window tinting: outside or inside

[friendly_jacek]

I have a car with window tinting applied by a toyota dealership when it was new (I didn't pay for it though). Once I saw a big scratch in the tint and realized the tint was on the outside. I always thought tint was applied on the inside.
Is this unusual?

 

[brandini]

Yes it is unusual

 

[wemay]

Always inside.

 

[stephen9666]

I've never heard of a tint on the outside of a window.

Perhaps it exists, but I've never seen it.

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: wemay
Always inside.


And the better guys take your door trip off to tint below the plastic cleaner thingy (yes, I did say thingy).

 

[Warstud]

The factory window tint isn't film...it is actually a pigment in the glass.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Originally Posted By: wemay
Always inside.


And the better guys take your door trip off to tint below the plastic cleaner thingy (yes, I did say thingy).
Yes you did and it is a thingie [Thingy?].

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
The factory window tint isn't film...it is actually a pigment in the glass.


I understand that and have it in another car, but I'm not talking about factory tint.

 

[ThirdeYe]

I've only seen aftermarket tint on the inside.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Originally Posted By: wemay
Always inside.


And the better guys take your door trip off to tint below the plastic cleaner thingy (yes, I did say thingy).
Yes you did and it is a thingie [Thingy?].


You guys have got to quit being so technical!

 

[KGMtech]

98% of the time the tint is inside. However, on some side windows, say in the rear C pillar, the application of the tint on the inside will leave a band around the perimeter that is not so nice to look at from the outside of the car.

New tint films are very scratch resistant, so outside installation is not so weird as it sounds.

 

[friendly_jacek]

OK, I looked one more time and I was wrong. While the scratch is still there, it's glass that is scratched and not the film. The tint is inside alright. I was totally fooled. Thanks for the explanations!

 

[qwertydude]

If the glass scratch isn't too deep you can polish it out with ceriglass and a rotary polisher or drill attachment.