Tint different colors/work quality

Drassic · January 26

That’s interesting. I assume privacy glass is also different in different countries depending on regulations etc

Before my car was tinted the rear was definitely visually darker than the front. It measured as darker too with the vlt meter. I think it measured at around 30/40 something (I remember the shop saying it was lighter than usual which is 20-25 maybe?) and the front was 70/80.

The legal limit here is 35 front, 20 rear. It used to be 35 all round. That’s why we put 40 on the front and 70 on the rear.

We also are not allowed to tint the front windshield.

Drassic · January 26

4 hours ago, Dano said:

I've seen privacy printed on alot of windows and factory sales stickers (monronies). It's usually just a uv coating baked into the glass on sedans and coupes.

Most passenger cars do not come with darkened glass unless they are classified as light duty trucks, MPVs or crossovers.

Kinda like when you buy "real juice" at a store only to read the label and find out it's 10% concentrate and 90%water. It's a sad state of affairs when words are ambivalent in relation to what is being presented.

Original windows with the rear ‘privacy’ glass. Rear is definitely darker than the front and came with some level of tint in the back. In the specs it is privacy glass as mentioned, but maybe it’s different to what you guys have.

PrivacyGlass.jpeg.034b60c2c02e2a93422bdcc3686d8f64.jpeg

Bham · January 26

5 hours ago, Drassic said:

Original windows with the rear ‘privacy’ glass. Rear is definitely darker than the front and came with some level of tint in the back. In the specs it is privacy glass as mentioned, but maybe it’s different to what you guys have.

Yes it it different. The only vehicle that I know of that comes with a 30% factory glass is Toyota Tacoma and 4Runner. I have yet to see a Hyundai or Kia with anything other than a 20% factory glass. Just like all the other mannies, their factory glass is somewhere around a 20%. The fact you said your factory rear glass was a 30% is odd to me. Just sayin...

Also - IF? your rear glass is a factory 30% and you put 40% on the front two doors, at this point you are only about 5 maybe 7 percentage points different. Factory clear glass with Global 40% on it usually meters at around 32% and that 70% ceramic added to the rear if it is 30% would only change take that down to about 22-25%. If all of this is correct this is what your pictures look like to me. The color or hue problem is due the factory glass color. There in not one single film out there that matches factory glass color perfectly when added to the factory "green glass" on the front two doors. The factory rear glass is always a little different in color or hue.

another thing is that all factory "green glass" on the front two doors is a different color or hue from manny to manny. Hell, Toyota 4Runner factory front doors are almost yellow or khaki compared to everyone else. And all of them meter a little different. Usually around a 72% but that can vary a bunch of points either way depending on manufacturer. I currently have a Toyota Highlander in the bay that meters 19% rear factory and 64% front "clear" "green glass" :blink

Edited January 26 by Bham

Tintguy1980 · January 26

Could be worse. Here is the look my 2015 Jeep Cherokee has when under the worst kind of lighting; mist rain days. The front door has 3M Crystalline 40 (8 yrs old) at this point.

You can clearly see the mismatch between that film and the privacy glass that has no added film. From the inside looking out, the front doors closely match the privacy color, just lighter.

Before the question is asked, that privacy glass is about 20% visible light transmission, 60-65% total solar energy rejection and 95-99% UV reduction. The fronts were 70% VLT light factory tint (green glass) before adding Crystalline 40.

Tintguy1980 · January 26

Forgot to mention; instead of tinting the windshield I chose to put a light color dashmat, which helped tremedously given the dash came in black.

DynamicATL · January 26

I had a Jeep Compass that metered 30% on the privacy glass. I was in disbelief it was so light.

Drassic · January 27

11 hours ago, Bham said:

Yes it it different. The only vehicle that I know of that comes with a 30% factory glass is Toyota Tacoma and 4Runner. I have yet to see a Hyundai or Kia with anything other than a 20% factory glass. Just like all the other mannies, their factory glass is somewhere around a 20%. The fact you said your factory rear glass was a 30% is odd to me. Just sayin...

Also - IF? your rear glass is a factory 30% and you put 40% on the front two doors, at this point you are only about 5 maybe 7 percentage points different. Factory clear glass with Global 40% on it usually meters at around 32% and that 70% ceramic added to the rear if it is 30% would only change take that down to about 22-25%. If all of this is correct this is what your pictures look like to me. The color or hue problem is due the factory glass color. There in not one single film out there that matches factory glass color perfectly when added to the factory "green glass" on the front two doors. The factory rear glass is always a little different in color or hue.

another thing is that all factory "green glass" on the front two doors is a different color or hue from manny to manny. Hell, Toyota 4Runner factory front doors are almost yellow or khaki compared to everyone else. And all of them meter a little different. Usually around a 72% but that can vary a bunch of points either way depending on manufacturer. I currently have a Toyota Highlander in the bay that meters 19% rear factory and 64% front "clear" "green glass"

Your figures sound about right and is what we were aiming for given the legal rate here is 35% front and 20% rears. I don’t remember the exact vlt of the privacy glass bare but it was around 30. I don’t know why or how but that’s what it came out as. Maybe the meter was off or in our country it’s specced lighter due to our strong regs for tint? I remember thinking it was high from what I researched and the tint guy commented it was higher than he thought it would be. He also said that adding 70 to the rear will keep it above 20 and legal - which stacks up. I do want to go get them both measured again though post tint. The front came out at 35-37 (+/- 2%) with the sample on it so that also sounds about right.

So you think the back is darker? (It should be in theory). There have been some comments that the front is actually darker, which doesn’t add up unless the wrong tint was used. They should be close though as you said. Pic below amid the tint job which I think better demonstrates that the rear is darker.

IMG_1117Medium.jpeg.67a47dd1983414dd55a1eaccd8b037cc.jpeg

Drassic · January 27

7 hours ago, Tintguy1980 said:

Could be worse. Here is the look my 2015 Jeep Cherokee has when under the worst kind of lighting; mist rain days. The front door has 3M Crystalline 40 (8 yrs old) at this point.

You can clearly see the mismatch between that film and the privacy glass that has no added film. From the inside looking out, the front doors closely match the privacy color, just lighter.

Before the question is asked, that privacy glass is about 20% visible light transmission, 60-65% total solar energy rejection and 95-99% UV reduction. The fronts were 70% VLT light factory tint (green glass) before adding Crystalline 40.

Its interesting your rear tint has heat and UV rejection which makes me thing our privacy glass is quite different. I’ve been told that our privacy glass doesn’t have those properties which is why most will still tint to rears as well. We can’t tint our front windshield anyway so the heat thing doesn’t matter anyway but UV is important for if you have a child in the rear.

Yours to me seems more of a mismatch of darkness rather than color. I guess you can’t have both if you have privacy glass!

Drassic · January 27

4 hours ago, Tintguy1980 said:

Forgot to mention; instead of tinting the windshield I chose to put a light color dashmat, which helped tremedously given the dash came in black.

I enjoy a bit of detailing and there are some good products to protect the dash! We can’t tint out front here as that is usually the glass shattered in an emergency so we have to keep it bare legally.

Tintguy1980 · January 27

Yes the back looks darker, not by much, but it is darker. The model of your car explains the privacy glass. Usually privacy glass is not found on 4-door sedans, however, there are exceptions for markets outside the US. SUV of any size has privacy glass with clear all around a rarity.

Privacy glass can vary from 5%, found in buses and limousines, to 20-25%VLT to those reporting 30%; it really depends on who produced the glass.

And, the performance numbers given for privacy glass will vary as well, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say, today they all have values similar to what I wrote in my Jeep reply. What was once used in high-end vehicles eventually trickles down to the everyday family car. I've been retired since 2015 and those value existed even then. A bit of deep-dive research will give values on privacy glass performance. Good luck, because many glass producers are vague in the info they share.

There's a powerful meter available through EDTM (if they still exist); I think it's model 2250, and is what I used in 2014 to gather info on auto glass performance. It was my own curiosity that sent me out to car lots. The shocker, then, was to find that Cadillac had greenish glass in like we all know of, but the one front door I measured at VLT 70%, TSER of 47%, and a UV rejection of 98-99%.

Automotive glass has evolved in performance since, I believe the late 80's into the 90's, to what can be found on most vehicles today. It's all about cooling the cabin to reduce any AC strain on the motor, leading to reduced gas use, and lowered emissions.

Many window tinters, car dealerships (and car owners) may or may not be fully aware of what the glass performance is today, they have a business' to keep afloat. Then there's the variations in where the best performing glass gets used. A crap shoot for the consumer, so it's best to continue using solar film products to cover all bases AND to boost the existing performance the glass may or may not have.

Time to zip the keys. :jerkit