Window Tint

[Mr_Luke]

The 2016 Ford Fiesta I bought 8/12 had too much window tint for my liking.
A police officer here told me it was legal but "on the borderline" for too dark.
I removed it today and now there is no tint at all on my side windows.

I might like to get some light tint on these windows. Is it hard to install it yourself?
It seems like most of my cars in recent memory have had light tinting of the side windows.

 

[SZR48207]

You can buy vehicle-specific pre-cut pieces now from ebay or various online shops ( just do a web search for precut tint kits).

Doing it yourself and having it look respectable is its own animal. I've tried 3 times on my current vehicle to DIY tint the front glass and can't get a good result.


35% looks like "factory" in my eyes. 20% is too dark.

 

[JustinH]

What is the law in TN?

Did he use a tint gun?

I would not DIY, there are way too many places to get it done professionally for dirt cheap.

I do 30 percent all the way around in TX, the law is 25 percent on front, and no law on the back windows or side back windows.

Next time I do it on another car, I will do 5 percent in the back and back window its too darn hot here.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Originally Posted by Reddy45
You can buy vehicle-specific pre-cut pieces now from ebay or various online shops ( just do a web search for precut tint kits).

Doing it yourself and having it look respectable is its own animal. I've tried 3 times on my current vehicle to DIY tint the front glass and can't get a good result.


35% looks like "factory" in my eyes. 20% is too dark.


I think you can get it done for about $100.

I like my car a lot better without that dark tint.
I was afraid the police might think I was trying to hide from them or something.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Originally Posted by JustinH

What is the law in TN?

Did he use a tint gun?



He had a card with the tints on it that he compared to my open side window.

 

[Skippy722]

I tried tinting my own windows once, I quickly learned why it's better to just pay someone else. At least it was a cheap learning experience lol

Different types of tint will look different, darker windows will pop a bit more off a white car. But both these cars are tinted at 20%, the 300 is metallized film while the Caliber is ceramic. The 300's tint has more of a glossy look, the ceramic was more smokey if that makes sense.

 

[skyactiv]

Keep in mind your windows have some tint to them. Not much, but they do. So if you have a law saying 50% max and you have 50% tint installed, it will be illegal and
a crappy little speed trap will cite you. Or with perfectly legal tint, you can get pulled over and hassled if your at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Film simulators for fun:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/automotive-window-solutions-us/automotive-window-film-simulator/
https://northamerica.llumar.com/automotive-film/car-window-tint-simulator

Tints you never knew existed? https://www.precutautotint.com/pages/photochromatic-tint-step-1-of-3.html

 

[George7941]

Skippy722, if both cars have 20% tint, why is the Caliber interior so much more visible than the 300 interior? Granted the Caliber windows are larger but that is a surprising difference.

 

[George7941]

The photochromic film is expensive but worth it if it works well. Does it? Anyone with any experience with it?

 

[George7941]

How did you remove the tint? Heat gun? Was it tedious?

 

[UG_Passat]

Too much work for me. I rather pay someone.

See this youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TintStuff

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by George7941
Skippy722, if both cars have 20% tint, why is the Caliber interior so much more visible than the 300 interior? Granted the Caliber windows are larger but that is a surprising difference.


Looking through the windshield and passenger side window on both the 300 is way darker. That has nothing to do with car color.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Originally Posted by George7941
How did you remove the tint? Heat gun? Was it tedious?


Not bad at all but it may take you an hour or so.

After using a razor blade to lift an edge, I could peel off the plastic tint by hand.

Then I applied soapy water to the sticky residue, then scraped it off with a razor.

It took me about an hour to get the sticky stuff removed.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Too much work for me. I rather pay someone.

See this youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TintStuff


I'm not going to try to apply new tint myself.

I'm not sure but I might be OK with the stock tint the side windows already have.
If I was making long trips in the hot sun a lot, that would be different but I only drive 3 - 4k miles a year these days.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by George7941
Skippy722, if both cars have 20% tint, why is the Caliber interior so much more visible than the 300 interior? Granted the Caliber windows are larger but that is a surprising difference.


Parked next to each other it isn't as noticeable as it is in the photos. The 300 has an all black interior, while the Caliber is a light gray. The metallic tint on the 300 is more reflective, which I've noticed makes it come out looking crazy dark in photos.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by George7941
Skippy722, if both cars have 20% tint, why is the Caliber interior so much more visible than the 300 interior? Granted the Caliber windows are larger but that is a surprising difference.

Interior color impacts how 'dark' the tint looks. How much light comes through the front windshield is a factor as well. On my G35, the tint is the same level on the side and rear windows but the front door windows look lighter.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Mr_Luke
I think you can get it done for about $100.

I understand it's cheaper and cheaper the further south you go, presumably because so many more vehicles get tinted windows and there's a LOT of shops that do this and compete. I'd wonder about the quality of the tint they though....

That said, to do 4 side windows and the rear window is going to run $200+ around here. That's with 3M's Obsidian line, which is their basic level. The darkness doesn't impact the price.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by Reddy45
You can buy vehicle-specific pre-cut pieces now from ebay or various online shops ( just do a web search for precut tint kits).


Pre-cut doesn't means it's ready to install. You still need to prep the tint before you stick it to the glass.

The prep means shrinking the tint to get it to conform to a curved surface.

Many shops uses plotters to pre-cut the tint before they install it themselves, but they still need to shrink the tint properly to get a good result.

the ebay kits and online shops, it all depends on what brand tint you're buying for the price point.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Originally Posted by Reddy45
You can buy vehicle-specific pre-cut pieces now from ebay or various online shops ( just do a web search for precut tint kits).


Pre-cut doesn't means it's ready to install. You still need to prep the tint before you stick it to the glass.

The prep means shrinking the tint to get it to conform to a curved surface.

Many shops uses plotters to pre-cut the tint before they install it themselves, but they still need to shrink the tint properly to get a good result.

the ebay kits and online shops, it all depends on what brand tint you're buying for the price point.


That was probably my problem then, or it was ONE of the problems. I would get "fingers" that no amount of squeegee would keep down, so yeah the tint was not formed to the curvature of the glass.