residential question

March 25, 2004

What is the darkest tint to go on double pane windows with out having to worry about seal breakage I've got a customer that wants 5 on double pane's don't know if it's safe

March 25, 2004

are you asking 5%? 15% silver is the darkest that I know of mostly stay with 20%.

TintWizard · March 25, 2004

If it's 5% limo your referring to..definatly not... check your absorbtion rate on your film specs..I usually hang in around the 35% absorbtion myself...wouldn't go over 40% to be safe ...the risk increases if there is any partial shading on the windows or if the windows are very large...others here might have had luck with higher #'s , but I like playing it safe when it comes to thermo :bling

March 25, 2004

no the guy don't care if it's auto film sorry I didn't explain better I've tried to talk him out of using auto be thats all he'll take is 5%

Protint · March 25, 2004

5% is way to dark to for thermal pane glass. Most companies have a 20 bronze that is safe. :bling

March 25, 2004

the 5% will break his windows!

Tintcutter · March 25, 2004

You are asking the wrong question.

Darkness isn't a word tinters use much except when talking to the general public. We use "Visible Light Transmission". This has a number on the laboratory sheets that are available for films. The VLT is not what breaks glass. The "Absorption" value is what breaks glass. You generally find the lower the VLT the higher the absorption on non reflective films, but this is not as true for metallized non reflectives, and shiny films are very low absorbing films. If the absorption is above 49% on a insulated glass unit, you should go to church and light a candle and pray the glass doesn't fog.

Mdog · March 25, 2004

we put bronze 20% on everything :bling

definitely do NOT put 5% on those windows. tell the FVCKER if he wants dark to put solar screens on the outside. thts what I did and they work awesome.

TintWizard · March 25, 2004

..or Solar blinds on the inside work great as well...but will cost you $$$

March 25, 2004

Another thing you might want to look at is how much sun light exposure does the glass get. If he get a little morning sun then you can go a little darker, But if he gets a lot of afternoon sun stay with a more appropriate absorbtion.