Reasons to Keep it Legal

F1windowtinting · May 26, 2013

Is there any state that allows anything darker than 70% on a windshield?

nc.wlch · May 28, 2013

I take a two fold approach. First and foremost I explain that any illegal work absolutely will not be covered under warranty. And second that a darker shade generally doesn't offer any more protection. Once they tell me they want darker so people cannot see them I politely tell them that I would rather not have their business.

TintMaster3000 · July 1, 2015

Well, I would say screw the law and do what you want, but I know there's repercussions of getting caught with illegal tint. What I've realized is if your tint is too dark and a cop wants to pull you over for it for whatever reason, they will and you can't do much about it. Removing tint isn't free! You have to pay to get illegal tint installed, pay for the ticket you got for having illegal tint, and pay to get it removed. If you want legal tint, you have to pay for that too! So, is it really worth getting illegal tint in the first place? Well, that's up to you.

Another reminder is that when state inspections come around, you can easily fail because of illegal tint. The same process works in this situation. You will have to pay to get the illegal tint removed in order to pass, which takes more time and energy when you could have just went will legal tint in the first place.

The reason most tint shops allow you to tint past the legal limit is that so they can charge you to remove it when you get caught or have to go through inspections. This happened to a friend of mine recently and although she doesn't mind paying to have the tint removed and re-applied, it's much more convenient to go with legal tint so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

My final verdict? If you're a true rebel, go with 5%. Otherwise, it might be best to go with 35% or whatever the legal limit is in your state.

Thanks for reading, love this thread :cool

Ocala · July 1, 2015

Well, I would say screw the law and do what you want, but I know there's repercussions of getting caught with illegal tint. What I've realized is if your tint is too dark and a cop wants to pull you over for it for whatever reason, they will and you can't do much about it. Removing tint isn't free! You have to pay to get illegal tint installed, pay for the ticket you got for having illegal tint, and pay to get it removed. If you want legal tint, you have to pay for that too! So, is it really worth getting illegal tint in the first place? Well, that's up to you.

Another reminder is that when state inspections come around, you can easily fail because of illegal tint. The same process works in this situation. You will have to pay to get the illegal tint removed in order to pass, which takes more time and energy when you could have just went will legal tint in the first place.

The reason most tint shops allow you to tint past the legal limit is that so they can charge you to remove it when you get caught or have to go through inspections. This happened to a friend of mine recently and although she doesn't mind paying to have the tint removed and re-applied, it's much more convenient to go with legal tint so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

My final verdict? If you're a true rebel, go with 5%. Otherwise, it might be best to go with 35% or whatever the legal limit is in your state.

Thanks for reading, love this thread

A lot of time must of went into your write-up and thanks for sharing. You focus on the illegal film as a reason for cops to pull you over and issue a ticket. You also mentioned that the reason that some shops do the illegal tinting is so they can make more money for having to remove it. I can probably speak for the majority of the tinters on this planet and say that removing film is not usually worth the time or effort for what it typically pays. The main reason to keep it legal should be focused around safety, just like there are speed limits on the streets, there are VLT limits on the windows.

TintMaster3000 · July 1, 2015

Well, I would say screw the law and do what you want, but I know there's repercussions of getting caught with illegal tint. What I've realized is if your tint is too dark and a cop wants to pull you over for it for whatever reason, they will and you can't do much about it. Removing tint isn't free! You have to pay to get illegal tint installed, pay for the ticket you got for having illegal tint, and pay to get it removed. If you want legal tint, you have to pay for that too! So, is it really worth getting illegal tint in the first place? Well, that's up to you.

Another reminder is that when state inspections come around, you can easily fail because of illegal tint. The same process works in this situation. You will have to pay to get the illegal tint removed in order to pass, which takes more time and energy when you could have just went will legal tint in the first place.

The reason most tint shops allow you to tint past the legal limit is that so they can charge you to remove it when you get caught or have to go through inspections. This happened to a friend of mine recently and although she doesn't mind paying to have the tint removed and re-applied, it's much more convenient to go with legal tint so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

My final verdict? If you're a true rebel, go with 5%. Otherwise, it might be best to go with 35% or whatever the legal limit is in your state.

Thanks for reading, love this thread

A lot of time must of went into your write-up and thanks for sharing. You focus on the illegal film as a reason for cops to pull you over and issue a ticket. You also mentioned that the reason that some shops do the illegal tinting is so they can make more money for having to remove it. I can probably speak for the majority of the tinters on this planet and say that removing film is not usually worth the time or effort for what it typically pays. The main reason to keep it legal should be focused around safety, just like there are speed limits on the streets, there are VLT limits on the windows.

You make a good point...

The post took all of 3 minutes but thanks for your reply. I realize tint shops don't make much money off of removal, but it is a service that has to be offered as many people eventually need their tint removed. As for the safety factor, I see what you're saying. At night it can be difficult to see out of a window that's tinted with 5% VLT. I'm not sure how common it is to get pulled over for illegal tint, but I guess safety is a good reason.

Ocala · October 6, 2015

Bump

Rjsi · October 8, 2015

I explain to every customer here in Tampa Fl, the benefits, the law and limits - the shade that I sell most, you guessed it 20%, and we all know 20% is illegal. Match front doors to factory on my new SUV? well nothing is close than 20%. If you tell them they can do a 35/20 combo to stay within the law, they don't want the difference in shade and want it all the same around. I don't install 5% on any car, I carry 15% but on limited quantities.

If I was just to follow 100% of the time what the law says, mine as well close shop.

What I don't understand is, why are attorneys going after the tint shops but they don't do the same after the Race Shop who sold all the race parts to the kid who installed the super charger, the engine hop ups used in the car for killing my brother? Why don't we go after the auto parts selling these highly intense head lamps on Jeeps and other 4x4 vehicles that blind you completely and make you almost go off the road cause you cannot see anything?

It boils down to owner responsibility, not the shop installing it. So let's say, you're a smoker - you get cancer from it, are you going after the Circle K who sold you the pack? No, right, so why go after the Tint Shop.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Rjsi

Tintmaster08 · October 8, 2015

I explain to every customer here in Tampa Fl, the benefits, the law and limits - the shade that I sell most, you guessed it 20%, and we all know 20% is illegal. Match front doors to factory on my new SUV? well nothing is close than 20%. If you tell them they can do a 35/20 combo to stay within the law, they don't want the difference in shade and want it all the same around. I don't install 5% on any car, I carry 15% but on limited quantities.

If I was just to follow 100% of the time what the law says, mine as well close shop.

What I don't understand is, why are attorneys going after the tint shops but they don't do the same after the Race Shop who sold all the race parts to the kid who installed the super charger, the engine hop ups used in the car for killing my brother? Why don't we go after the auto parts selling these highly intense head lamps on Jeeps and other 4x4 vehicles that blind you completely and make you almost go off the road cause you cannot see anything?

It boils down to owner responsibility, not the shop installing it. So let's say, you're a smoker - you get cancer from it, are you going after the Circle K who sold you the pack? No, right, so why go after the Tint Shop.

Very true. This whole keeping it legal thing is not going away any time soon. Most arguments over it are in my opinion invalid and personal. Most aftermarket accessories are illegal, a simple speaker upgrade can have you breaking noise ordinances at the turn of a volume knob. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's the laws that are not up to date, as most are written by people who don't use the products or have an understanding of the things they are trying to regulate. Talking and texting while driving is illegal but yet everyone still does it. I guarantee if window tint became a secondary offense and not a primary offense we wouldn't be having this discussion. In my opinion window tint is being used by law enforcement as an excuse to further the policing for profit movement. I drive around on a daily seeing vehicles with failed film that is just as dangerous if not more as dark tint, yet these people are driving around and getting these vehicles passed through inspection and law enforcement aren't ticketing or targeting these individuals.

DynamicATL · October 8, 2015

That is how I feel about it, window tint shades being illegal is more for police being able to ticket you for the government to make money...not so much about safety. Also highly used for probable cause to pull people over to check for other illegal activities. I was on a police forum once and they were asking officers do they ticket out of town people for illegal tint. 99% of them stated absolutely not, they just use it to pull them over. For example I was pulled over last year by a State Trooper because my window tint "looked dark". He quickly measured it and it was legal, so he moved right into the conversation on why he really pulled me over without missing a beat. What he was pissed about was he tried to check my speed (3 attempts) and was unable to because of my Laser Jammer. They are 100% legal in GA, but he wanted to let me know that he knows I have one and that they are pushing to have them illegal the following year. I also thought about the times I was pulled over for window tint in the past (roughly 18 ticketed times and around 6 non-ticketed times) not once have the officer ever stated it was a because of safety of me being able to see. Every single time that a reason was given, it was because the officer wants to be able to see the driver and passenger of the vehicle for their own safety. Which I can understand to an extent, but if I was planning on shooting the officer I can easily have the gun to side of me, pull it up and shoot him. Window tint or no window tint would not matter because he still wouldn't be able to see the gun nor know my intentions.

Rjsi · October 8, 2015

That is how I feel about it, window tint shades being illegal is more for police being able to ticket you for the government to make money...not so much about safety. Also highly used for probable cause to pull people over to check for other illegal activities. I was on a police forum once and they were asking officers do they ticket out of town people for illegal tint. 99% of them stated absolutely not, they just use it to pull them over. For example I was pulled over last year by a State Trooper because my window tint "looked dark". He quickly measured it and it was legal, so he moved right into the conversation on why he really pulled me over without missing a beat. What he was pissed about was he tried to check my speed (3 attempts) and was unable to because of my Laser Jammer. They are 100% legal in GA, but he wanted to let me know that he knows I have one and that they are pushing to have them illegal the following year. I also thought about the times I was pulled over for window tint in the past (roughly 18 ticketed times and around 6 non-ticketed times) not once have the officer ever stated it was a because of safety of me being able to see. Every single time that a reason was given, it was because the officer wants to be able to see the driver and passenger of the vehicle for their own safety. Which I can understand to an extent, but if I was planning on shooting the officer I can easily have the gun to side of me, pull it up and shoot him. Window tint or no window tint would not matter because he still wouldn't be able to see the gun nor know my intentions.

Very true on them being able to see for their safety, and I am all for that thus why I tend to talk most clients into legal Ceramic options. I want that father to go home and hug his wife and kids at the end of his shift.