Tint World Automotive Styling Centers recently completed one of the more unconventional installations in the brand’s history: applying protective window film to Frying Pan Shoals Tower, a decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard light station located 34 miles off the North Carolina coast and accessible only by helicopter or boat, according to a press release. The project marks a unique collaboration between Tint World and XPEL, maker of protective films and coatings.
Frying Pan Shoals Tower operates as a nonprofit eco-tourism destination, and the off-grid structure is exposed to constant, unfiltered Atlantic sun. Led by Tint World’s Wilmington franchise owner Robert Harman, the Tint World crew installed XPEL Dark Neutral 15% Window Film throughout the tower’s windows over several days, transporting equipment by helicopter and working around ocean weather conditions two stories above open water.
“If we can tint this, we can tint anything,” has become something of an unofficial motto for the team since returning from the project.
Why an Offshore Tower Needed Window Film
Frying Pan Shoals Tower runs entirely off-grid, relying on battery and generator power for everything from lighting to climate control. With no shade, no landscaping and near-constant sun exposure over open water, solar heat gain had become a constant drain on the structure’s limited power supply. The newly installed window film blocks a significant amount of solar heat before it enters the building, which helps the tower’s HVAC system work less to keep the space livable, and in turn helps conserve battery and generator power. For a facility that cannot simply plug into the grid, that efficiency gain matters, the release noted.
“When consumers or, in this case, a nonprofit team, are trying to get more life and more value out of a structure they already have, window film is one of the most overlooked tools available,” said Charles Bonfiglio, founder and CEO of Tint World. “This project is an intense example, but the principle is the same one we bring to every vehicle and building we work on: protect what you already have and make it perform better.”
“Most people think of window tinting as something you do to a car in an afternoon,” said Harman. “This job took days, a helicopter, and a lot of planning. But it is the same skill set and the same film technology, just applied somewhere nobody expects it.”
From Offshore Tower to Everyday Applications
While Frying Pan Shoals Tower is a notable case, the underlying benefits translate directly to homes, vehicles, boats and businesses dealing with everyday sun exposure, company officials said.
“Extreme environments are the best proof point for any film we make, and it doesn’t get much more extreme than an offshore tower with no shade for miles,” said Lindsay Parks, XPEL’s North American sales manager – architectural. “Our Dark Neutral 15% window film is built to hold up under constant, direct sun while still rejecting a significant amount of heat, which is exactly what a remote, off-grid structure like Frying Pan Shoals Tower needs. Partnerships with networks like Tint World give us a front-row seat to the innovative ways customers are using our films every day.”