Window Tinting Questions & Answers

[hybridbear]

I have been watching the tint topics and enjoying the pics of various tinted FFHs because it's something we've been talking about since before we bought our car. I wanted to create a general thread with all the resources in one place for other owners who are interested in tinting. Those of you with knowledge of this can hopefully help answer the following questions. If you think of any additional questions that many prospective tinters may have then please post them too. Thanks everyone!

 

1. How can I find out the legal tint limits for my location?
2. How do I pick a window tint? Does brand of tint matter?
3. How much does tinting cost? How much of that cost is parts? How much is labor?
4. How can I find a good installer? What are some warning signs of a poor quality installer?

[murphy]

Question 1. Here is a good reference point.

 

http://www.tintlaws.com/

 

Question 2. Do not get a tint that is metallic. It will play havoc with anything that uses an antenna that is inside of the car.

[acdii]

I dont know what tint was used on my car, and dont really care as long as the job was done right and the end results was it looks good.

 

I asked my dealer to do a legal tint, which in IL is no more than 35% on all glass except the windshield. One thing that I know is always pain is the rear window since its a compound curve. There are multiple ways to do one, either in strips(not very good looking), dry shrink method where they use a powder as a lubricant and heat the film to shrink it to the window, or the wet method where they use a liquid as the lubricant to shrink it. either of the two shrink methods is good, so if the installer uses one of those, then they will do the job right.

 

As far as the actual film, there are many different varieties. Ceramic, Metallic, etc. as mentioned above, stay away from metallic as they interfere with RF. What you want is one that has a high UVa & B rating as blocking the highest amount of UV. Most good quality films have this, even those you get from Autozone and the like.

 

For mine it cost $299.95, and from what I remember from pricing the 2010, its about the same, and that was from a few different installers.

 

Usually an installer would have their own shop that also does stereo and other custom installations, and you can ask for references from their customers. Some dealerships also have a line on a good installer since there are times they have it done to cars they sell as an after market, and they most likely would not deal with a poor installer since they would be the ones getting the complaints.

[Scott Carlton Windell]

I am tinting my white fusion. I used the dealership to recommend thier installer and followed up with internet reviews. The quote given was 400.00 for a high grade ceramic based tint. I have seen some pics here of other white cars and the tint looks terrific! I also like the shark antennas.

[kuzzi]

Some manufacturers details the reflectivity data for different types and materials of their tint such as for UVA rays and infrared. I doubt any difference will be made between the differing brands but I think it's cool they put this out there.

 

Make sure you get a lifetime warranty, that's usually a good sign. Look to spend around $400.

 

I had dealer do mine for $350 with arranty. No issues thru one summer and winter ( there's no fall here.)

[Tutone56]

Had my white FFH tinted last week. Went with 35 on the sides and 20 on the rear. Looks much better, without drawing to much attention (although I have a medical issue which allows the tint). Paid $267 out the door, they did a great job. Have to wait 2 weeks to clean them though. I'll post pics when I can figure it out :)

Edited November 22, 2014 by Tutone56

[GrySql]

Had my white FFH tinted last week. Went with 35 on the sides and 20 on the rear. Looks much better, without drawing to much attention (although I have a medical issue which allows the tint). Paid $267 out the door, they did a great job. Have to wait 2 weeks to clean them though. I'll post pics when I can figure it out :)

Sounds good, I think tint on the white cars looks nice. Did the installer remind you not to use ammonia based window cleaner, like Windex, it will detach the tint material.

[Cooling Tower Guy]

In Florida and other states I have lived in the tint shop will not put any thing darker than the local law allows. In Colorado it is illegal to tint the front driver side and passenger side windows at all. Not to say you could not find someone to break the law for a few bucks. My friend in FL even had his windshield tinted very dark. Not just a strip, the entire windshield.

My Ford dealier has a contractor that they use for tinting. They set up the appointment and the guy came to the house and did a great job. Nick Nickolas Ford picked up the tab. I dont know if the tint every car they sell as a free service but they did mine.

[Tutone56]

Sounds good, I think tint on the white cars looks nice. Did the installer remind you not to use ammonia based window cleaner, like Windex, it will detach the tint material.

Yes he did, gave me a sheet with do's and dont's but I had my Mustang tinted previously so I already knew about that. I use Stoner's Invisible Glass cleaner, seems to do a good job.

[GrySql]

I had my windshield tinted and don't like glass cleaner getting on my dashboard vinyl.

I found this non-ammonia TurtleWax Dash and Glass and it works terrific, no worries about over-spray, it cleans everything with no streaking.

 

[mwr]

Stoner's Invisible Glass cleaner, seems to do a good job.

I've used it for several years. It's the only glass cleaner I've found (of course haven't tried all of them) that actually cleans glass without streaking or smearing, even when you look through the glass with the sun shining right at you.

[mwr]

I've found using Stoner's Invisible Glass in my FFH presents a problem, particularly on the rear window.due to the large slant, It's difficult to get the spray to hit the window where I want it. That would be a problem with any spray can window cleaner.

 

I'm thinking that it would be a good idea to use some sort of a sponge (containing window cleaner) on a long stick to apply the cleaning fluid. That would probably use a lot of cleaning fluid, so is there an easy-to-create home-brew window cleaner that does a good job?

[Texasota]

My co-pilot uses a mico fiber cloth (Norwex) with a little water (nothing else) and then follows that up with a polishing cloth (also Norwex). I was dubious and skeptical when she bought these but I was dead wrong. They did an incredible job with no hints of smearing, streaking or dirty glass even when driving into the direct sunlight. They can be washed in the washing machine (don't use fabric softener in washer or dryer) and they are ready to go again.

 

These Norwex cloths clean the inside auto glass better than anything we have ever used before. I was dubious but am now sold on them.

[mwr]

That sounds great. Do you use the larger glass colth for cleaning and the standard-size one for drying/polishing?

My co-pilot uses a mico fiber cloth (Norwex) with a little water (nothing else) and then follows that up with a polishing cloth (also Norwex). I was dubious and skeptical when she bought these but I was dead wrong. They did an incredible job with no hints of smearing, streaking or dirty glass even when driving into the direct sunlight. They can be washed in the washing machine (don't use fabric softener in washer or dryer) and they are ready to go again.

 

These Norwex cloths clean the inside auto glass better than anything we have ever used before. I was dubious but am now sold on them.

[Texasota]

That sounds great. Do you use the larger glass colth for cleaning and the standard-size one for drying/polishing?

There is a special polishing cloth. Our Norwex polishing cloth is purple in color. I believe these are the two she bought:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003G4ZO4Y/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003F8SNVM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=19QP5CFJ5G9R8X3V8N3H

[mwr]

Thanks. I'm going to ge those or rhe same from ebay.

 

There is a special polishing cloth. Our Norwex polishing cloth is purple in color. I believe these are the two she bought:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003G4ZO4Y/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003F8SNVM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=19QP5CFJ5G9R8X3V8N3H

[mwr]

My co-pilot uses a mico fiber cloth (Norwex) with a little water (nothing else) and then follows that up with a polishing cloth (also Norwex). I was dubious and skeptical when she bought these but I was dead wrong. They did an incredible job with no hints of smearing, streaking or dirty glass even when driving into the direct sunlight. They can be washed in the washing machine (don't use fabric softener in washer or dryer) and they are ready to go again.

 

These Norwex cloths clean the inside auto glass better than anything we have ever used before. I was dubious but am now sold on them.

Do you wet the window cloth with water first, then rub the cloth on the window? If so, how wet? I want to avoid spray bottles since I find they don't work well with the slanted windshield and rear window.

Edited January 22, 2015 by mwr

[Texasota]

Do you wet the window cloth with water first, then rub the cloth on the window? If so, how wet? I want to avoid spray bottles since I find they don't work well with the slanted windshield and rear window.

My other half says she saturates the cloth with hot water by holding it under the faucet, wrings it out, and then goes to work on the windshield (no spray bottles). Hope it works well for you.

[mwr]

My other half says she saturates the cloth with hot water by holding it under the faucet, wrings it out, and then goes to work on the windshield (no spray bottles). Hope it works well for you.

Thanks! I have the two cloths and will use them over the weekend if not sosoner.