Window Tinting!
February-10th-2002, 10:18 AM
#16
Master of All Things :{D
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: southeast texas, near houston
Posts: 4,118
the shop I had my tint done was informed that I only wanted to go as dark as LEGAL....I don't need anymore hastles than absolutely necessary...same as anyone else...I thought I was at 20%....come to find out the front IS 35%.....so I am safe there.....and seeing as how I live out in a rural county....when it comes to getting your car inspected...they only care about the fact that the lights work, the blinkers work, it has wiper blades on it...and that you can stop without using your emergency brake....they don't do emmisions testing here or even remotely care about your windows being tinted.
February-10th-2002, 12:17 PM
#17
Master of All Things :{D
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: southeast texas, near houston
Posts: 4,118
Webmaster, you are so right.....my main concern was my wife....we had both of our P-5's done at the same time, I know the guy at the tint shop and had him let my wife sit in his car at night and make sure that she was comfortable with the tint....we were thinking about getting the same tinting as he had on his car....she was....and I will go on to add that we once had a van with the factory privacy glass and she didn't like how dark it was at night. ANYWAY.....that was one of our criteria was that you could still see just fine at night.
February-12th-2002, 12:10 PM
#19
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Huntington Beach, CA Uhhh Surfs up Dude
Posts: 2,367
After 5 years owning a tint shop, here's a few sugestions.
1. If it's a cheap price, it's cheap tint, move on to the next shop. You'll want a "metallized" film, not a "charcoal" film. Metallized is warrantied for life and should never fade to a purple, it may fade in intesity over a 5+ years, but if it does, it will fade evenly. The charcoal film will damn near fade as you leave the parkinglot of the shop...it will turn purple and bubble and peel in no time....don't waste your money. Also, if they insist on only doing what is "legal" or basically will not work with you on what you want, move on, don't bother arguing. A good shop will inform you of the laws and then ask, what you want...and do it. It's not up to the shop, it's your car and your responsability if you get pulled over.
2. Make sure they either "shave" or take the film no less than 1/16" from the top edge of the roll up windows.
3. Make sure they "heat shrink" the rear window in one peice. P5 windows are faily simple, although some shops cheat and use 2 or more peices. The film can later shrink and pull apart at the seem, leaving a "light gap". Also, when cleaning, your cloth can catch the edge and peel it up. Plus, if they use a butt splice technique for the 2 or more peices, this means they apply the 2 peices of film then cut it along the defroster line, this can damage your defroster if not done correctly.
4. Make sure they use top quality Film (Llumar, Johnson, Madico) stay away from Sungard, Soloar Gard and anything that remotely sounds like a pep boys brand.
5. Pep boys/autozone brand is as cheap as they come...save it for your enemies.
6. Make sure they DO NOT cut too much ruber from the rear door vent windows (small triangles) as some rubber must be cut for a flawless job, make surethey don't hack it up.
7. Make sure they REMOVE the door panels, not just simply "tuck" the rubber dust seal in, as this can permanantly screw up the shape and function of the dust seal.
8. On brand new cars in the sunbelt regions, i strongly suggest a light (50%) on the complete windsheild. It's light enough that it will never be detected and will save your dash etc....better than a dash cover and plus, the windsheild is the largest window, it brings in the most amount of heat and glare, so why not help your driving comfortability. I will never drive with out it again.
9. you have to accept some degree of error, as a completely flawless job is absolutely impossible. Although the obvious light gap or dust storm is cause for a re-do.
10. a good price for a professional job should run in the $200 area, the cheap tint can be as low as $70.
hope that helps.
1. If it's a cheap price, it's cheap tint, move on to the next shop. You'll want a "metallized" film, not a "charcoal" film. Metallized is warrantied for life and should never fade to a purple, it may fade in intesity over a 5+ years, but if it does, it will fade evenly. The charcoal film will damn near fade as you leave the parkinglot of the shop...it will turn purple and bubble and peel in no time....don't waste your money. Also, if they insist on only doing what is "legal" or basically will not work with you on what you want, move on, don't bother arguing. A good shop will inform you of the laws and then ask, what you want...and do it. It's not up to the shop, it's your car and your responsability if you get pulled over.
2. Make sure they either "shave" or take the film no less than 1/16" from the top edge of the roll up windows.
3. Make sure they "heat shrink" the rear window in one peice. P5 windows are faily simple, although some shops cheat and use 2 or more peices. The film can later shrink and pull apart at the seem, leaving a "light gap". Also, when cleaning, your cloth can catch the edge and peel it up. Plus, if they use a butt splice technique for the 2 or more peices, this means they apply the 2 peices of film then cut it along the defroster line, this can damage your defroster if not done correctly.
4. Make sure they use top quality Film (Llumar, Johnson, Madico) stay away from Sungard, Soloar Gard and anything that remotely sounds like a pep boys brand.
5. Pep boys/autozone brand is as cheap as they come...save it for your enemies.
6. Make sure they DO NOT cut too much ruber from the rear door vent windows (small triangles) as some rubber must be cut for a flawless job, make surethey don't hack it up.
7. Make sure they REMOVE the door panels, not just simply "tuck" the rubber dust seal in, as this can permanantly screw up the shape and function of the dust seal.
8. On brand new cars in the sunbelt regions, i strongly suggest a light (50%) on the complete windsheild. It's light enough that it will never be detected and will save your dash etc....better than a dash cover and plus, the windsheild is the largest window, it brings in the most amount of heat and glare, so why not help your driving comfortability. I will never drive with out it again.
9. you have to accept some degree of error, as a completely flawless job is absolutely impossible. Although the obvious light gap or dust storm is cause for a re-do.
10. a good price for a professional job should run in the $200 area, the cheap tint can be as low as $70.
hope that helps.
February-12th-2002, 07:09 PM
#20
Protege Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Southeastern, USA
Posts: 62
Originally posted by mazdaspeedwest
After 5 years owning a tint shop, here's a few sugestions.
1. If it's a cheap price, it's cheap tint, move on to the next shop. You'll want a "metallized" film, not a "charcoal" film. Metallized is warrantied for life and should never fade to a purple, it may fade in intesity over a 5+ years, but if it does, it will fade evenly. The charcoal film will damn near fade as you leave the parkinglot of the shop...it will turn purple and bubble and peel in no time....don't waste your money. Also, if they insist on only doing what is "legal" or basically will not work with you on what you want, move on, don't bother arguing. A good shop will inform you of the laws and then ask, what you want...and do it. It's not up to the shop, it's your car and your responsability if you get pulled over.
2. Make sure they either "shave" or take the film no less than 1/16" from the top edge of the roll up windows.
3. Make sure they "heat shrink" the rear window in one peice. P5 windows are faily simple, although some shops cheat and use 2 or more peices. The film can later shrink and pull apart at the seem, leaving a "light gap". Also, when cleaning, your cloth can catch the edge and peel it up. Plus, if they use a butt splice technique for the 2 or more peices, this means they apply the 2 peices of film then cut it along the defroster line, this can damage your defroster if not done correctly.
4. Make sure they use top quality Film (Llumar, Johnson, Madico) stay away from Sungard, Soloar Gard and anything that remotely sounds like a pep boys brand.
5. Pep boys/autozone brand is as cheap as they come...save it for your enemies.
6. Make sure they DO NOT cut too much ruber from the rear door vent windows (small triangles) as some rubber must be cut for a flawless job, make surethey don't hack it up.
7. Make sure they REMOVE the door panels, not just simply "tuck" the rubber dust seal in, as this can permanantly screw up the shape and function of the dust seal.
8. On brand new cars in the sunbelt regions, i strongly suggest a light (50%) on the complete windsheild. It's light enough that it will never be detected and will save your dash etc....better than a dash cover and plus, the windsheild is the largest window, it brings in the most amount of heat and glare, so why not help your driving comfortability. I will never drive with out it again.
9. you have to accept some degree of error, as a completely flawless job is absolutely impossible. Although the obvious light gap or dust storm is cause for a re-do.
10. a good price for a professional job should run in the $200 area, the cheap tint can be as low as $70.
hope that helps.
After 5 years owning a tint shop, here's a few sugestions.
1. If it's a cheap price, it's cheap tint, move on to the next shop. You'll want a "metallized" film, not a "charcoal" film. Metallized is warrantied for life and should never fade to a purple, it may fade in intesity over a 5+ years, but if it does, it will fade evenly. The charcoal film will damn near fade as you leave the parkinglot of the shop...it will turn purple and bubble and peel in no time....don't waste your money. Also, if they insist on only doing what is "legal" or basically will not work with you on what you want, move on, don't bother arguing. A good shop will inform you of the laws and then ask, what you want...and do it. It's not up to the shop, it's your car and your responsability if you get pulled over.
2. Make sure they either "shave" or take the film no less than 1/16" from the top edge of the roll up windows.
3. Make sure they "heat shrink" the rear window in one peice. P5 windows are faily simple, although some shops cheat and use 2 or more peices. The film can later shrink and pull apart at the seem, leaving a "light gap". Also, when cleaning, your cloth can catch the edge and peel it up. Plus, if they use a butt splice technique for the 2 or more peices, this means they apply the 2 peices of film then cut it along the defroster line, this can damage your defroster if not done correctly.
4. Make sure they use top quality Film (Llumar, Johnson, Madico) stay away from Sungard, Soloar Gard and anything that remotely sounds like a pep boys brand.
5. Pep boys/autozone brand is as cheap as they come...save it for your enemies.
6. Make sure they DO NOT cut too much ruber from the rear door vent windows (small triangles) as some rubber must be cut for a flawless job, make surethey don't hack it up.
7. Make sure they REMOVE the door panels, not just simply "tuck" the rubber dust seal in, as this can permanantly screw up the shape and function of the dust seal.
8. On brand new cars in the sunbelt regions, i strongly suggest a light (50%) on the complete windsheild. It's light enough that it will never be detected and will save your dash etc....better than a dash cover and plus, the windsheild is the largest window, it brings in the most amount of heat and glare, so why not help your driving comfortability. I will never drive with out it again.
9. you have to accept some degree of error, as a completely flawless job is absolutely impossible. Although the obvious light gap or dust storm is cause for a re-do.
10. a good price for a professional job should run in the $200 area, the cheap tint can be as low as $70.
hope that helps.
thanks for the info, i have a feeling it'll come in handy.
February-12th-2002, 10:34 PM
#22
Protege Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 332
yea thanks for the info, 10 points for you, hah.
But how do i make sure that my tint-er follows these things you said. and how can you tell a good quality shop and a bad one, like what shouldi ask em. should i call them on the phone and ask em for like prices and what kinda tint they use n stuff?
sorry im a newbie tint wise
But how do i make sure that my tint-er follows these things you said. and how can you tell a good quality shop and a bad one, like what shouldi ask em. should i call them on the phone and ask em for like prices and what kinda tint they use n stuff?
sorry im a newbie tint wise
February-14th-2002, 11:01 PM
#23
Show Layne some respect
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Long Island,NY
Posts: 2,458
Sounds to me like the best questions to ask are all the points that mazdaspeedwest makes - ask them about their install techniques, and make sure that they answer correctly. Any doubts, move on to another shop.
I've also found the best advertising is quality work - check out any and all tint jobs you can find - ask strangers on the street where they got theirs done and when, both good AND bad jobs. Once you hear the same shop's name a few times, and their work looks good to you, you know where you'll be going for your tint.
I've also found the best advertising is quality work - check out any and all tint jobs you can find - ask strangers on the street where they got theirs done and when, both good AND bad jobs. Once you hear the same shop's name a few times, and their work looks good to you, you know where you'll be going for your tint.
February-15th-2002, 06:07 PM
#24
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Huntington Beach, CA Uhhh Surfs up Dude
Posts: 2,367
Originally posted by jdmp5
Thanks for your expert info.. i just got it installed. they charge me $180. well worth it! Thank u again~!!!
Thanks for your expert info.. i just got it installed. they charge me $180. well worth it! Thank u again~!!!
February-15th-2002, 06:10 PM
#25
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Huntington Beach, CA Uhhh Surfs up Dude
Posts: 2,367
Originally posted by ZackyFarms16
yea thanks for the info, 10 points for you, hah.
But how do i make sure that my tint-er follows these things you said. and how can you tell a good quality shop and a bad one, like what shouldi ask em. should i call them on the phone and ask em for like prices and what kinda tint they use n stuff?
sorry im a newbie tint wise
yea thanks for the info, 10 points for you, hah.
But how do i make sure that my tint-er follows these things you said. and how can you tell a good quality shop and a bad one, like what shouldi ask em. should i call them on the phone and ask em for like prices and what kinda tint they use n stuff?
sorry im a newbie tint wise
I wouldn't want any tinter with less than 5 years exp. to tint my car either...so there's another point to ask.
And yes by all means, check out cars on the road and ask ppl about the shop etc...
February-15th-2002, 06:18 PM
#26
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 1,016
5% (aka limo tint) is illegal. Only SUV's and TRUCKS can have that dark of a tint. You may be able to get away with 20%. but still its dark and hard to see out of at night.
Im doin 30% all around, so cops will lemme alone. its also jus as good as the 20%, atleast i think so.
Im doin 30% all around, so cops will lemme alone. its also jus as good as the 20%, atleast i think so.
February-15th-2002, 07:49 PM
#27
Show Layne some respect
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Long Island,NY
Posts: 2,458
Unless the laws have changed, I believe in NY (where I'm from) you can do whatever you want to any windows except the windshield and front side windows. The rear doors and back glass can be plywood if you want - I'm almost positive.
February-17th-2002, 10:44 AM
#29
Show Layne some respect
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Long Island,NY
Posts: 2,458
"Sir Nuke" - do you really have TWO Pro5's? That must look phucking awesome in the driveway - a yellow and a black mica - NICE!
My buddy's folks did a similar thing - except they have Mercury Sable Wagons (and they're BOTH white!)
My buddy's folks did a similar thing - except they have Mercury Sable Wagons (and they're BOTH white!)
February-17th-2002, 03:39 PM
#30
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Richmond, BC, Canada
Posts: 640
Getting ANY tints on driver/passenger side here in BC is illegal. But I don't want solid black tint like most cars. I just want a VERY VERY light tint, but ALL Around (including driver/passenger)... if I was to get like %80 all around, think the cops would bug me?