Florida Dealer Finds a Unique Way for Film to Lend a Hand
March 27, 2009

Though various types of window film have their specific purposes, every once in a while window film dealers and installers will discover a way this product can help a situation that doesn't necessarily appear on the spec sheet. This was the case for Doug Williamson, president and owner of Sun Tint LLC in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when he recently discovered a role for film in a very special project.

Mike and Harriet Minutillo, the husband and wife owners of Master Auto Body in Boynton Beach, Fla., say they were deeply affected by the events surrounding September 11, 2001. Since the tragedy, the two say they always wanted to do something to commemorate the fallen victims and heroes.

"We always felt we could do something, but really didn't quite know what," Mike says. Then one day Mike was traveling on I-95, when he saw a semi trailer with all of the names of the fallen printed on it against a mural backdrop of New York. It hit him: "We have all these windows at our shop and a friend in the sign business," Mike says, "so we got busy planning and designing our own memorial."

The Minutillo's began planning their own commemorative window graphic and hired a local sign company to produce vinyl graphics for the front windows of their business. The project included images of the American flag and Twin Towers and required approximately 300 hours of cutting, weeding and taping before it could be applied to 12- four foot by eight foot glass panels. In the end, the couple was pleased with their project, but an issue remained that interfered with its overall effect. The rooms immediately behind this graphic were clearly visible through the glass, diminishing its appearance, so the two decided they needed something to darken the glass and make the letters and graphics stand out. This is where Williamson enters the picture. The 20 year tinting veteran came out to evaluate the situation, then said he needed to sleep on it, but the very next day he came back with a solution. Williamson installed a dark window film on all of the windows and added a reflective blue film behind the stars in each flag section.

The project was complete.

"I took one look at it and knew I had to do something to help out," Williamson says. "I had some blue reflective tint from a restaurant that we did several years ago, but I needed just a few more feet. The folks at Performance Films in Boynton found it and let me buy just enough to finish the project. It really was an honor to participate."