Autobahn, Hüper Optik, and Edge’s Focused Industry Training (FIT) Program continues to expand its reach from coast to coast. Among the window film industry veterans leading the outbound expansion is Danny Munoz in Loma Linda, California.
Chris Collier, Director of Communications at Autobahn, Hüper Optik, and Edge, sat down with Munoz to talk about a window tinting journey that started in 2007—and a passion that’s still going strong.
Collier: What inspired you to enter the industry? What’s your story?
Munoz: A lot of tinters have a similar story. In high school, I had a class called Work Experience, so I needed to find a job. I ended up at a local automotive shop that did high-performance stuff like lifts, exhaust, and off-road builds. I had taken my car in for an alignment. The shop had just opened. I started chatting with the guy doing the alignment and told him I already knew how to use a lot of tools. Turns out they were looking for an apprentice. Long story short, I got hired.
There was a window tinter who rented a space in that shop. He was mainly a detailer but did some tinting too. He was an older gentleman. Whenever the shop was slow, I’d watch him work. My boss was cool and never sent me home when things got quiet. He’d just tell me to stay until 5 p.m., and work on my car.
The tinter never wanted to teach me, but he said I could watch. And I did. One day, he told me he was retiring. He handed me his toolbox and said, ‘I know you want to learn. Here are my tools, and I’ll give you the rest of my tint, too.’
Collier: How long had you been shadowing him before he gave you the tools?
Munoz: Probably about six months. I was still in high school. He retired right as I was graduating. It was during the summer.
Collier: Why did tinting stand out?
Munoz: I worked on cars, but I was a grease monkey — motors, exhaust, and suspension. I liked that tinting was a cleaner form of work. Every job was drastically different, and I liked that. I also noticed his customers were always happy. At first, it wasn’t about the money for me—I didn’t even know you could make good money doing this. I just liked the challenge of learning it.
Collier: What was your reaction when he gave you his tools and said he was done?
Munoz: I was shocked. He had someone working for him too, so I didn’t expect him to give the tools to me. But yeah, I was genuinely shocked. When I got home, I recreated his setup. He gave me the glass from his wall, too. My mom had a big garage, so I hung up the glass, made a table, and basically built a mini tint shop.
Collier: Did you ever reconnect with him?
Munoz: About a year ago, I actually tinted his car. Cesar Velasquez at The Tint Factory in Loma Linda, California, is friends with him. Cesar called me and said, ‘Hey, Terry wants you to tint his car.’
Collier: What was that like—tinting the car of someone who helped start your career?
Munoz: It was definitely a little nerve-wracking, but I did a really clean job. He didn’t drop the car off directly to me, but he had heard about everything I was doing. He saw me on the cover of Window Film magazine—the issue you worked on—which was a cool moment.
Collier: And where did you go from there?
Munoz: I started tinting out of my garage, but I knew I needed professional training. So I got a job with Cesar at The Tint Factory in Loma Linda. That was around ’08 or ’09. He took me in, watched me tint, and told me, ‘You got it, but you’re missing some things.’ Once he taught me those little things, I was a professional overnight.
Collier: What was your reaction when Tony Kiger reached out about joining the outbound training program for FIT? Do you have any goals as a new trainer?
Munoz: I was excited. I’ve always been open to sharing what I know. Even if you’re not officially training someone, they pick up stuff from you. I think it’d be awesome to train someone who makes it to the finals in a competition like The International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off (WFCT). If someone I trained won? That’d be a dream.
Collier: What’s your training philosophy?
Munoz: Patience and simplicity. A simple system really helps people save time. I think we’ll mostly get intermediate-level students. Basic training is great, but I’d love to also do competition-style training—simulate WFCT, share little techniques that give you extra points. What really separates installers are the small details. It’s about increasing efficiency across the board.
Hands-On Training with Danny Munoz (June 16–18)
Join Danny Munoz this June 16–18 at The Tint Factory in Loma Linda, California, for a three-day Automotive Window Film Training course. Open to all industry professionals, this hands-on training is designed to sharpen your skills and elevate your business in the competitive world of tinting.