Window Tints

[Duncan]

Been thinking about it for a while now, and decided that I am going to get my windows tinted. Mainly because if I have to carry loads of camera gear and have any of the back seats down, people can see straight in rear window (if I've needed to remove the load cover) and in through the side windows.

I wanted to have the heaviest tints on the rear windows and rear screen but didn't want to add anything on the front (for the potential legal reasons). My worry with that was that the car would look very odd with heavy rear tints and nothing extra on the front. I've seen vehicles like an XC90 with heavy rear tints and standard front and I think it made the thing look like a pimp mobile!!

After a Google search I came across a company not that far from me who are a specialist glass tinting company - it's all they do. They do cars and commercial/residential buildings - http://www.solar-screen.co.uk

After a long chat with one of the guys there I came away feeling satisfied that they would be good to use. They have recently done a Signum which was encouraging as the rear screen glass is quite a severe curve - and therefore trickier to apply the film to.
We talked about levels of tints etc and this is what I envisage having done.....

• All tints will be the Sun-Gard window film. This is non-metallic film. Doesn't last as long as metallic film but doesn't give that slight mirrored finish from the outside (which I really don't like). This film will easily last as long as I will have the car, and is neutrally coloured so it will just darken but not introduce any colour tints.
• They will remove the glass in all the doors, clean them and apply the film. The rear screen thay will obviously do in-situ.
• The tint levels proposed are...... front - 50%, rears - 20% and rear screen - 5%
  These are levels of transmission btw. My fronts will fall below the legal limit (50% tranmission instead of 70%) but the guy felt that I wouldn't have to worry too much about it here. Apparantly Sussex Police don't even have light meters yet. But that's the risk that I'll take, especially if I'm travelling around the country. The fronts would only have a 20% darkening so will not be instantly obvious.
• All this for £260+VAT (£305) and I'll claimback the VAT anyway, as it will be classed as a security enhancement to protect my equipment (from being seen in the first place and making the window much harder to be broken through as the film will be on it).

To me that sounded a good price for what they are doing. I'll feel happier with the extra security, not to mention the fact that I think the car will look the dog's dangly bits when fully tinted - epecially after adding the Vec C SRi headlights!!!

Have I missed any important issues? Any comments/opinions?

D

[AJA]

D

I've had mine done as you know mate. I got 50% on the fronts and 30% on all the rear. The 30% is dark enough for people to not see in unless they really push up against the glass. The old bill have actually stopped me and put the light meter on my front windows and I just passed, but it was a very sunny day. They weren't too pleased and explained to me that if it was a dull day it would of failed. I'll take the risk I said (politely)

My only advice is to watch the dot matrix for the rear demister on the rear screen. The tints do not completely obscure these. So if you're having 5% on the rear the matrix will really show up. I'll take a picture of mine in a minute to show you. Ask your fitters what they do with the dot matrix?

Alex

[AJA]

Here yer go mate -

[Duncan]

The old bill have actually stopped me and put the light meter on my front windows and I just passed, but it was a very sunny day. They weren't too pleased and explained to me that if it was a dull day it would of failed. I'll take the risk I said (politely)

That's the bit I don't understand. Surely 70% transmission is 70% transmission of the available light? i.e. they have to measure the ambient light, then the amount of that light that is transmitted through the window. How else can they quote a % transmission rate? % of what if it isn't of the available light? I think the guy didn't have a clue by the sounds of it?

My only advice is to watch the dot matrix for the rear demister on the rear screen. The tints do not completely obscure these. So if you're having 5% on the rear the matrix will really show up. I'll take a picture of mine in a minute to show you. Ask your fitters what they do with the dot matrix?

He mentioned that, without me asking (as I wasn't aware), that you could get a bit of light showing through.He gave it a terminology that I can't remember. A pic would be really cool mate as I couldn't totally visualise what he was describing.

Cheers

D

[Duncan]

Ah cheers Alex - you were quick!!! Just about to go and look at my car to see how it may affect me......

Thanks

D

[AJA]

That's the bit I don't understand. Surely 70% transmission is 70% transmission of the available light? i.e. they have to measure the ambient light, then the amount of that light that is transmitted through the window. How else can they quote a % transmission rate? % of what if it isn't of the available light? I think the guy didn't have a clue by the sounds of it?
D

I don't think he measured the ambient light first (or at least I didn't see him). Sounds like he didn't have a clue then. There was two of them and they were in a T5 so defo were traffic. Guess I just got lucky.

I've had loads of police pull alongside at traffic lights put only been pulled over once. They can see me through the front windows and see that I'm not a young lad anyway.

[Duncan]

Just had a look at mine. From the inside of the rear screen, there is still a visible black 'border' between the dots and the edge of the window. I'm assuming that they can therefore overlap the film onto the border so that I get no bits of light coming through?

Yours, I assume, is different? Do your dots go right to the edge of the window when you look from the inside?

Here's a pic to show what I mean on mine...

[lost-sole]

I have got mine booked in £180 told him that i don't want to look like gangster but don't want it too light either so i'll see what the guy comes up with, he seemed to know his stuff. My only reservations on having tinting done is the removal of windows, the door trims never go back the same and you can end up with annoying creaks and rattles

[Inspektor]

I found this site a while back, seems very cheap.
http://www.tintexpress.co.uk/store/x10093.html

[Duncan]

I found this site a while back, seems very cheap.
http://www.tintexpress.co.uk/store/x10093.html

Thanks Inspektor, but I'm not even going to consider doing it myself. I've heard of so many people who've had a go at it themselves, and end up getting it done professionally because they made a balls of it - bubbles gaps etc. They do look cheap, very cheap, but I don't think pre-cut is a great idea.

I was after some opinions on what I had planned to have done by that particular company.

D