zzpaanzz

Hi Larry, The smell is caused by a coating the Japan factory uses to protect the vehicle from the sea during transport. It is absolutely normal and should dissipate upon continued driving (week or so).

This is not normal, I too have a similar problem, but on a 2007 Honda Civic coupe. The halo effect is caused by tint material and rear defroster line contact. From reading other threads (do a search), ceramic tint may be a better alternative. I haven't tinted my ES350 due to the potential 'halo' affect. Once tint has been installed on the rear windshield, you risk damaging the defroster lines upon removal of the original tint. My advice is to do your homework, ask around, and maybe view previous tine work done by installers. I've had my Civic tinted for almost one year now and the 'halo' affect has not gone away, so if a tint installer is giving you that line - bull crap. Good luck...

Hi Larry, The 3M film will not fit across the entire hood. I recently had the 3M film put on my ES350 (Smokey Granite Mica) and the line is not noticeable due to the dark exterior color. The line is only noticeable upon close detailed inspection. Depending on your car's color you may want to re-consider another paint chip resistant film that can cover the entire hood if your really sensitive about the line across the hood. My installer showed me his white Acura NSX and the line was somewhat noticeable. I went with 3M film due to reliability and quality reasons, plus 5yr warranty. To date 3M has had no warranty claims from any disappointed customer. I recently washed my vehicle after 6hr road trip from NorCal to SoCal and the film looks the same as the day it was installed (amazing stuff). I paid $650 (partial hood, front bumper, fender flares) - you may be able to negotiate down, since only a quarter of the hood can be covered with the 3M film. Good luck..!