I have had my last few cars tinted, including my HCH, an Accord, and BMW. All are subjected to southern california rigors of weather, dirty, dust and wind. Scratching hasn't gotten me but one car that lasted over 10 years began to have its tint discolor.

I'll gladly trade off a cooler interior for the possibility of scratching or discoloration, as long as the tint is done professionally.

 

Why would scratching be a problem? The tint is on the inside, right?

 

Yes, that's where mine is!

My tint has endured cheap car washes, storms, wind, and all sorts of elements. The one thing that's gotten me is that I 'clacked' my keys against the window when closing the door. Small scratch that no one notices but me!

 

Every time the window goes up and down, both the inside and outside of the glass rub against the felt strips in the door (top seals). Over time, dust and crud imbeds into that felt and acts as an abrasive against the glass. Just take a finger and wipe across your dash and you'll see the crud that floats around... even inside the car (at least in So. Cal).

It's usually not a problem with glass, but with the softer tint material, I'm afraid it will scratch.

Same issue when washing the interior windows. A little dirt gets on the damp cloth and next thing you know, you're putting scratches into the tint surface.

I guess it's a tradeoff... cooler interior, more privacy & (hopefully) reduced damage to the interior plastic and fabric versus possible window tint scratches & slightly reduced night time visibility (and the initial cost of the tinting, of course!).

Question... does this tinting go on the windshield, too? If so, how do they get it installed? The gap between the glass and the top of the instrument gauge is so small I can't even fit my hand in there to clean the glass.

 

Forgot to mention that I have a lifetime warranty on it and I got the whole shebang, 6 windows (don't forget the 2 in front of the door windows) for 140.00 out the door. And I thought I was getting a bad deal....

 

Anahymbrid...

I hear ya. After tinting many cars ago, it sure saves the interior of my car and is a lot cooler particularly on days like today (over 90 in spots of So Cal).

I, too, have noticed that there's a lot of windshield between the roof line and my line of sight to the road. That's prime real estate for tint, but for me, I just kept it simple by tinting the rear and sides. Some people choose to tint the upper parts of the windshield, but I've grown past that stage.

For me, the tint is practical (much cooler in summer) and a nice byproduct is that it looks pretty nice, depending on your taste.

Lansing

 

Edit: Ops - posted to the wrong forum... But still looking for a place to do tinting.

In the HCH forum HCH-Jun paid $160 to get his Civic Hybrid tinted https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...26&postcount=1

Anyone know a good company in San Diego/Escondido to have tinting done? I want to have the rear window of my TCH tinted and maybe the rear side windows. Way too much sunlight comes through the rear window....

 

Nash, if you're looking for a tint, my buddy at work does tint on the side. We did my HCH I with 15% titanium 3M all the way around. Other options are available too. Looks great and makes a huge difference! We're in the Sorrento Valley area. Let me know.

 

Sorry to go slightly off topic, but just was wondering if anyone might have any input regarding bronze tint.

I really would not care for your everyday dark gray tint. Plus there is the issue mentioned earlier in this thread that the dark tint is not legal on the front windows in IL (acutally no tint is, so techically the bronze would be too; just figured that I would be a lot less likely to get pulled over).

So, anyways, anyone who is familiar with bronze tint care to give me opinions on how it might look on a Opal Silver Blue HCHII. Remember the interior is beige (technically ivory, but I call it tan or beige). For some reason I think it might actually look appropriate....

 

i have been wanting to get my windows tinted...i am in IL also. i don't want to go for the limo look...where only the rear windows are tinted. i have had brown tint on my cars that had a beige/ivory interior. it only looks good if the interior is beige/ivory. otherwise get the gray tint if you have dark interior.