Silver Windshield Sun Shades

[A_Spruce]

IMHO, they work VERY well, as does window tinting.

It's basically the difference between standing in direct sun and standing under the shade of a tree. The ambient temp is the same, and it's going to build up in the vehicle no matter what you do, but, with the sunshade, you do not have the direct sun beating directly into the vehicle, much of the heat is deflected.

You can test this theory yourself. Buy a sunshade. Sit in your car without it, how do you feel? Install the sunshade and sit in the car, feel a difference?

I bought one of the "figure 8" style ones, it's two round hoops sewn into the sheet that covers the window. Each hoop is about two feet in diameter, but you can fold it into a circle that is about 8" in diameter for easy stowage. It takes a bit to figure out how to fold it up, but once you've got it, it's super easy to get it out of the window and stored inconspicuously wherever it is supposed to live. If you're like me, you simply pull it out of the window, fold it in half and toss it in the back seat.

 

[4WD]

Front sun shield, window tint, barely open a window (not noticeable) … big difference

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by Eddie
They make a big difference in my vehicle. I like JoelB comment above to park facing the sun if you use one. Ed



Exactly right in my observations...

I have a thermometer in my car's air outlet... Without sun sheild it gets to 160-170°F. With it up it is 130-140°F... My car lot faces south so it really gets a lot of sun in it obviously.

Another factor here is that your dash and other surfaces are not getting no where near as heated by using the shield. And that helps your car cool down much faster because your ac once it starts blowing colder air is not having to deal with the excess heat radiating from your dash and your seats etc.... That is a big help in helping your car cool down faster too.

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by Barkleymut
At work I park in an assigned spot. Monday at 5:00 I started up the Mustang and had to wait 5 minutes before I could even touch the steering wheel it was so hot. Tuesday at lunch I went to NAPA and bought an $8 silver sunshade. Went out to my car at 5:00 yesterday and the steering wheel was only around 100 degrees! $8 on sale, well worth it in my cheap opinion.



Gonna sound crazy... But it actually works very well... Get a steering wheel wrap... Even when I forget to use my sun sheild... The wrap on my steering wheel really makes a huge difference... And it's black just like my steering wheel itself. But that wrap even if subject to all day sun and heat... It is actually just fine to touch. Crazy as I would not think it would have made such a difference but it really does.

 

[Redright9]

I live in the desert and every car I have, I have a windshield shade in it. Like said previously, short term, huge difference, but after awhile, the car will get heat soaked. A big reason I use them is to keep my dash, steering wheel, and other interior parts in good condition. The direct sun will destroy them, so to block the UV from the sun keeps my interior in good shape.

 

[Errtt]

I went for a a couple customs (mine & wife's vehicles) and I won't go back to others we tried.
Couple days ago I forgot to deploy mine at work. After work I it was so hot and I couldn't handle the steering wheel for a bit until the AC vents cooled it. The seat was squirming hot too. Now back to triple digit temps I better not forget again.
Normally when I start the engine and get the AC going and get myself in order, as I pull it down to pack it away I feel the heat reflecting off it. Reflective silver bright too.
I just won't go without during the hot weather and won't go back to the generic ones. A good custom fits way better than all other I tried. I was reluctant at times but all well worth now to me - & wife.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I make my own tight fittinh window shades from various materials.

The reflectix, double bubble mylar surface is good, but gets translucent over time with use rolling unrolling and UV/heat, and tends to get shorter when one rolls and unrolls it often, or folds it.

Plenty of clones of the reflectix brand name and some are much worse quality than others. Its worth the extra to get actual reflectix, not the clones.


More recently I bought some 'SmartShield' 5mm thick, and this stuff has smaller polyethelyene foam bubbles and an actual metallized aluminum surface. The reflective surface conducts electricity and no light gets through. Reflectix does not conduct electricity. SS is not quite as shiny and claims to reflect 97% of radiant heat. Reflectix 96%

I prefer SS to reflectix, but it does cost a little bit more. It comes in 3mm an 10mm thick as well and has a version with one white face and one silver. Reflectix is about 6 to 6.5mm thick.

I did some tests and the 5mm SS was basically the same as ~6.5mm of reflectix in terms of heat getting through.
The orientation of the creases from rolling either material, had much more effect on thermocouple temperature than one or the other.

A tight fit to the interior of the window helps greatly in keeping interior temps down. if there is a big gap the air inbetween gets super heated and escapes and heats the interior more than it wuld if the fit were tighter. Depending on the inner window construction one can easily achieve a friction fit for the side windows. Again the 'smartshield' seems to be better in this regard than reflectix.

Making custom shades yourself is pretty easy, laying the material on the exterior of the window and tracing the general shape/size cut it a little outside the tracing marks, then bring it inside and trim it further where required. I roll mine up in about a 15 inch roll then squeeze it to about 3 inches thick and stuff it behind the seat. I do not fold it. I can set it up in all three front windows in about 20 seconds.

One thing to keep in mind is that the silvery surface reflects light and heat, but the interior surface being silver emits less heat to interior too because of
low Emissivity.

A tinted window will allow less heat and light through, but the black tinted window itself gets hot, and black, having high emissivity, will then radiate heat to the interior. Some tints both block light and have low emissivity interior surfaces, and some do not .

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
I make my own tight fittinh window shades from various materials.

The reflectix, double bubble mylar surface is good, but gets translucent over time with use rolling unrolling and UV/heat, and tends to get shorter when one rolls and unrolls it often, or folds it.

Plenty of clones of the reflectix brand name and some are much worse quality than others. Its worth the extra to get actual reflectix, not the clones.


More recently I bought some 'SmartShield' 5mm thick, and this stuff has smaller polyethelyene foam bubbles and an actual metallized aluminum surface. The reflective surface conducts electricity and no light gets through. Reflectix does not conduct electricity. SS is not quite as shiny and claims to reflect 97% of radiant heat. Reflectix 96%

I prefer SS to reflectix, but it does cost a little bit more. It comes in 3mm an 10mm thick as well and has a version with one white face and one silver. Reflectix is about 6 to 6.5mm thick.

I did some tests and the 5mm SS was basically the same as ~6.5mm of reflectix in terms of heat getting through.
The orientation of the creases from rolling either material, had much more effect on thermocouple temperature than one or the other.

A tight fit to the interior of the window helps greatly in keeping interior temps down. if there is a big gap the air inbetween gets super heated and escapes and heats the interior more than it wuld if the fit were tighter. Depending on the inner window construction one can easily achieve a friction fit for the side windows. Again the 'smartshield' seems to be better in this regard than reflectix.

Making custom shades yourself is pretty easy, laying the material on the exterior of the window and tracing the general shape/size cut it a little outside the tracing marks, then bring it inside and trim it further where required. I roll mine up in about a 15 inch roll then squeeze it to about 3 inches thick and stuff it behind the seat. I do not fold it. I can set it up in all three front windows in about 20 seconds.

One thing to keep in mind is that the silvery surface reflects light and heat, but the interior surface being silver emits less heat to interior too because of
low Emissivity.

A tinted window will allow less heat and light through, but the black tinted window itself gets hot, and black, having high emissivity, will then radiate heat to the interior. Some tints both block light and have low emissivity interior surfaces, and some do not .


Ive found that many get too soft or flimsy. Do you have this issue with your custom made units? I'm tempted to do this for my cars.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
I make my own tight fitting window shades from various materials.



Ive found that many get too soft or flimsy. Do you have this issue with your custom made units? I'm tempted to do this for my cars.


My windshield is only about 25 inches tall and is around a 45 degree angle.

My SmartShield material custom shades are only a few weeks old, and no issues with sagging or shrinking, yet. I like them more and more compared to reflectix each time I remove and reinstall them.

My previous Reflectix sunshade did not get flimsy, but it did start getting transparent after 16 months of use, and more heat was getting through..

The custom shade previous to this, did start getting a crease in the middle, and would sag out from under the fllipped down visors. I remedied this with some thin pieces cut on a tablesaw from some red oak about 2 inches wide and 1/8" thick, which I taped to the edges with Nashua flexfix555 tape. I transferred these oak strips to the more recent reflectix shade and it never started sagging, just started letting light and more heat through at about 16 months.

I've not transferred those Oak strips to the custom 5mm thick SmartShield sunshield...yet.

I have tried the old and new shade stacked, at noon, facing south, and it is almost as if the windshield itself is in the shade.

I've no experience with the 3mm nor 10mm thick SmartShield product, yet.

The Nashua flexfix 555 tape is far superior than the aluminum tape that one peels the backing off of, in this application, in my opinion.

I've considered laminating two thin strips of Oak as a pre bent baton to push the reflective material tight against the glass, as one does not want a huge gap between glass and reflective material. This custom baton, would be worth the effort on rarely driven vehicles with long slopey windshields.

 

[Tahoe4Life]

In Miami it makes a huge difference. With tint [20% all around] and the shade blocking the sun on the windshield it is not that bad when getting in your vehicle with heat index at 105 plus. I do not crack any windows due to landscapers everywhere and constant monsoon rain. The a/c cools off my Tahoe in seconds..

 

[4WD]

Folks mentioned UV damage to vehicle already … And there is this stuff called skin cancer … ask me how I know …

 

[RhondaHonda]

Originally Posted by 4WD
Folks mentioned UV damage to vehicle already … And there is this stuff called skin cancer … ask me how I know …


I think sitting in a 170 degree vehicle for any length of time will get ya before the skin cancer.

I was working in Oklahoma years ago, out of my company car and bought a silver sunshade as the AC just couldn't keep up with outside temps of 100+. It made a drastic difference.

 

[4WD]

Yep … used to work out of an F150 in S. Texas … maximum allowed window tint … solar screen … hood up facing wind
(if there was wind) …

 

[Luftmasse]

I use the brand HeatShield. They custom make it for different vehicles.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
We sell the Intro-Tech ones here and they are awesome. I have them for my cars and use it almost every day in the Mustang. I just wish they made side ones since where I part the sun is on the driver's side of the car most of the time.


Buy some cheap ones at Walmart or Autozone and cut them up to fit your side windows. It's easy to do with scissors.

 

[Hyperscn64]

Originally Posted by A_Harman
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
We sell the Intro-Tech ones here and they are awesome. I have them for my cars and use it almost every day in the Mustang. I just wish they made side ones since where I part the sun is on the driver's side of the car most of the time.


Buy some cheap ones at Walmart or Autozone and cut them up to fit your side windows. It's easy to do with scissors.


But, how to you keep them stuck on your side windows?!

 

[WylieCoyote]

They help keep dashboard temperature the same as ambient inside the car, instead of allowing it to absorb solar energy and become much hotter than ambient. When I go to the store and forget my sunscreen, the heat off the dash makes everything hotter and it takes longer to cool down. Also prevents fade.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
I make my own tight fitting window shades from various materials.



Ive found that many get too soft or flimsy. Do you have this issue with your custom made units? I'm tempted to do this for my cars.


My windshield is only about 25 inches tall and is around a 45 degree angle.

My SmartShield material custom shades are only a few weeks old, and no issues with sagging or shrinking, yet. I like them more and more compared to reflectix each time I remove and reinstall them.

My previous Reflectix sunshade did not get flimsy, but it did start getting transparent after 16 months of use, and more heat was getting through..

The custom shade previous to this, did start getting a crease in the middle, and would sag out from under the fllipped down visors. I remedied this with some thin pieces cut on a tablesaw from some red oak about 2 inches wide and 1/8" thick, which I taped to the edges with Nashua flexfix555 tape. I transferred these oak strips to the more recent reflectix shade and it never started sagging, just started letting light and more heat through at about 16 months.

I've not transferred those Oak strips to the custom 5mm thick SmartShield sunshield...yet.

I have tried the old and new shade stacked, at noon, facing south, and it is almost as if the windshield itself is in the shade.

I've no experience with the 3mm nor 10mm thick SmartShield product, yet.

The Nashua flexfix 555 tape is far superior than the aluminum tape that one peels the backing off of, in this application, in my opinion.

I've considered laminating two thin strips of Oak as a pre bent baton to push the reflective material tight against the glass, as one does not want a huge gap between glass and reflective material. This custom baton, would be worth the effort on rarely driven vehicles with long slopey windshields.


I was thinking of something like a 14ga romex on the two vertical sections, and then sew a fabric edge around the whole thing (to enclose the wire). It can flex but isnt exposed then.

probably a million ways to skin the cat...

 

[wrcsixeight]

Originally Posted by JHZR2

I was thinking of something like a 14ga romex on the two vertical sections, and then sew a fabric edge around the whole thing (to enclose the wire). It can flex but isnt exposed then.

probably a million ways to skin the cat...


Romex is heavy. Lightness is one of the features I like. Oak is not a lightweight wood, but a 1/8" thick 2 inch wide strip is insignificant.

I've largely found any edging to be unnecessary. while the reflectix edges get beatup quicker and become more transparent, if I tape over the edges with the flexfix555, then it becomes more difficult to roll up.

The smartshield product is not just mylar faced but actual some sort of aluminum alloy, and I don't expect it to ever become transparent. It also seems to conform to corners better. The reflectix is more rigid and wants to flatten itself.

If you intend this to put in rarely driven stored vehicles, you could make some fold out flaps which rest on the dashboard and force it tight to the windshield


My side panels are cut to size so that their edges touch the perimeter all the way around. they stay in place with no additional securing methods like magnets, adhesives/suction cups. at least when new.

If making panels oneself, cut them out larger than needed and only slowly take off some of the edges and test fit again. I've made three custom windshield panels for the same vehicle and figured the last one I'd get it totaly perfect, I used old one as a template and added an inch around the whole thing, but should have added 1.5 inches to the bottom. Not really a big deal, but.....

One can also go further and make cardboard templates, then trace the templates onto the radiant barrier. Just keep in mind the reflextix seems to shrink in the direction it is rolled unrolled or folded. The cardboard template, if folding and unfolding/ rollling is not a factor in a specific usage, can be adhered to the radiant barrier.

A radiant barrier cardboard sandwich is very effective and will prevent sagging with age as long as the cardboard'grain' is aligned properly.

Some people like the corrugated signboard instead, I forget its technical name.

As you say many ways to skin this cat, and each cat is different

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted by Hyperscn64
Originally Posted by A_Harman
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
We sell the Intro-Tech ones here and they are awesome. I have them for my cars and use it almost every day in the Mustang. I just wish they made side ones since where I part the sun is on the driver's side of the car most of the time.


Buy some cheap ones at Walmart or Autozone and cut them up to fit your side windows. It's easy to do with scissors.


But, how to you keep them stuck on your side windows?!


If you cut them slightly larger than the windows, so that they interfere with the rubber window seals, they will stay in just fine.
I have a whole set of shades cut out to fit my Dodge.