Windows Tint

[Jmi]

I am rather newbie when it comes to cars so do bear with me.

When I made my purchase, I made a blunder of forgetting to bundle in the windows tint. I then totally ignore the pretty sales lady who came offering stuff after, but it is the "switch off" mode in me that kicked in whenever "sales talk" commences.

Anyhow, I am thinking of getting my windows tint now, but I am confused by all the different sort of type out there and am genuinely lost. Could I ask for some advise from you guys, I believe the term is "aftermarket" window tint?

I do not need the extreme "darkest legal", just what is good enough and how much am I looking at, incase i get over-quoted on the price.

Thanks in advanced.

[crudman]

personally i wish i got aftermarket tint... the guy who installed mine did a crap job...

theres 'soapy crap' that dripped down and won't come out of the fabrics (they use soapy water to make it stick)

it was installed in a dirty place so theres at least 5 spots of dirt under the tint thats never gonna go away unless i replace the whole tint

it was bundled with the car but the receipt prices it at about 3-500

it wasn't darkest legal but i believe darkest legal is midnight express or something along those lines.

[Stalker]

i got a quote from an aftermarker place for a little over $200 and mitsubishi offered to match that so i got the dealer to do it. got 35% which is the darkest legal. looks good. no issues with it

[Loki]

If you have a CJ make sure you enquire with the dealer and person doing your tint if they are aware of some inserts which are required to stop the door seals scratching the tint. Now I have my exhaust done tint is my next step. I am considering 15%. My insurance company repaired my old Magna which had 5% on it no worries and that accident was my fault.

[Speedie]

Most car dealers send the cars out or have an outsider do the job. One of my freinds used to work for tint-a-car and they did Mazda, Holden, Ford and a few other dealers. The tint used wasn't as good as the best they had and it costs the customer more. They also did the protection pack with the tint for $800 to the public where as if you had the dealer organise this for you its around the $1800 mark. Only difference in the two you get better tint for $800.

[Graham]

Mine is being done at the dealer.
I have that "Secura-tint" which is the thicker stuff to protect the windows from smashing (well, give the glass a better chance of not smashing)

Valued at $750 but I got it for $500 including install..

I pick my new CJ Platinum up tomorrow!

[dumb&]

I paid $135 for the front 2 windows in 20%. 35% is darkest legal, I had it on my last car and was nowhere near dark enough. Even 20% you can still see through with ease during daylight.

Thank god for privacy glass on the other 3 tintable windows...saved me a few hundred $!

[slickthug]

is privacy glass darker?

how come its legal?

cant we just get it tinted as dark as privacy glass and if the coppers say "Mate you got illegal tint" we can say "Nah Mate. Its privacy glass" then the cop can say "My mistake. Carry on Mate" and we can say "Dorkface. Stop wasting my time".

[SIR-VRX]

The privacy glass fitted standard on the VRX is not UV filtering. It's just dark glass.

The reason it is legal is because it is only fitted to the rear and rear side glasses.

[dumb&]

Glass filters harmful UV rays

[SIR-VRX]

Well, that depends on a lot of factors. The amount of UV which gets in will vary depending on the type and treatments of the glass and the thickness of the glass. It is quite possible to get sunburned through car glass.

A UV film (ie window tint) will stop MOST UV rays and lenses can be made to filter certain types or rays but still let others pass.

So in short, glass can filter most UV rays, but it depends on the glass used. The glass found in most cars does filter some, but not a great amount of UV rays (not even privacy glass) as it has a slight UV tint.

[dumb&]

It stops the majority of the harmful rays. People rarely sit in the back of my car, and it's always parked in secure parking lots or in a garage so not a big issue for me.

For those who don't get that kind of luxury I'd probably imagine getting a UV film on the back windows to be a good idea.

[Dummer]

The reason privacy glass is legal I believe is because it's legal under Japanese design rules where the car is manufactured. What I've read is that because it complies to the Japanese standard it's approved under the ADRs, however a Commodore/Falcon/Aurion has to comply to the 35% minimum VLT (visible light transmission) under the ADR because it's made in Australia and as of such cant have privacy glass fitted. I read this in an article and assume it to be true, unless anyone here cares to delve through the ADRs and prove it to be false

The privacy glass on the VRX is 25% VLT for those curious, but it appears darker from the outside depending on the angle due to it being more reflective than car tints...
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In repsonse to the OP, maximum legal (35% VLT) isn't that bad and I would suggest you go for that as it cuts out more glare and heat from the sun. I have 20% on my front windows and it's still easy enough to see out of at night and during the daytime it's great as it cuts out most of the sun's heat and the glare in the morning or arvo from the sun.

And yes make sure they put felt on the seals otherwise you'll scratch the tints up very quickly. Even with the felts fitted you'll still get limited scratching I have found, mind you my window goes up/down prolly atleast 4 times a day...

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I've never been burnt in mum's 93 pajero which is untinted and I burn very easily. So I'd say most of the harmful rays are being cut out by the glass....

[dumb&]

I get small 1cm long scratches at the top of the window. Bit annoying, but it's hidden when it's up.

[Dummer]

Don't worry the longer ones in the area of the window you can see will eventually appear!!