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advice on buying window tint

G

glsaved

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 20, 2010
Messages
229
Location
Indy, IN
Sorry for putting this here, the aestetic forum looks all but dead.
Anyways, so I found that Indiana law allows up to 30% window tint

I have not done this on a car before, wanting to do my contour. DIY job.

What advice would one have as to what I should spend, brand to buy, etc...
I want something that will look good for maybe a year or two, I don't expect this car to last several years anyways.

Is there really any difference between tint you would use in a home and a car?
Yeah dumb question, just trying to see what my options are.
 
If you want to buy tint, and haven't really done that kinda thing before.... well, I don't recommend it. But, the cheapest and easiest option would be to buy a precut kit off e-bay. Otherwise go to your local place that does tinting and buy some from them.

Aesthetics wouldn't be dead if people posted their questions there.
 
Thats a hackjob waiting to happen. I've watched tint being professionally installed and its not something I would want to attempt.
 
I would seriously look at price around your area for professional tinting, I got my svt done for 120 bucks in april a couple summers ago and heck im sure just to buy the tint is at least 20 or 30 so yah.
 
Window tint for the DIYer is $15 per roll. You probably would need two.

I volunteered at a shop in Fort Lauderdale who used to hook up my group with DEEP discounts and tinting is not something I would do myself. At least not when it's done right. If you shop around you can get 30% done for $100 plus taxes. Make them throw in the front strip for free, they use scrap anyways.
 
Window tint is almost ALL about the quality of the film.

I don't know of any precut kits that use anything but lousy dyed films.

If you want a tint that won't fade and does decent at heat and uv rejection go with a metallic tint. If you want to go for the best heat rejection and uv rejection (appearance too probably) go with a ceramic tint (also guarantee of no interference with your wireless gadgets) - but it's significantly more expensive. Anyway, depends on how long you want to keep your car and what you want out of a tint. Keep in mind the lightest ceramic tints are way better at heat/uv rejection than the darkest dyed tints. - If you want all looks minimum benefits you can find some good dyed films that won't turn purple.

The bottom line is, let a professional do it. Nothing is worse than messing it up and having it bubble up (especially the rear window, that's very hard with the defroster)
 
cheater1034 said:
Window tint is almost ALL about the quality of the film.

I don't know of any precut kits that use anything but lousy dyed films.

If you want a tint that won't fade and does decent at heat and uv rejection go with a metallic tint. If you want to go for the best heat rejection and uv rejection (appearance too probably) go with a ceramic tint (also guarantee of no interference with your wireless gadgets) - but it's significantly more expensive. Anyway, depends on how long you want to keep your car and what you want out of a tint. Keep in mind the lightest ceramic tints are way better at heat/uv rejection than the darkest dyed tints. - If you want all looks minimum benefits you can find some good dyed films that won't turn purple.

The bottom line is, let a professional do it. Nothing is worse than messing it up and having it bubble up (especially the rear window, that's very hard with the defroster)
Click to expand...

hey, a good post! didn't think I'd find one of those in here...

I've got a friend that tinted his windows in a grand cherokee and they came out nearly perfect and him and my brother in law who's also tinted windows successfully are both willing to help me with mine, so I'd like to try it myself as well. but the thing thats been hanging me up is finding good tint to use. the stuff my bro found turned greenish pretty fast, and I had some purple stuff in my old ranger. thats definitely not what I want...

the stuff in the jeep looked pretty good, but he got rid of the jeep before summer, so never got to really see how it would hold up. a friend of mine paid like 240 for "carbon" tint, which IDK about, looks like normal good tint to me.

is there someplace I can read more about tint selection? also, maybe a good online supplier?

thanks...
 
I've done my own tint on several car. Some came out good, some not so good. Going pro is always the best option (guaranteed to come out good). The only advise on brand is that the more it cost the better. And a good rule on the amount of tint (I know what the law says) is that the cops don't really give a crap about the percentage, as long as they can see through the rear window. I've never put legal tint on any of the cars I've done, except for the back window. I've always made that lighter than the legal limit. Remember, the biggest reason for the law is so cops can see in your car. But back to the application. I've found that using real "windex" works great. Apply it to both the window and film. And be generous. If you think you've made the window wet enough, you haven't. Keep spraying on the windex. And do it in a cool place out of direct sunlight. This is important. Once it's dry, it's in place and can't be removed without destroying the film. The cheaper brands of "windex" always seem to be a problem (the dry to quick). The best way to really do it is to pull the windows out completely. Good luck, I think everyone should try this at least once.
 
Tenting your windows is not a hard as you may think. Good quality tint is a must. Thick film is the best not that cheap stuff from Wally World. A semi firm plastic scraper is the best and a credit card for the small corners. Spray bottle with water and a couple drops of dawn dish soap.

1. Spray outside of window with soap water.
2. Place tint on window.
3. Use scraper to smooth out over window.
4. Cut around edge for fitment.
5. Spray inside of window with soap water.
6. Remove clear film from tint and apply soap water.
7. Apply soap water to tint once on window and scrap flat.
8. Use hair dryer on outside of window to shrink edges and make tint stick. (Windows will look cloudy)
9. Don't roll windows down for 24 hrs.
 
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