3m crystalline color differences and opinion

[Fredward]

Just got my 4runner done. 3m crystalline all around. 70 on windshield and 40 on everything else. So far I'm really liking it. Honestly I think I got myself over hyped on the heat reduction. I mean it helps a lot but it's not like you won't have to run your ac. I wanted to note a few things I had trouble finding easily so people doing research can see pictures and read this here

 

1) the color differences btw the different levels. Yes the 40 and below look a tad brown but really it's not a deal breaker. You can really only tell if you take a pic like these. Once your in the car looking out your eyes adjust and it doesn't look brown anymore. From the outside it just looks black. The 70 does look a bit...a bit, blue but same thing. Not a deal breaker. 

 

2) if you wear polarized glasses.  Things will be rainbowish through the tint. But it's not like theres a giant rainbow blocking your vision out of the windshield. Instead other cars and other cars windows will sometimes appear rainbow. And sometimes the sky will too but anyone that wears polarized glasses is already used to these kind of things. The worst is my back window. When the sun hits it the whole bottom half is a crazy rainbow dot matrix and can actually obscure vision. But hey, good thing I have a 4runner and can roll down the back window if need be. 

 

3) at certain times the sun hit the window just right and it is hazy but this is only my first couple days so we will see if that changes. From what I hear it won't ever go away completely. 

 

4) I am REALLY glad I drove 2 hours away to get the windshield done because the crystalline installed here does not carry 70 so I went to one that did and it isn't much different but it's exactly what I wanted on he windshield. Just slightly darkened. Really sets off the whole look. 

 

Overall I am a satisfied customer!  Just really don't think it's worth a grand but hey. It's just money. And as a travel nurse I take a lot of long road trips so I think I'll look back with no regerts when that sun is trying to cook my arm and it can't. ;)

 

i will have to come back and update my opinions and anything else learned as time goes on. Thanks everyone for your indirect help as I spent a lot of time reading your posts researching window film. 

[DynamicATL]

Glad you are happy.

 

Yes, you will still have to use A/C when it is hot, just not as high...it will now cool down faster than before.  I typically roll my windows down for 5-10 seconds when I first turn on the A/C.  IMO it helps move the hotter air out faster, but I could be crazy.

 

Like you said, the 40% is not horrible with the color...I have it on all my vehicles and love it.  Once you get down to 20%, it is heavy especially if you have a tan interior.  Personally I wished they did a 30% and not a 20%.  I had it one one of my rear windows and we took it off.  We ended up doing a double layer of CR/CS to get to the 20%.

 

The rainbow stuff I personally do not see and I think it will decrease as the film drys.  If you just got it done then there is still water that can be causing effects...give it 3-4 weeks to completely dry out.  Everyone sees that stuff differently, so you may be more sensitive to it.

 

The price is dictated by the market you are in and how the dealers price it.  In GA, it is 2/3rd that price with the windshield.

[Fredward]

I did not think about the rainbow effect being related to the drying. Good point.  I am sure my thoughts and findings/opinions will change as it dries and I live with it. Thanks 

[Tintguy1980]

21 hours ago, Fredward said:

Just got my 4runner done. 3m crystalline all around. 70 on windshield and 40 on everything else. So far I'm really liking it. Honestly I think I got myself over hyped on the heat reduction. I mean it helps a lot but it's not like you won't have to run your ac. I wanted to note a few things I had trouble finding easily so people doing research can see pictures and read this here

Keep in mind film can only 'reduce' the amount of heat coming through the glass. I have CR 40 on my jeep, too. CR 40 reduces heat by 60-61%(?), so yes you will still need AC. And that reduction is attained with 7 mph breeze across the outside glass surface. The higher the wind across the surface the higher the reduction. If a film is sold by using it's infrared rejection number, it is a tad bit misleading since (near) infrared energy only makes up approximately half the sun's energy that produces heat. Visible light produces the other (approximate) half, with ultraviolet energy accounting for less than 2%.

 

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1) the color differences btw the different levels. Yes the 40 and below look a tad brown but really it's not a deal breaker. You can really only tell if you take a pic like these. Once your in the car looking out your eyes adjust and it doesn't look brown anymore. From the outside it just looks black. The 70 does look a bit...a bit, blue but same thing. Not a deal breaker. 

CR40 does display a faint bluish hue to it from an exterior looking at the car perspective. Inside out has a earth-tone brown appearance. It really depends on the color of the factory glass, the lighting conditions (sunny or cloudy), a car's interior color scheme, and your position to the glass.

 

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2) if you wear polarized glasses.  Things will be rainbowish through the tint. But it's not like theres a giant rainbow blocking your vision out of the windshield. Instead other cars and other cars windows will sometimes appear rainbow. And sometimes the sky will too but anyone that wears polarized glasses is already used to these kind of things. The worst is my back window. When the sun hits it the whole bottom half is a crazy rainbow dot matrix and can actually obscure vision. But hey, good thing I have a 4runner and can roll down the back window if need be. 

Best not to wear polarized glasses with window film of any type. The polarization dramatically increases 'thin-film interference' of a window film's scratch resistant coating. Tempered glass also will display a rainbow of color banding or splotching when looking at it with polarize sunglasses. Combine film and tempered glass and you have plenty of pretty colors to distract you.

 

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3) at certain times the sun hit the window just right and it is hazy but this is only my first couple days so we will see if that changes. From what I hear it won't ever go away completely. 

Glass itself has what the industry knows as 'low angle haze' ... it's not noticeable until you darken the glass from the clear state it was in before film was applied. The film's polyester substrate can also have low angle haze. It's known as the 'brightness' and the higher the quality of the polyester, the higher the brightness (factor) providing the lowest haze.. Dirty glass displays haze, too. Multi-layers of film can have haze. Crystalline has an amazing brightness factor considering the multi-layer optical technology used to produce its performance values.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2018 by smartie2shoes