Is window tinting worth it?
September 7, 2015 6:32 PM Subscribe
Just moved to LA, and doing lots of street parking for the time being. Would it be worth getting the windows tinted? Definitely more to reduce heat than for appearance sake. I don't want to end up with a bubbly, blue mess on my windows either, and I'm not sure if that happens over time and/or only in the case of sloppy self-installation...?
I would just make sure you don't run afoul of any laws about tinting. My brother had to replace his whole windshield after a tinting treatment because it didn't follow local laws (this is in Boston, but still).
posted by xingcat at 6:45 PM on September 7, 2015
posted by xingcat at 6:45 PM on September 7, 2015
I just use one of the reflective windshield shades that rolls up when you're not using it...it works really well. And, of course, park in the shade as often as possible...
posted by three_red_balloons at 7:01 PM on September 7, 2015
posted by three_red_balloons at 7:01 PM on September 7, 2015
Given the restrictions, probably not worth it. But get a good pop-up shade for the front (this makes a substantial difference in my car) and if you want you can use the cling-style tinted panels for the side windows to block some light when not in motion.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:08 PM on September 7, 2015
posted by Lyn Never at 7:08 PM on September 7, 2015
My take: you have to do it. Tinting will keep the interior of your car cooler and make all your stuff (and your skin!) happier. Anywhere in the American Southwest tinting is a big deal. As observed above, doing the windshield is probably not legal, but I'm pretty sure there's no problem down in LA with rear and back side windows, you can even get pretty extreme tints. I vote (we're voting, right?) go as dark as you legally can. I also vote don't do the self-apply. A professional can get it to fit perfect, no bubbles, use the right stuff so it stays forever. Technology is great now, just go to somewhere reputable. I've had tinting on the last 4 cars I've owned and it's always worked out great, except maybe back in the mid-nineties. Adding some tinting can make your car a lot more comfortable. Go go go!
posted by doteatop at 7:37 PM on September 7, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by doteatop at 7:37 PM on September 7, 2015 [3 favorites]
I took mine and my wifes car to get tinted. I didnt do it myself. Its a godsend.
You don't need to go darker than 20-30% for a big difference in heat, so if you are concerned about seeing at night, those are good limits.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:07 PM on September 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
You don't need to go darker than 20-30% for a big difference in heat, so if you are concerned about seeing at night, those are good limits.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:07 PM on September 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
I had the windows of my first car professionally tinted; after 8 or 9 years of roasting in the Florida sun (no garage/shade), the tint looked a little off, but nowhere near as bad as the telltale self-install bubbling. I've had max-legal tint on the two cars I've owned since, and I will get it on every car I own in the future. It's some of the best money I have ever spent.
posted by gatorae at 8:09 PM on September 7, 2015
posted by gatorae at 8:09 PM on September 7, 2015
So many cars here have even black-out windows, it's done all the time. What I would consider, however, is whether or not you want to give the cops a reason to pull you over or a reason to pile on infractions if you have been pulled over for something else.
I'd start with the reflectors LynNever mentioned but if you get the tinting get it done professionally for sure. I just put UV film on all my windows and it's hard enough when you are dealing with a flat, square surface.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:17 PM on September 7, 2015
I'd start with the reflectors LynNever mentioned but if you get the tinting get it done professionally for sure. I just put UV film on all my windows and it's hard enough when you are dealing with a flat, square surface.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:17 PM on September 7, 2015
A professional will also be able to tell you the exact legal requirements (even if they offer to exceed them, they will tell you and make you explicitly choose that.) I had my cars done in Hawaii. I'd say it was 7 or 8 years before I started to see it degrading and looking bad at the corners and had it done over again. The tinting plus the pop-up reflective shade for the windshield makes a huge difference.
posted by ctmf at 9:28 PM on September 7, 2015
posted by ctmf at 9:28 PM on September 7, 2015
We've been out here for almost two years. Within months of arriving I'd gotten my car done. I couldn't handle the heat on my skin while driving. I told myself that if I got twenty thousand miles out of it I'd consider it worth the price. I'm almost double that and there are no noticeable signs of degradation.
We've now gotten both our cars done by a professional in Ventura County and could not be happier. We have a light tint with a high % of uv protection. The cooling difference before/after is incredible and very, very worth it.
posted by ovenmitt at 9:45 PM on September 7, 2015
We've now gotten both our cars done by a professional in Ventura County and could not be happier. We have a light tint with a high % of uv protection. The cooling difference before/after is incredible and very, very worth it.
posted by ovenmitt at 9:45 PM on September 7, 2015
Two things:
posted by Rash at 10:16 PM on September 7, 2015
- Clearly, the inexpensive, temporary (and quite common) solution are those folding cardboard shades for your windshield.
- I‘ve heard (but cannot confirm from personal experience) that if you're cleaning smoky gray windows that have been tinted with a film, DO NOT use Windex, as that permanently changes the film to that undesirable violet color.
posted by Rash at 10:16 PM on September 7, 2015
We live in LA, and we've had all of our cars tinted for the last, oh, 15 years or so. Never had a problem with being pulled over and/or ticketed, and we are both all over the city every day for work. Just don't drive like a jackball and you won't need to worry about it.
Definitely go to a pro. And 2nding the windex thing - you'll notice that any carwash you go to doesn't use it, specifically so that they don't inadvertently ruin someone's tint.
posted by vignettist at 12:35 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Definitely go to a pro. And 2nding the windex thing - you'll notice that any carwash you go to doesn't use it, specifically so that they don't inadvertently ruin someone's tint.
posted by vignettist at 12:35 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
A potential ticket is worth it to me to avoid the wrinkles and skin cancer I was courting.
I have been told by dermatologists that window glass does not transmit UV. When I got Photogray-type eyeglass lenses, they did not darken inside the car, even with the sun shining directly on them. The heat you feel through the car window is not UV, and won't give you a tan, let alone cancer.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:56 AM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have been told by dermatologists that window glass does not transmit UV. When I got Photogray-type eyeglass lenses, they did not darken inside the car, even with the sun shining directly on them. The heat you feel through the car window is not UV, and won't give you a tan, let alone cancer.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:56 AM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Kirth Gerson, I've heard that too - but only about the windshield.
In my car (Prius) the windshield has UV protection built in via a special film between layers of glass that both keeps a lot of UV out and ensures that if my windshield breaks it won't shatter into sharp pieces on impact and flay me alive.
However, the glass on the rear window and driver/passenger side windows is simply tempered glass; it will keep out some amount of UV, but not a lot of it. I have an autoimmune condition that makes me super-sensitive to sunlight - like a vampire, I'm not even supposed to go outside after sunrise if I can help it. Since that isn't a realistic life-design, I wear a hat and got my windows tinted. The kind I got is supposed to block about 98% of UVA and UVB.
In MA, it's legal to have everything but the windshield tinted to a certain percent transparency. The tinting shop I went to (NEVER do the tinting on your own) tested the transparency of my windows prior to tinting, then added tint up to the legal level.
There are a couple of different varieties of tint - I went with the high-grade ceramic kind because it doesn't change hue with age and doesn't interfere with cell/radio reception. The tint is noticeable but not black-out, and the inside of the car feels much cooler as an added bonus.
posted by kythuen at 7:32 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
In my car (Prius) the windshield has UV protection built in via a special film between layers of glass that both keeps a lot of UV out and ensures that if my windshield breaks it won't shatter into sharp pieces on impact and flay me alive.
However, the glass on the rear window and driver/passenger side windows is simply tempered glass; it will keep out some amount of UV, but not a lot of it. I have an autoimmune condition that makes me super-sensitive to sunlight - like a vampire, I'm not even supposed to go outside after sunrise if I can help it. Since that isn't a realistic life-design, I wear a hat and got my windows tinted. The kind I got is supposed to block about 98% of UVA and UVB.
In MA, it's legal to have everything but the windshield tinted to a certain percent transparency. The tinting shop I went to (NEVER do the tinting on your own) tested the transparency of my windows prior to tinting, then added tint up to the legal level.
There are a couple of different varieties of tint - I went with the high-grade ceramic kind because it doesn't change hue with age and doesn't interfere with cell/radio reception. The tint is noticeable but not black-out, and the inside of the car feels much cooler as an added bonus.
posted by kythuen at 7:32 AM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kirth, this guy would beg to differ with your dermatologists.
posted by cecic at 7:50 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by cecic at 7:50 AM on September 8, 2015
cecic, that story doesn't say whether he drove his "delivery truck" with the window closed any of the time, or how much. This Skin Cancer Foundation site does support the claim that side windows don't block UVA.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:33 AM on September 8, 2015
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:33 AM on September 8, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks for all the responses. I am currently using reflective nylon shades in the front window. I was hoping that tinting elsewhere would alleviate some more of the heat. Driving around it seems that nearly everyone has tinting of some kind. I'm not sure I want to risk getting a ticket every time I drive, so I'll probably just do the back windows. Thanks!
posted by tremspeed at 1:31 PM on September 8, 2015
posted by tremspeed at 1:31 PM on September 8, 2015
Apparently window film that is transparent to visible light is in fact legal on front windows in California. I'm not sure if they are like some other states where the rules differ between cars and SUVs like they do in the last three states I've lived in.
You don't need to go very dark at all to make a huge difference in heat load, as the port-installed tint on my SO's RAV4 made apparent. The rears were fairly dark, but the front tint was quite light since it had to meet the relatively strict Arkansas standard (Gulf States Toyota uses the same tint region-wide), yet I still notice a big difference driving cars without it.
There was absolutely no degradation, bubbling, or anything in the 7 years the car was on the road. IIRC, they used Digifilm ceramic of some sort, probably around 85% transmittance on the fronts to get the correct overall light transmission when combined with the factory UV glass, which itself only has to have 70% transmittance to be FMVSS compliant.
posted by wierdo at 10:06 PM on September 8, 2015
You don't need to go very dark at all to make a huge difference in heat load, as the port-installed tint on my SO's RAV4 made apparent. The rears were fairly dark, but the front tint was quite light since it had to meet the relatively strict Arkansas standard (Gulf States Toyota uses the same tint region-wide), yet I still notice a big difference driving cars without it.
There was absolutely no degradation, bubbling, or anything in the 7 years the car was on the road. IIRC, they used Digifilm ceramic of some sort, probably around 85% transmittance on the fronts to get the correct overall light transmission when combined with the factory UV glass, which itself only has to have 70% transmittance to be FMVSS compliant.
posted by wierdo at 10:06 PM on September 8, 2015
Oh, I meant to mention that the car did spend some of its life in California with its original owner. I don't know exactly how long she had it out there, but it was at least a few months since she had the oil changed at a dealer out there and then had the cylinder heads replaced under warranty and it was a while before the next service back in Oklahoma.
posted by wierdo at 10:23 PM on September 8, 2015
posted by wierdo at 10:23 PM on September 8, 2015
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The bubbly blue or purple mess you describe is bad installation (bubbles) and cheap film (blue/purple mess). I found my installer on Yelp. PS- the installer talked me out of putting the clear stuff on the windshield. He said no matter how perfect the installation, all I would see would be the imperfections and it would drive me crazy.
posted by cecic at 6:44 PM on September 7, 2015 [3 favorites]