3M Ceramic 40 too reflective on interior

June 6, 2014

I have a 2001 Lexus LS430 that was recently tinted with 3M Ceramic series 40 all around. I picked the ceramic series 40 because of its clarity for night driving. It does work well at night. However during the day at certain angles in sunlight, I get terrible reflections of my interior onto my driver's side mirror of the dash a/c vent and wood trim. At times it looks exactly as if I looking into a mirror of my dashboard and I cannot see through it. It is a major distraction as well as a safety issue for me. I have never had tint on any car. On the 3M site, the ceramic series has a 12% visible reflection for the interior. I like the tint other than this issue. I was thinking of going to the 3M color stable 35 which has 6% visible reflection to avoid this issue. Is this reflection normal and do you have any other suggestions? Is this one of the downfalls to ceramic tint? Thanks very much.

Tintguy1980 · June 6, 2014

I finally figured out today what is really meant when us tinters say, "Oh, that'll go away". It may still be there but it sure goes away in your mind once you let go and begin using the window as it was designed; looking through it rather than at it. Retrain them thar eyes. :thumb

June 7, 2014

I finally figured out today what is really meant when us tinters say, "Oh, that'll go away". It may still be there but it sure goes away in your mind once you let go and begin using the window as it was designed; looking through it rather than at it. Retrain them thar eyes.

Unfortunately, when the sun hits the dash at certain angles the image in the side view mirror is identical in clarity to the dashboard and Can Not be looked through. There is the problem. It's equivalent to not having a driver's side view mirror. I was thinking of possibly changing the front driver's side and passenger side with a non reflective carbon tint close to the 40%. Does that sound feasible? Would it be that noticeable on the outside?

ultratintsouthport · June 7, 2014

We don't use 3M Ceramic for automotive here in Australia for that very reason.

TintJunkie · June 7, 2014

Ceramic=reflective? :blink

Who'd a thunk it?

Nothing you can do but have it done with a different film, or just get used to it...OR, wait 3-4 years when the film will have to be replaced anyway due to failure...

Tintguy1980 · June 7, 2014

Ceramic=reflective?

Who'd a thunk it?

Nothing you can do but have it done with a different film, or just get used to it...OR, wait 3-4 years when the film will have to be replaced anyway due to failure...

Their derivative is metal.

June 8, 2014

There was one particular thread on this forum that mentioned that no auto glass was void of interior reflections with tint. If that is true would I be wasting my time replacing the ceramic film with 3M carbon or another manufacturer only to still see the same reflections in my driver side mirror? Is it that it will still be there but to a lesser degree? If 3M color stable has an interior reflective percentage of 6% and the 3M Ceramic has 12%, is that a noticeable difference? If there is another film with an approximate 40% VLT that would be good for night vision but have a noticeable improvement with interior reflectiveness? I apologize for all the questions, but I am hoping to hear from those with the expertise on this subject. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

Tintguy1980 · June 8, 2014

The human eye begins perceiving reflection at 11% visible light reflection (VLR).

Welcome to a very small group of individuals who may be unable to get beyond the 'look' and are better served with film having VLR below 10%. Glass itself has a VLR of 8. :thumb

June 8, 2014

The human eye begins perceiving reflection at 11% visible light reflection (VLR).

Welcome to a very small group of individuals who may be unable to get beyond the 'look' and are better served with film having VLR below 10%. Glass itself has a VLR of 8.

Thanks Smartie2shoes for the info. Is the visible light reflection of glass separate and not added together with the tint? Meaning.....if glass is 8% and Tint is 6%, the tint is what counts as the total VLR? I never knew that the VLR of glass was as high as 8%. Interesting. Any particular brand film you might recommend? Am I better off with Carbon than Ceramic even if the ceramic VLR is below 9%? Thanks again.

Tintguy1980 · June 8, 2014

Doesn't matter the film VLR is below that of glass; glass will rule, therefore a reading less than glass is more likely what was measured while not installed to glass. Some film makers/suppliers may only publish the glass VLR even though their film's VLR is lower.

Carbon, like ceramic, is a buzz word; really it's more about VLR in your case so you may need to have a non-reflective (or what some call a dyed film) with no additional components such as metal, metal oxides, ceramics (which are derived from metal) or carbon for that matter (it does little to boost performance despite what might be said in marketing lingo) to be rid of what you are currently seeing.