iron remover, clay, and polish. The ten-year package adds multi-stage correction. Straight paint does not need correction we can skip.

You can buy a bottle. The result depends on the decontamination and the polish before it, and on not leaving high spots. A consumer coating usually has no registered warranty. Ours is installed here, registered within thirty days, and inspected once a year.

Skipping registration, skipping the annual inspection, washing with a brush or harsh chemicals, or polishing the coating off. The maker's maintenance rules are part of the warranty. We go through them when you pick the vehicle up.

A lot of dealer packages are a spray sealant, or a thin coating, sold with the car and little or no correction. The paint still has the swirls it came in with. Here the paint is washed, decontaminated, clayed, and polished before the coating goes on, and the warranty is registered. Two, five, or ten years, starting at the prices above.

We price it by the vehicle and how much you want lit: footwells, doors, the dash, fiber or LED, plus any exterior lights. A small interior job is not the same ticket as a full cabin and rock lights. Call 512-323-5325 with the vehicle.

An LED strip has the diodes in the line. It gets bright, it can change color, and a cheap strip shows dots. Fiber uses one light source and a cable that glows in an even line, closer to a factory ambient light, with the electronics in one spot. We use LEDs when you want brightness, including doors, rock lights, and the outside. Fiber is the cleaner line in the cabin.

It does not void the whole warranty. The dealer can deny a claim if a wire we touched caused that failure. We tie lights to a lighting circuit. We don't splice airbags or the vehicle's data lines to run a strip.

Texas Transportation Code section 547.305 bars a red light visible from the front of a normal vehicle, and it bars a red, white, or blue flashing or alternating beacon unless that vehicle is allowed to have one. Steady light aimed at the ground is commonly driven in Texas. Flashing lights, and red or blue that reads like police lights, are the problem. We will not install a setup that copies an emergency vehicle. A city rule can be tighter than the state code. If the lights are for the street, say so and we will keep the color and the flash inside those lines.

The statute is about lamps other drivers can see. Color inside the cabin is generally fine. Don't run it so bright that it washes out the glass at night. Don't run a flashing red and blue show that looks like emergency lights from outside the vehicle.

Footwells and a few doors are often a few hours. A full interior, a bike, or exterior lights can be a day. We tell you when we see the vehicle.

A lot of kits use a phone app or a small remote. Not every kit does. If you want the phone, tell us and we order that controller instead of a switch-only setup.

They use little power. They kill a battery if they are tied to constant power and left on overnight. We wire them to switched power, or to the door, so they go off when the vehicle is parked.

A decent automotive LED is rated for tens of thousands of hours, which is years of normal use. Heat, water, and a cheap driver kill them early. We don't install a stick-on kit from a parts aisle.

We match the kit to the vehicle and name the brand on the quote. Lighting is not a single house brand the way Excalibur is for alarms. If you have a brand you want, say so when you call.

An ignition interlock is the breathalyzer installed in your vehicle. It is a breath-alcohol device wired so the engine starts only after a passed test. The handset stays with the vehicle. It is not a handheld unit you take home. These are usually required by a court or a state program.

A breathalyzer is the handheld device used at a traffic stop. An ignition interlock is the unit mounted in the vehicle. People search for both names. The device we service is the car-mounted interlock.

You lease the device from LifeSafer or RoadGuard. That fee is with them, not with this shop. LifeSafer lists a Texas lease from under $3 a day. RoadGuard is about $60 to $100 a month in Texas. Installation on their pages is typically $50 to $150. The exact quote is theirs.

Mother's is your service department. We install the unit, calibrate it when it goes in, recalibrate it on later visits, and remove it when the manufacturer authorizes removal. We do not provide the device, and we do not enroll you in the program.

Setup is on the LifeSafer or RoadGuard website. Select Mother's Window Tint Austin, 6025 N Interstate Hwy 35, as your service provider. The work comes here because you select us.

No. We do not schedule the appointment. The manufacturer assigns the service. You choose this shop on their website, and the vehicle comes here for the work they send.

Bring the vehicle the device is for, a driver's license, the confirmation or work order from LifeSafer or RoadGuard, and any account or reference number they sent for the visit.

Calibration is done when the interlock is installed. Recalibration is the later service visit. It keeps the sensor accurate and sends the saved tests to the manufacturer. It is not a new install, and it is not the lease.

The manufacturer sets the date. RoadGuard describes the visit as every 30 to 60 days, and says it is usually about 20 minutes. The handset warns before the date. We do the work when they send the vehicle here.

If the vehicle is not brought in by the due date, the handset starts a countdown. After that it locks out and the engine will not start until the unit is serviced. A missed visit is also reported to the manufacturer.