PaulQ said:
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!
