I am a bit frustrated about what exactly window tint is. I would appreciate if someone could answer these questions?

1. Is it a film or completely different windows?
2. How expansive is it?
3. When people are saying “got 30% tint” does it mean that 30% of light is obstructed or passed inside?
4. How dark is dark (I do not wont people to see what is inside the car, but I don’t want the tint be visible from the inside either)

It was probably discussed before but I “used Google” and could not get any reasonable answers.

 

1) It is film.
2)Usually around 225 in the Westchester, NY area
3)the percentage of the tint means how dark the window tint is. The lower the number the darker the tints. SO 5% would be darker than 30%
4)You can get 5% limo tint and that is really dark most people settle any where from 15-35% usually.

 

tint is a film applied over your windows, a good shop will charge you between 150 to 250 bucks depending on the quality of the shop, what options you have done, and how dark you go. the pecentage thing is how much light is able to get through the tint. so when some one says they have 30%, that means that only 30% of light comes through. as far as how dark is dark, that's your call. i mean i have what some people claim as a very dark car because i have 5% all around with 35% covering my winshield. you can't see in but you can see out. also you need to take into consideration the laws about tint in your area. here in Oklahoma the cops are very leaniant about it so i can have it without problems, but from what i hear about in New York is that 35% is the darkest you can go. check out my webpage and you can see some pics of my tint but check around with some guys that live in your area as to who has a good shop and good prices in your area.

 

To answer your questions:

1) Its film
2) It depends on the shop but on average its about $100 or so depending on the quality of the film used.
3) 30% means it allows 30% light in
4) The darkness of tinit you can get depends on the laws in your area. Normally the rear windows can be darker than the fronts but again it depends on the laws in your area.

 

Is it always film? ‘cause I heard (not sure about it though) that some guy changed his windows in order to get the highest quality.


Are OEM tinted windows also covered with film?

 

that costs alot more, like the benz windows are tinted blue but not wid film, i think its coated through out the whole window...prolly dipped it or something...

 

yes it is coated with some sort of liquid and spray on it (don't know excatly how they do it, my brother told me it was spray on), his porche did that and cost arm & leg.

 

OEM tinted windows are baked with particles in the glass to make them dark. it is not a spray on in most cases.
the most important consideration, IMO, is metallized film. you can get dyed film, and metallized. dyed film will fade over time, and look purple after a few years. metallized film will not; it is also a lot harder to scratch or damage.
check out the 'widow tint' section on my web page for some info. it's a work in progress, but the 'tint' part is mostly complete.

 

And just so people know, the tint is applied on the inside of your windows. A lot of people seem to think it is on the outside of their car.

 

what % tint did you get, it looks great. got any pics of what it looks from the inside out of the windows?

 

hey dont forget there are different brands and different w/ different qualities like some cheaper tints have shades of purple in them and some dont, some brands have much better heat rejection also, the lightest % Onyx brand tint rejects over 65% of incomming heat where the darkest of most cheap brands blocks around 35%

 

drkloops has a tendency to start really bad threads

 

heh, i will take more pix today. it's pretty reflective in the sunlight. not completely "silver mirror reflective" but kinda grayish smoke hue.
i got 14% monochromatic tint, but its easiyly comparable to "regular" 35%. about the same darkness from the inside.
i think because it's more reflective, they give it a higher tint rating than regular tint.
i must say, with semi-reflective tints, glare is a b!tch inside the car at night. if you are backiing up in a dark neighborhood, its hard to see the side mirrors because the dasboard shines some light on the tint.

 

WOW!!!! now ive seen everything on here

and there are less embarrassing ways to do research

and no you didnt use google. if you had then you would have gotten 724,000 results -

http://www.google.com/search?q=windo...en-US:official

the VERY FIRST RESULT answers all your questions and then some
The Window Tinting Resource http://www.tintdude.com/

 

get "dark" (10~20% depending on brand) all around and call it a day

 

as long as you realize that you are likely breaking your states tint laws. that way you wont post on here b!tching cause some "d!ckhead cop" pulled you over for your tint being to dark

 

over in chicago they usually charge around 125$-150 for everything..but gotta look around alot to get cheaper

 

I just found out on some Subaru forums that metallic tint messes up radio reception is it true or it’s some ?

 

anyone????

 

Never heard of that problem before...

 

its a problem with subaru's only. it actually enhances radio reception on nissans.

 

You sure, ‘cause I also called a local tint shop and they confirmed that it interferes. (and I really want metallic)

 

I recommend going with carbon tint...this stuff came about a year or so ago...it doesn't fade like some tint will over time. It stays jet black for life. You pay a couple more bucks but well worth it! I paid $240 for my whole ride at 45% (carbon is actually darker than that), that combine with the factory 7% and black leather interior makes it the perfect shade for me. Cops get too happy around here pulling people over with tint that looks like black paint.

 

dude, i am joking. i have had mettalized film on 3 different cars, 2 of them had antennas built into the rear window defroster (camry and max), and its fine. never had any problems.

 

Mine is 15% ceramic (probably similar to the carbon tint), and also cost me $250, plus another $45 or so for the sunroof. I bought it because the tint shop told me that the metallic tint could interfere with the antenna. Either way, I really like the ceramic tint, and it really really blocks heat from the car better than any tint I have ever had (and doesnt' look as dark as regular 15% tint).

 

tint must be more expenisive up here in "da nort" its closer to $300-350. i had a buddy do it for me for $150 and got a great deal. i have a 95 white max, and put 30% tint on it. also, the state tint laws are really gay up here. for cars its 50% on all windows, and NO TINT AT ALL on the front glass...so for up here, my car looks pretty dark, especially compared to the white body. havent had any cop problems with it though.

 

300-350?? what a ripoff...here if you pay any more than 180 for lifetime you're stupid

 

its film and in NY its all illegal. The cops told me 70% is legal and my windows are 72% from the factory. So any film that you put on is now illegal. I guess they wanna actually see me on my cell phone.(thats illegal in New york also-hands free only)

 

Isn't beeping the horn in NY illegal too???? At least for the happy beapers?
Tint prices are definitely driven by location. I imagine in CA there are tons of places to tint your windows. Here, I can think of half a dozen...kinda a nitch market..MN must be even worse

 

I would go as dark as you think you can in your area. I am currently at 13% and have had no problems. Not to mention it looks good