Bert

in follow up to the other thread about tint darkness --

What are your recommendations on tint film material / product?

Does it really matter if it is metallic or ceramic tint? I have heard that metallic tint can block the signal to electronics like cell phones.

Are there any particular brands or products that are good, or to avoid? Such as Llumar, Solarguard?

thanks in advance

laserred38

Llumar, Solorgaurd, Sunguard and 3M are all good. Basically as long as it's name brand and they offer lifetime warranty, you will be okay. What are the legal percentages in your state? Which windows are you wanting to tint?

Bert

I'm told 35% is the darkest allowed, I'm pretty sure this is on everything except the windshield, and I'm thinking all of the windows, including the rear, but not the windshield . . . though I like the idea of a strip across the top of the windshield

laserred38

That's crap. You can only get 35% on the rears?? Well I'd just go 35% all the way around with a 20% strip at the top. I'd say try to go darker in back, but it's really noticeable, so it would depend how strict your cops are. There are sites that have all the state tint laws, so you may want to look them up. I've heard the cell/gps reception issue, but never experienced it myself and my tint is metallic...FWIW.

Bert

Unfortunately it's not the law enforcement officers, it's the annual safety inspection . . . we have to get annual inspection sticker and this is one of the things they look for . . . I got the 35% number from the tint shop, they said that is the darkest that is allowed and I think they know what they are talking about, but I think I will google it just to make sure.

laserred38

I see. Well, if I was older I'd probably just get 35% all around anyways. It's a good smoke tint and doing all the windows the same shade will make them all look darker. Being that I'm still young though, I found out that 20% is definitely not dark enough for the back windows...at this point in my life...if you catch my drift.

Bert

hey, us old guys can still have fun too! well, sometimes . . . ;-)

Everyone I talk with around here confirms that 35% is the limit and I will not pass inspection with anything darker, so that's the deal.

Also they all use the metallic films, and tell me that it will not cause problems with cell phone reception, only causes trouble with radio reception if the antenna is in the window, which of course mine is not. One uses "Solarguard" and another uses "Madico" (sp?); they both claim they are lifetime warrantied against discoloration, etc.

Should I be picky about the type of film or just go for it?

laserred38

I've never heard of Madico. I'd go with the Solorguard, based on the fact that I've heard of them and we've used their tint in all our cars for years. Tint usually comes in different shades, even in the same percentage; I'd try to pick a tint with a greenish/gray hue that matches the glass. It makes the tint look more OEM, like your car came that way. Or you could go with one of the purpleish tints that would look nice against your Red Candy...

Bert

Thanks much, that's exactly the kind of insight I was looking for . . . the shop that uses the Solarguard is a well established company that has been in business for a long time (local Ziebart shop) and the other is a newer one-man-show so that's another point in favor of the solarguard . . . I was not aware of the different shades, will talk with them about that.

laserred38

No problem bud. Good luck! Btw, when I went to get my tint done (it's Laser Red, pretty much identical to Red Candy) I had the intention of going with the purpleish hue to match the paint. Our tint guy (been in business for over 20 years and just opened a 2nd location a couple of years ago) recommended matching the glass instead. I'm glad I did. It just looks more factory that way. I have a 20% strip on the windshield and 20% on the back 3 windows.

Hope it turns out well and be sure to post pics!

Franchi

Just in case anybody was wondering, the following is the breakdown per state for tint laws.

http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/