Window tinting (Eastside Seattle)

[Aiken Drum]

My wife is getting my windows tinted next month for my birthday. As I have a black & black car and a hatred for temperatures over 70F, this is a rather good gift for me.

I've read the other posts on window tinting and wanted to get a little extra info, as well as any possible suggestions for tinting shops in my area.

I'm 98% concerned with reducing heat inside the car, both to preserve my comfort and also to preserve the interior. I've read the posts that say to get the metallized tints, which is fine for me since I don't use a radar detector. Are these (or a specific subset of these) the best for heat reduction? Is there a particular brand that gets good reviews?

What do I need to do to make sure the tinting will last on the engine hatch, given the internal heat? Is there a specific thing I should make sure the tinter does?

Are there any good options for the sun-visor area? I want that significantly darker, as I have the crappy short visors in an NSX-T, which don't cover much vertically and don't go to the corners very well. I'd prefer not to have a sharp line between light and dark up there, so are there any good options for a graduated tint?

I see people talking about limo tint on the hatch. First question: does this limit your RVM visibility much? Second: is it very noticable that there's a significant difference between your lighter side windows (which in Washington is my only option) and the very dark hatch? I like continuity, but the question is which I'd like better, continuity of the hatch with the body, or (near-)consistency of tint on all the windows.

And, as mentioned above, does anyone have a recommendation for a really good tinting shop in the Seattle area? I'd prefer the east side, but this is a one-shot deal, so I'd be willing to cross the lake too.

Thanks...


[This message has been edited by Aiken Drum (edited 11 March 2003).]

 

[red_MM_nsx]

Living in the desert southwest (Albuquerque, NM) I have the windows tinted on my NSX. I haven't had any problem at this point with the hatch tinting. On my car I have the same tinting on all three windows and I'm happy with it. My rear tinting is lighter than what you are suggesting and even so its a real problem seeing out the back with the roof off. My night vision is also somewhat diminished when trying to back out of the garage or parking spaces. In another car I owned, I had the rear done as dark as possible and I said I wouldn't do that again. I've been very happy with the same tint all the way around.

 

[DDozier]

Here is a little more info to think about,

Lumar Films are the best IMHO, they are metalized and have one of the best waranties against fading, peeling, cracking, and discoloration. The waranty is available from any authorized Lumar dealer so if you move or your dealer disapears you just need to find another dealer.

Limo Tint: well limo tint usually refers to the darkness or percentage of light permitted to pass through the film. Limo Tint is around 5%, check with your state about how dark you can legaly go on the driver & passenger window to avoid tickets. Here in Missouri we can only use 35% tint on those two windows the others you can do what you want.

Just remember with black interior and if you have the black engine cover still in place you will not have to tint very dark to get a dark look.

I would recomend 35% all the way around but if you want the back to be darker go for something around 20%. any darker and your visibilty will suffer. As with everything you will trade something for something.....visibility for comfort.

Best of luck

Dave

 

[Aiken Drum]

Okay, my wife called around today and is being told by more than one person that we should use Madico's new Charcool film rather than the Llumar I am seeing good reviews for. Madico's old stuff gets very bad reviews.

Is this a case of Madico paying people to hype their stuff, or is there really something very cool about their new film? Apparently it's using some "new" proprietary tinting formula that they refuse to disclose because it's a trade secret. However, that's the sort of thing that screams to me, "Same sh*t, different day."

Has anyone used Charcool?

PS: I do mean Charcool, not Charcoal.


[This message has been edited by Aiken Drum (edited 12 March 2003).]

 

[mikec]

Before I bought my NSX, I went to see one in Florida which had a darkly tinted rear hatch. I found that I could not see out the back. I may not have bought the car based on that alone. YMMV


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keep the shiny side up
MikeC 01 #46

[This message has been edited by mikec (edited 12 March 2003).]

 

[Lud]

I agree with everything DDozier said.

My '91 NSX came with 5% tint (limo tint). It looked cool, but there was no visibility at night unless you were in an area with lots of street lights.

After some research and talking to a friend-of-a-friend who did professional tinting (of buildings mostly) I had the old tint stripped off and replaced it w/ 35% Lumar tint (the brand DDozier also mentioned). It is good stuff and I never had a problem with it.