| PaulQ |
(I checked all the tint questions and there is only brief mention of "Lumar" or "Lumilor". The threads tend to go off into a discussion of legal issues and degree of tint. Example: http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/...ght=window+tint)
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Apparently, there is an issue with front windows matching rear windows.
What are the specific brands of tint that you have had a successful result with?
Thanks! |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
(I checked all the tint questions and there is only brief mention of "Lumar" or "Lumilor". The threads tend to go off into a discussion of legal issues and degree of tint. Example: http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/...ght=window+tint)
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Apparently, there is an issue with front windows matching rear windows.
What are the specific brands of tint that you have had a successful result with?
Thanks!
Lumar and 3M both produce premium-quality tint film. As they tend to vary slightly in color, I've found that the 15% "smoke" variations seem to match quite well with the factory tint. "Onyx" or "deep black" colored films tend to be too black and don't match the rear windows as well. You could also go 20%, you won't notice much difference.
Just make sure you get a good quality film, that's the most imporant thing. Metalized tints last a LOT longer and don't fade or turn purple like cheap tint. Also, a high-quality film almost always means you're getting a better glue as well... so bubbling and peeling are less of a concern. |
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| PaulQ |
Thanks Special! Good info!
I am nervous about doing this to my MO, unlike any other car I have owned. |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
Thanks Special! Good info!
I am nervous about doing this to my MO, unlike any other car I have owned.
Why nervous?
If you plan on doing it yourself, it's not *hard*, just messy and a tad tedious. You just need to be careful about your application methods. Personally, I prefer just to find a shop who'll do it as dark as you want and let the "pros" (I use that term loosely...) do it. It usually only costs a few dollars more than buying the film from them and doing it yourself.
I think I've "grown out" of my super-dark windows phase.. not sure why, I just don't see the fun in it that I used to. My other car is just TOO dark -- it's dangerous to drive it at night with a tinted windshield! With the MO I'm going for a nice, clean, sharp look. Matching the front windows to the rears should give it a nice balance and look, and with 15% or 20% film, I'm not letting in THAT much more heat than if I had 5% limo. No more windshield tinting for me... a good quality sunshade will do the trick while she's parked. :) |
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| PaulQ |
I don't understand windshield tinting. I mean I understand the basic reasoning but it just doesn't seem like a good idea to obstruct the window that provides most of your primary driving information.
Oh trust me, I am hiring someone. But you know how it is, the industry isn't exactly standardized and there are no "certified" tinters". I guess I can just pull the tint off in the worst case.
Apparently you have to be careful about rear window defrost wires too.
Based on your info, I'll go ahead with it. I'll ask ther guy if he can toss you a referral fee. :cool: |
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| GripperDon |
| Us folks in AZ and NV need all the tint we can get. :D |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
I don't understand windshield tinting. I mean I understand the basic reasoning but it just doesn't seem like a good idea to obstruct the window that provides most of your primary driving information.
Well, I did it because it was "cool" and I was stuck in a too old to be young but wouldn't accept the fact i was getting older stage, and still wanted to be cool. Hehehe.... most of the time it wasn't a huge problem, actually made day driving nice because it cut the glare out of the sunlight and such. At night, it was kind of nice sometimes because it would cut the oncoming headlights to a reasonable level, but in low-light situations or bad weather.. man... it was a nightmare.
quote:
Oh trust me, I am hiring someone. But you know how it is, the industry isn't exactly standardized and there are no "certified" tinters". I guess I can just pull the tint off in the worst case.
Yeah, that's why I used the term "pro" loosely. :) But, at the very least, I figure anyone that works as a tinter has had some training and more experience doing it than I have...
quote:
Apparently you have to be careful about rear window defrost wires too.
Yes, again, a high-quality film with good glue and a "professional" installation are the best defense against bubbling and peeling. However, with the rear window already factory tinted, and it's between the panes of glass rather than on the surface, that's not an issue with the MO.
Enjoy. :) |
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| PaulQ |
| Oh... are you saying you had no tint applied to the rear window? If so, does that look right when you tint the other four? |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
Oh... are you saying you had no tint applied to the rear window? If so, does that look right when you tint the other four?
Yeah, the rear window matches nicely as-is. |
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| PaulQ |
| Nice. That will probably make it cheaper! :2: |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
Nice. That will probably make it cheaper! :2:
I was quoted $75 for both front windows by TrimLine, but they would only go to 35% (legal limit).
I was quoted $60 for both front windows by another local shop.
Just FYI, so you have some numbers to compare to.
/dangling participle |
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| PaulQ |
Thanks. I got a quote of $160 for 5 windows and done at my home or work. Based on what you've stated, it seems in line.
Another question...
Did you put the 20% film on top of all the windows? Did that change the back windows? Errr... I mean, does that make all the windows the same despite the fact that the rear are already tinted darker?? |
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| PaulQ |
Ok here is what I think will be my last question...
AZ law says 33% of visble light must pass through the window.
Does this mean I can only legally apply a film that is rated 33%? And if I do so over the existing tint, will it compound to a lower number?
(there is no restriction on side windows, 10% on rear)
:17: |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
Thanks. I got a quote of $160 for 5 windows and done at my home or work. Based on what you've stated, it seems in line.
Another question...
Did you put the 20% film on top of all the windows? Did that change the back windows? Errr... I mean, does that make all the windows the same despite the fact that the rear are already tinted darker??
No... only the front two windows, otherwise it won't match. If you put the same film on all 5 windows, then the rear door and rear windows will still be darker than the fronts.
If you REALLY want all 5 windows to be darker, and the same, you'll have to do some calculations and apply the proper film to the rear windows to match the darkness of the fronts.
I find the factory darkness on the rears is fine and I didn't feel there was a need to make them any darker... |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
Ok here is what I think will be my last question...
AZ law says 33% of visble light must pass through the window.
Does this mean I can only legally apply a film that is rated 33%? And if I do so over the existing tint, will it compound to a lower number?
(there is no restriction on side windows, 10% on rear)
:17:
If you put 33% (actually it will be 35% because I've never seen 33% film, only 35%) on the already tinted windows, then yes, it will compound to a darker effective level. We had this discussion in another thread, actually, if you wanna search for it...
I think the ultimate question here is what are you trying to accomplish? Do you want the absolute darkest windows you can legally get away with for all 5 windows? Do you want all the windows to match? |
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| PaulQ |
I did read a thread with some calculations related to compounding tint. I think I need to read it again to see if I can figure it out.
I should have said this at the beginning... My goal is all 5 windows tinted BUT the front-side windows lighter than the rear 3. Basically, I want a darker version of what the car came with.
I am not really satisfied with the rear tint.
I don't really want blacked out windows at all. I think that would compromise night driving. Plus I am too old to have a pimp daddy car.
I think I may have confused things when I said "match" - I meant in terms of color and quality, not degree.
Does that make sense? |
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| GripperDon |
| You mean, we don't get to call you "Pimp Daddy" Ah Schucks! :D |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
I did read a thread with some calculations related to compounding tint. I think I need to read it again to see if I can figure it out.
I should have said this at the beginning... My goal is all 5 windows tinted BUT the front-side windows lighter than the rear 3. Basically, I want a darker version of what the car came with.
I am not really satisfied with the rear tint.
I don't really want blacked out windows at all. I think that would compromise night driving. Plus I am too old to have a pimp daddy car.
I think I may have confused things when I said "match" - I meant in terms of color and quality, not degree.
Does that make sense?
Ok... let's see here.
I've heard that the factory windows are 15%, and I've heard they are 20%. I don't think I've seen an actual definitive answer to this yet, so we'll just use 20% for the sake of explanation.
If you start with 20% and add another layer of say, 35% film to it, you will end up with 35% of 20%, which is approximately 10% (actually it comes out to 7%). If you have 15% factory and add 35% you come out with about 5.5%. 15% + 15% come out to 2.5%, now THAT'S dark.
You can only do 35% (or 33% if you can find film in that rating) if you want to stay legal on your front windows. Your rear window, if it has to stay above 10%, then you can only add 50% if the factory is 20% because that will net 10%. If the factory is 15% then you can only add 65%, as that come out to 9.75%. There's wiggle room in there, no one's going to know if your rear window is 9.75% or 10%. :)
I would suggest maybe adding 65% or 50% to all 3 rear windows, and put the 35% on the fronts and keep them legal... that way your backs are dark but not "blacked out". Of course, it's your MO, do it however you want! :) |
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| GripperDon |
Let me try and reduce it down a bit.
The percentage number of the tint is the amount of light that gets thru the tint.
Therefore the total that gets thru is simply found by mutiplying the mumbers.
Example 35% is .35 and 20% is .2
So, .35 times .2 is .07 or 7% of the light will get thru the tint. DARK! |
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| special-k |
| Thanks GripperDon, that was a better way to explain it. :) |
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| PaulQ |
Ok. So the formula is:
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[existing VLT] x [new tint's VLT] = final VLT
VLT = visible light transmission
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Rear window situation: rear windows are currently at 20% and you add 65%. Therefore...
.20 x .65 = .13 (13%)
That makes sense!
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My front windows seem to have tint. I think if I put 35% over the front windows. it would drop below the legal 33%. For example, if I say the front windows are 85%...
.85 x .35 = .30 (30%)
It sure would be nice if this info was readily available from Nissan. I really have no idea what the tint is on the front. Anyone know?
I like your idea, Special, I'll probably go for 65% on the back and sort of wing it for the front.
(Thanks guys)
Ain't gonna be no pimp daddy! |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
My front windows seem to have tint. I think if I put 35% over the front windows. it would drop below the legal 33%. For example, if I say the front windows are 85%...
.85 x .35 = .30 (30%)
Yeeeeeaaaaah....... you know I really wouldn't worry all that much about it unless cops in your town are REALLY strict. I know in Las Vegas the cops NEVER bothered me about my double-limo-tinted car (and I was pulled over plenty of times :rolleyes: ) ... they were fairly lenient because I think they understand how hot it is. I think someone that I was discussing this with in the other thread said he measured the front windows at 70%... but even so, I would bet any tint shop would happily just slap some 35% on there and call it a day. If you're really concerned about it, have them measure the front windows when you get there and do the calculations to get to 33% and apply whatever appropriate film.
Like I said though, unless cops in your area are REALLY strict, I wouldn't worry about it. I can't imagine they'd give you a hard time over a window that measures 30% and the limit is 33%. Your call on that one. |
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| PaulQ |
Another thorn...
The guy I was going to use only uses SUNGARD and SUNTEK film. He says they are high quality, color stable, and smoke.
Anyone know about these films??
:confused: |
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| GripperDon |
I read in the paper today that our town "Scottsdale" gave out almost 60,000 photo radar tickets in 2004 and we have less than 250,000 people in the town and it seems like they ALL drive.
I found it hard to believe that more than 1/4 of all the people got speeding tickets in a single year, but then I read they expect 90,000 tickets in 2005.
Hell, nobody's should have time to measure window tint darkness they are too busy writing tickets. |
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| hfelknor |
I lived in Snottsdale some years ago.
Sounds like it is a lot bigger now (Of course).
BUT, is that summer or winter population?
It makes a difference.
As to the Film.
If is was me I would not use anything other tham Lumar or 3M, with a bias toward 3M.
But that's just me.
Homer |
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| GripperDon |
Winter population is so huge you can hardly drive anywhere, Summer is so bad you don't want to drive anywhere.
Every year more and more stay year around. But I would guess that winter swell the place by 15% on the average.
The local Nissan and infiniti dealers routinly use "Diamond" window films and give a lifetime warranty. 1800 777 1770. Don't know about it one way or the other. but they have impressive literature and I think pre cut panels for various autos. |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by PaulQ
Another thorn...
The guy I was going to use only uses SUNGARD and SUNTEK film. He says they are high quality, color stable, and smoke.
Anyone know about these films??
:confused:
I have heard of SUNGUARD, but not heard of SUNTEK. I would just make sure it's a metalized tint, and make sure you get a lifetime warranty... also try to go to a bigger shop to have it done so if your tint starts to fade, purple, bubble, peel, etc., in 4 or 5 years, at least you'll know they'll still be there to honor the warranty.
I prefer Lumar when I can get it, but if you don't have a local shop that uses it, go for what you can get. |
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| GripperDon |
| The folks at Danny's on Scottsdale road use a brand that is the only thing Mercedes recommends, I can't remember the name but if you call them they will give you a quote. I used it on my 2000 S class and it was really nice. |
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| PaulQ |
I think I am just going to try and go with 3M or Lumar. I've read in several places that that's the way to go.
I was just at Danny's this morning. I might check on them too. |
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| PaulQ |
I purposely asked the lady if all of the tint info was on my receipt but it turns out it wasn't so I have to reply on my horrible memory.
I got 3M Color Stable tint. It has no metals. It looks very good!
The receipt says "35*/35" but I think that's just there to satisfy the legal limit rules. They had no problem telling me they were tinting a bit more than the legal limit.
I got the windows tinted so they would be nearly the same all the way around. Of course, the back windows still appear darker. I had them apply a light tint to the back windows and a darker one to the front windows to acheive this effect.
I wish I had better details to share. When you go to the tint shop, they can show you the levels of tint.
3M seems to match the car and underlying factory tint. I did not go "limo black" because, as I've read here, I think that would be dangerous especially given the Murano's less than perfect rear visability.
I paid $230 and it took 3 hours.
Happy I did it! |
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