Ok, so it's been a while since I got the car tinted, but I haven't had the time to post anything decent.
Since I live in MA (and will be for at least next 3-4 years), we have to deal with the tint law of 35% minimum total light transmitted (meaning both glass and tint). I risk getting pulled over daily and I'd rather have one less thing tacked on to the potential ticket, so I decided to go with legal tint.
Well, almost legal. Fronts are 35% (40% tint), rear sides and rear window are 30% (35% tint). The tint guy said that this makes the fronts look a little darker and the shades are close enough that you can't really tell the difference until you look. Also, most police officers don't check the rears, and if they do, it's close enough. And anyway, 30% is still plenty visible and easy to see thru.
Moonroof is 20%. Sun no longer burns my face: I almost never shut the moonroof door anymore.
The film is black metallized Llumar tint. Lifetime insurance on the tint. I decided not to go with platinum tint: I think it would look silly on a laser blue protege.
The tint looks really sharp. It's not the darkest, but it immensely enhances the car's look. I love it
I went to this place called Tint King in Billerica, MA... The guys there did a really good job: cleaned the windows really well, and the tint looks like it was there from the factory: no bubbles or anything funky.
They have a plotter that cuts the tint for you, so you get a perfect cut every time. It also means that the gap between window edge and tint film is small and consistent, and you avoid risking scratches from the razor on the glass. The only thing they had to cut by hand was the moonroof tint.
So my only gripe so far is this: due to the defroster lines, you can see slight reflections from other cars' headlights, presumably where the tint bends around the defroster lines. I'm not sure if this is something that all people w/ tint experience, or whether it can be straightened out by some additional heat gun application (or something).
The guy who runs the place was very nice, readily answered questions and gives lifetime warranty on the job.
The job cost me $220, $20 of which was for the moonroof.
Pics are coming soon...
P.S.: Moderator, maybe this should be moved to photo/video gallery instead?
Since I live in MA (and will be for at least next 3-4 years), we have to deal with the tint law of 35% minimum total light transmitted (meaning both glass and tint). I risk getting pulled over daily and I'd rather have one less thing tacked on to the potential ticket, so I decided to go with legal tint.
Well, almost legal. Fronts are 35% (40% tint), rear sides and rear window are 30% (35% tint). The tint guy said that this makes the fronts look a little darker and the shades are close enough that you can't really tell the difference until you look. Also, most police officers don't check the rears, and if they do, it's close enough. And anyway, 30% is still plenty visible and easy to see thru.
Moonroof is 20%. Sun no longer burns my face: I almost never shut the moonroof door anymore.
The film is black metallized Llumar tint. Lifetime insurance on the tint. I decided not to go with platinum tint: I think it would look silly on a laser blue protege.
The tint looks really sharp. It's not the darkest, but it immensely enhances the car's look. I love it
I went to this place called Tint King in Billerica, MA... The guys there did a really good job: cleaned the windows really well, and the tint looks like it was there from the factory: no bubbles or anything funky.
They have a plotter that cuts the tint for you, so you get a perfect cut every time. It also means that the gap between window edge and tint film is small and consistent, and you avoid risking scratches from the razor on the glass. The only thing they had to cut by hand was the moonroof tint.
So my only gripe so far is this: due to the defroster lines, you can see slight reflections from other cars' headlights, presumably where the tint bends around the defroster lines. I'm not sure if this is something that all people w/ tint experience, or whether it can be straightened out by some additional heat gun application (or something).
The guy who runs the place was very nice, readily answered questions and gives lifetime warranty on the job.
The job cost me $220, $20 of which was for the moonroof.
Pics are coming soon...
P.S.: Moderator, maybe this should be moved to photo/video gallery instead?
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My car looks kinda out of place with just the back tinted.
