On my last car, I tinted the windows myself and it came out so-so. I did the driver's side last figuring I would have learned some and it came out the worst.

So on my current car, I am looking at a shop to tint them. I don't want a really dark tint just looking to stop UV light and heat since the car is not garage kept I want to protect the leather and interior.

The shop I emailed for pricing suggested if I was going with ceramic tint I also do the windshield. At first, I was against this but wondering if it would be good for protection from UV and ultraviolet light damage. My biggest concern is clarity. I'm big on having a clean and clear windshield. Any experience in how this looks after a few years?

Also was going to just get the front windows done as the back and hatch are factory tinting but it's just dyed tint from what I understand. Thinking of having a light tint put over the backs to reduce UV light.

Thoughts from those that have had windows tinting.

The shop I'm talking to uses XPel tint

Recommendation I'd gotten when looking for same criteria was Super Optik ceramic. I never installed, but the installs I looked at were great, and you could pick level of darkness somewhat independent of UV blockage.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

Recommendation I'd gotten when looking for same criteria was Super Optik ceramic.

Did you mean "Huper Optik?"

Definitely go for the ceramic. We moved from PA to FL, and one of the first things we did was get the ceramic tint on the windows. You can even get the almost zero tinting for the front window (required in many states) and still get the UV and heat protection.

Yes. Absolutely without a doubt, if you can justify the expense.

And, make sure it's legal in your State to tint the windshield.

+1 on ceramic. Rather than shopping for specific film, find recommendations for a good local shop and go with what they recommend.

Windshield tint is not allowed in most states (mine included) but I put Llumar Air 80 on the very large windshield of my electric car (Bolt). I like it. It knocks down some of the heat from the sun and helps the AC keep up on a really hot days. It's also not so dark that I don't have any trouble at night.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
And, make sure it's legal in your State to tint the windshield.

In basically all states it isn't legal to darken the windshield, other than potentially a "brow" strip at the very top of the windshield. But nowadays there are clear ceramic films that can be applied that block some of the UV and heat without darkening or impeding the view.

We have Huper Optik on our vehicles. It is very light so it doesn't draw the attention of the officers. And it seems to block an awful lot of heat when we travel through Arizona. It's expensive, but well worth the cost. It's a ceramic tint.
Lineman

Using ceramic for years with no issue.

My windshields are tinted at 70%. Helps with heat.

Dog mobile:


With the sides and rear at 20%, it’s too dark. Will only do 35% sides and rear from now on. Windshields will always get 70%.




For the family mobile, the front side windows were done at 32% to match the factory rear windows and of course the front windshield was done at 70%

On my new car, it came with ~25ish factory tint on the rear windows and back, and I just had the two front windows matched, with no tint on the windshield. I don't find that to be too dark, even at night.

I might go back and have the windshield done in clear ceramic at some point, but it's doing fine as-is.

My agency ride has 20ish on all the sides and back, and 70ish on the windshield, and while it's a little darker inside than my personal, it doesn't seem to be any noticeably cooler after sitting out in the sun. So I dunno if the windshield is worth it.

I could never be a cop. Ain't no way I'd walk up on a vehicle with tinted windows. IMO, they shouldn't be legal (at least not ones you can't see through).

Looks like I will not do the windshield as the lightest is 70% and even that's not legal on a windshield here. If they had something basically clear I might. I know 70% is like nothing but I want to stay legal.

I'm not looking to go dark. Front windows 50% I think which from my experience is nothing. I'm mostly looking to block harmful light and maybe keep the car cooler.

Here in Maryland, the front has to be at least 35% light transmitted. SUV can have anything on the back. My current back windows have a factory tint but it just dyed glass and doesn't stop any harmful light so I may add something.

My main question was has anyone had any issues with the windshield being tinted but so far it doesn't seem to be an issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I could never be a cop. Ain't no way I'd walk up on a vehicle with tinted windows. IMO, they shouldn't be legal (at least not ones you can't see through).

My grandmother lived in FL. In her 90's she was rocking dark tint. It made a difference in the FL summer sun. With today's ceramic tints, you can now get better results with even lighter tints.

Just went with some Formula One Stratos 30% all around on a new hybrid Accord. Very nice, top quality tint. It actually wasn't that much more pricey than other ceramics so I went for it. Here in FL, I'll take all the help I can get. Much darker than 30% messes with my old eyes at night. I'm thinking about adding the 70% to the windshield but I wear polarized sunglasses which allegedly don't work well with the tint.

3m CR90 claims 90% visible light transmission.

Yes Huper. Auto correct got me. Was already a fight with second word!

We did the ceramic at the house. It makes a difference with the heat that transfer through the windows.

I learned that factory "tinting" is often a dye, not truly reflective of heat or UV. Applying tint over factory "tinting" makes a difference, according to my sister in FL. At a roadcheck, the local state police will check your percent transmission so choose appropriately.

Yes, go ceramic. Do the windshield too. I did it on my last performance car. They make clear (no tint) windshield film which blocks UV/heat. The only extra precaution is you’ll have to use sticker shield to mount any state required stickers onto the windshield. You do not want to attach them directly to that clear film. Sticker Shield is cheap on Amazon. I use this on all my vehicles as it makes the TX required sticker easy to remove and install.