Window tinting advice

[JCM1]

Hi All:
When I got my '92 500E Euro the window tinting had turned a dark purple color and had a nasty smell too. So I pulled it off - rear passenger windows and rear window - and it's been that way ever since ~ 2 years. I must say I really like the great visibility! Now, following a major restoration and the fact that Spring is approaching I'm thinking it's time to revisit getting the windows tinted. Don't want to suffer UV damage to the interior.

It would be most helpful and much appreciated if fellow members could advise regarding type/brand of tinting material and any tips on installing. Are there any new developments? New polarized or IR-resistant materials worth considering, how dark, etc.

Thanking you in advance!


Joe

 

[alabbasi]

Go with the ceramic tint. Whoever local that you get recommendation for will tell you the brand.

 

[skikrazey]

I'll second the ceramic tint. Used it a few daily drivers and was very happy with it.

 

[gerryvz]

Tint Removal | Appearance and Detailing

I need to get the dark tint removed from all my windows, including windshield, so that it can pass DC inspection. I think the rear defogger is inside the glass so the tint removal shouldn't mess with the elements. Is there anything I need to be aware of (or more accurately anything I need to...

www.500eboard.co

 

[nocfn]

90% ceramic is the bomb. It is relatively clear (3m is the name brand) and it is not noticed from the outside, appearing like factory glass. I had this on my sunroof glass (C126) and my windscreen. The unrelenting heat in Houston still leaves the car warm inside, but the radiating heat is gone now. It is hot, but the air is hot and escapes quickly and the surfaces of the interior are not absorbing heat much at all compared to the darken standard tinting.

 

[MB V8]

I like 35% on front windows and 20% rear windows and rear windshield. I don't know what the rules are in Canada, but in Ohio if you hold your drivers license up against the inside of the front window and you can see it from the outside, than the darkness of your tint is okay. I would remove the 3rd brakelight yourself if you're taking it to a shop. The plastic cover is usually brittle and easily broken when removed. And you might ask whether or not the shop removes the doorcards when they do the side windows.

 

[nocfn]

just to be clear, the 90% is not darkness in appearance, it is the amount of uva/uvb blockage. One cannot even see the tint on the car, it looks un-tinted from the outside.

 

[Melville]

My kids love complaining about sun in their eyes (they don't seem to understand the concept of looking away from bright lights). So, for my wagon, I had 50% tint installed on all windows except the windshield. It was ceramic, one step down from 3M. I can't remember the brand, but it was something like 90% UV and heat blockage, vs. something like 98% for 3M.

I only wanted 50% tint because I didn't want it too dark. However, if I could do it again, I'd go for slightly darker, and, even though it's pricey, I'd probably go for the 3M to block out almost all heat. This car is often parked outside and, with a visor on the windshield, the 3M would probably keep it cool even in the height of summer.

 

[gsxr]

For ANY tint, keep in mind that metalized films will reduce the effectiveness of your cellular/GPS devices and radar detector, if it is mounted in a way that the radar signal passes through the tint. This is particularly a concern with Valentine-1 that has a rear radar antenna, and/or if you mount your detector up high (where it SHOULD be), with a tint strip across the top of the windshield.

I use 3M ColorStable tint, which is dye-based, non-metalized, and doesn't inhibit the fuzzbuster function. It has a lifetime warranty and will not turn purple with age. It isn't cheap, but is probably on par with ceramic tint pricing. Ceramic allegedly has better heat rejection and shouldn't interfere with cell/radar.

How dark you want the tint is totally personal preference, and what you can get away with depending on local laws. I like mine dark, what one forum member referred to as "cave tint", lol. If you get dark tint, be careful driving at night until you get used to it.

 

[JCM1]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Will try to find an installer for the 3M product- might be pretty hard with all the Cov19 situation. Is it a job that one with moderate technical skill can do at home?

All the best,

Joe

 

[gsxr]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Will try to find an installer for the 3M product- might be pretty hard with all the Cov19 situation. Is it a job that one with moderate technical skill can do at home?

Joe, I've done it a couple times, with terrible results. This is one job where you absolutely want to pay a professional. It is far more difficult than it appears, especially if you want the edges to look perfect when complete.

 

[IBNR]

Here in Central Florida, high-quality window tint to the legal maximum level of darkness is practically a matter of life and death in the summer months! I had my windows done about three years ago, just after we moved here...LLumar CTX30 film on front sides, LLumar CTX15 film on rear sides and back glass (windshield isn't filmed at all per FL state law, but I use a retractable window shade religiously whenever parked outside). LLumar CTX films are nano-ceramic with great adhesion, thermal and UV rejection, and color retention. LLumar also claims they are completely transparent to electronic signals including cell, GPS, and radar; I can confirm that I haven't had any troubles at all with any of my devices including my Valentine One.

 

[JCM1]

Joe, I've done it a couple times, with terrible results. This is one job where you absolutely want to pay a professional. It is far more difficult than it appears, especially if you want the edges to look perfect when complete.

Thanks Dave. good advise. I've located a shop in Richmond that installs LLuminar products. I'm going to follow up but given our situation with corona virus the shop may be closed for a while.

All the best,

Joe

 

[JCM1]

Here in Central Florida, high-quality window tint to the legal maximum level of darkness is practically a matter of life and death in the summer months! I had my windows done about three years ago, just after we moved here...LLumar CTX30 film on front sides, LLumar CTX15 film on rear sides and back glass (windshield isn't filmed at all per FL state law, but I use a retractable window shade religiously whenever parked outside). LLumar CTX films are nano-ceramic with great adhesion, thermal and UV rejection, and color retention. LLumar also claims they are completely transparent to electronic signals including cell, GPS, and radar; I can confirm that I haven't had any troubles at all with any of my devices including my Valentine One.

Hi Mike:
Thanks for the comments and I recall how hot it gets in the South. Lived for quite a while in Kingwood, Tx (Houston area). Fortunately here in the Great White North temperatures are a bit more bearable. However at 50 degrees North latitude we do make up for it with longer summer days. Glad to hear your comments on Llumar product. I've surfed the net and settled on the CTX. Not sure what level of darkness but likely in the 10 - 20 range. Not going to do the front windshield for now as it's a bit scratched from the wiper blade. I got one of the cerium oxide polishing kits from Uncle Ken and will give that a try once we get into warmer weather. Glad to hear your comment on transparency regarding electronic signals!

All the best,


Joe

 

[Kyiv]

Decided I want to tint my car. I'm in northern Virginia, close to D.C. Maximal legal is: 50% front side, 35% rear and rear side windows, and that's what I'll get.

I used Yelp to request a bunch of quotes with a picture of my car provided. As far as "ceramic" tint, I got two responses with a quote of $350 (non 3M brands) and one for $450 (3M). I got more responses for quotes for non-ceramic tint.

There was one business that did not provide a quote and asked me to call them, so they could explain why they need to see the car in person. My typical assumption that this is just a fishing tactic, but out of an interested I called in. The guy explained that he's into old cars, and that tinting old cars has its nuances, etc, etc. He also mentioned something about "Mercedes switching the type of window seals it used in late 80s/early 90s", yada, yada, etc, etc - so that's why he needs to see the car in person. I liked that he seemed to be "nuance-oriented" so to speak, which I tend to interpret as an ability to think.

So I stop by and receive a lecture (as opposed to a sale presentation) from him about tinting. No upsell at all, actually directing me towards a regular, non-ceramic tint (Madico Black Pearl). He says ceramic is only beneficial during early morning drives, otherwise it's all just marketing. As to the quote, $400 for non-ceramic or $550 for ceramic and he'll need a car for a full day because he'll be slower "due to the age of the car", "dirt under seals", etc

Does the above seem reasonable? Does a W124 require custom approach to tinting due to its age?@gsxr, (or anyone else) you've had multiple W124s tinted, what's your experience/feedback received from a tinter? Thanks

 

[LWB250]

In Florida tint is pretty much mandatory or your interior gets baked as do you. Now that may not be so much of the case with more modern vehicles than our cars, but for pre-2000 MY cars I absolutely do it.

I have a local tint guy that's been doing my cars for almost 15 years. He's excellent. The last time I had a W124 tinted was in 2018, my former 1993 400E. It was around $250 to tint it with Llumar metallized tint, which I have used on my cars for as many years as I've been getting them tinted (about 25).

Ceramic is a waste of money unless you're worried about RF. Metallized film kills UV to the point where it's noticeable.

As for the "it's harder with older cars" I don't know. It doesn't seem to matter to my guy, and I've had him tint stuff a lot older than a W124. One thing that will affect the price is if the car has been tinted previously, whether the tint is still there or not. In those cases my guy often wants the car overnight and will charge slightly more because of the time it takes them to thoroughly clean the windows.

Dan

 

[Kyiv]

Dan, thanks. Your $250 price for non-ceramic is an average that I received from multiple places.

 

[MB V8]

Kiev I've also used the Llumar metallized tint on about 1/2 a dozen cars Good stuff.

And one comment on the degree of tint you've chosen, 50 front and 35 rear....is that correct? I would go darker. I have 35 front and 20 rear. No problem seeing at nite or anytime for that matter. Start a conversation with me and I'll text you some pics of my tinted 400E's.

 

[gsxr]

Meytal-ized film will interfere with fuzzbuster performance, so if that's not an issue (being illegal in VA and all), you have more options as to what film to choose. I don't know if ceramic offers any substantial performance over meytal.

Dan, keep in mind that prices for tint in southern states tend to be lower, because as you said - it's mandatory down there. Northern states where tint is less common, prices vary a fair amount. Especially if you're picky about brand/type. For years, there was ONE installer of automotive 3M tint in the entire Boise area. I think now we have 2, maybe 3!

 

[LWB250]

Meytal-ized film will interfere with fuzzbuster performance, so if that's not an issue (being illegal in VA and all), you have more options as to what film to choose. I don't know if ceramic offers any substantial performance over meytal.

Dan, keep in mind that prices for tint in southern states tend to be lower, because as you said - it's mandatory down there. Northern states where tint is less common, prices vary a fair amount. Especially if you're picky about brand/type. For years, there was ONE installer of automotive 3M tint in the entire Boise area. I think now we have 2, maybe 3!

Understood. However, as many tint installers as they're are around here, a large percentage of those are the ones that use the cheap stuff that bubbles up after a few years and turns purple - we've all seen this, even in states above the Mason-Dixon Line. The good "high line" tint guys are just as rare around here. My guy does 3M, too, but he says it's far better on stationary objects, like house windows, which he also does. I've used the Llumar for literally decades and it's very good, with a lifetime warranty.

The advantage of the ceramic films is that the ceramic they use in the film does the UV filtering as I understand it, so there's no metal to affect RF. Again, if RF interference isn't an issue, the metallized stuff is a bit cheaper and works just as well, I think.

-D

 

[Kyiv]

Perhaps someone in the future might find this useful. A few quotes I got from around DC area (Maryland/NoVa). Front and rear sides + rear

1. Solar Gard:

• Galaxie (carbon) $180
• Ultra performance (ceramic) $260
• Vortex (top of the line ceramic) $340

2. Llumar:

• LLumar ATC(Color Stable Film): $200
• LLumar ATR series (Metallic Film): $250
• LLumar CTX series(Ceramic Film): $320
• LLumar IRX series (Ceramic Film): $450
• Formula 1 Classic: $169
• Formula 1 Comfort: $279
• Formula 1 Pinnacle: $389
• Formula 1 Stratos: $689

3. SunTek

• Carbon or CXP - flat $270

4. 3M

• 3M Obsidian is $249.99
• 3M Color Stable $349.99
• 3M Ceramic IR $449.99
• 3M Crystalline $599

 

[LWB250]

The Llumar ATR is the stuff I use on my cars.

Dan