Looking for data on ceramic tint brands!!! (Local window tinters are no help)

[DROdio]

I’m a noob and not a tint professional. I’m hoping I can get some unbiased advice from the pros here as I have three vehicles I need to get tinted, and the local window tinting professionals I talked to in the SF Bay Area all just seem to be pushing their own respective brands of tint.

 

What I’m looking for: 

• Maximum heat rejection — we do long road trips and I want the vehicle to stay as cool as possible.
• Long-lasting — happy to pay for a premium product that will last

 

That’s really it. I don’t know what level of actual tint darkness we need, but I’m flexible on that point. Heat rejection across all bands is much more important than privacy level (or tint color, etc). I think CA requires 70% pass thru-up front, so let’s just assume for now it’s 70 on the front two windows and something like 30 on the back, although I’m open to recommendations. One thing I don’t want is for the vehicle to be hard to drive at night by my wife.

 

I’m pretty sure that Ceramic tint is the way to go, vs. Carbon — but LMK if that’s not necessarily the case.

 

The installers in this area are repping all sorts of Ceramic brands: Llumar IRX, Suntek (CIR?) Xpel, Madico Black Pearl, SolarGard. But I haven’t been able to find much actual data on the UV / IR heat blocking properties of all these films. Is there one table somewhere that defines all these numbers in a non-biased way? There also seems to be super high-end tints like Huber Optik (which I have no idea if they are actually better) but there are no installers in the SF Bay Area, and I also haven’t seen any actual data on whether that’s better than other options. Then there’s this guy pushing “Nanoflex” film https://youtu.be/CyCRVSUdvtI Which he is saying is superior to other products, but I haven’t ever heard of his brand of film elsewhere. So it’s all just super confusing. I’d love to see some actual data on what films perform the best w/ some kind of rigorous scientific analysis.

 

And if anyone has a super-trusted SF-Bay window tint installer they can recommend, I’d love the referral!

 

[TINTZEUS]

Looks like you have all the manufacturers names. Maybe contact them directly and go with whatever product you deem fit. Find a certified installer in your area and go with it

[Jerry Hernandez]

I have been in the business for 27 years and really get into it when it comes to performance.  My first pick is the Zenith film from SolarGard, second would be the IRX from Llumar. Both are reputable in reporting factual numbers,  make very good film and are the two biggest manufacturers of film. Go to the sites and look at the performance numbers. 

[MastersTint1414]

Your last sentence was spot on... find a good shop.  I personally prefer Llumar IRX, but I am a Llumar dealer.  There are other good films out there.  But, no matter how good the film is you need a reputable shop to install it.  Go to the manufacturer's website and check out their numbers.