To Tint, or not to Tint?

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attack tiger

attack tiger

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I'm a fan of tinted windows...it cools the car off, cuts down on the glare, and keeps the sun out of my babies' eyes. However, I don't know if tinting the windows on this car would look right. I can't recall ever seeing any classic muscle with tinted windows.

Any input?
 
You are right about not seeing many tinted, I was going to do mine when I started my project but went without. I bet its a bear to tint a rear Dart window.67-72
 
Here are a few different level of tints that I photoshopped. Personally I think it looks really cool done in a medium tint.

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65 Cuda means the second picture, I just added a lighter tint after he said that (the new first picture)
 
I think tint makes any car look better including old Mopars. IMO the next-to-darkest pic looks best, I'd want to do that to my Duster as well.
 
Check your local laws regarding tint. No need to give a reason to pull you over for something so minor as window tint. Been there, done that.
 
Tint, all the way. Darkest possible. It should look great with the purple. I know it will with my hopes of black paint. OC is right though, check the laws. It's actually worth paying for it so you get the warranty.
 
ocdart said:
Check your local laws regarding tint. No need to give a reason to pull you over for something so minor as window tint. Been there, done that.
Click to expand...
And with Jerry the jackass Brown back in office , arbitrary , probable cause traffic stops are going to increase .

Nevertheless ...
There's actually a clear ( or at least close to clear ) window film that severely cuts down on U.V.'s , without the "look-at-me-and-since-you're-bored-pull-me-over" darkness to it .

A medium ( light-medium ) black-smoke tint looks best on our beloved "A" bodies ( and classic cars in general ) .
 
xempirex said:
Tint, all the way. Darkest possible. It should look great with the purple. I know it will with my hopes of black paint. OC is right though, check the laws. It's actually worth paying for it so you get the warranty.
Click to expand...

x2
 
I am a big fan of tint. I have tinted all my cars and now when I ride in one without it, it feels like I'm in a fishbowl. I even tinted my '72 Dart 3 seperate times, and yes, the rear window was a challange. I tinted it first with cheap (Gila) film, then sprayed it with tint in a spray can. I had to pull it all off. It looked great from outside, like the windows were painted black. Unfortunately, it also looked like the windows were painted black from the inside. I tinted it again with chesp film (cut in strips to minimize wrinkles and bubbles), then a third time with good, quality film in one piece with a heat gun.


If you are going to do it yourself (not that hard), wait until summer, or turn the heat up in your garage. Warm film is much easier to work with and stretches better.
Buy some good, thick film. I can't remember the brand I used, if it comes to me, I'll post it.
Take your time.
Use a heat gun to shape the film on the outside, before you peel it, then use the heat gun on the inside to keep it warm and streatchy.
Use a heat gun on a low setting, or a hair dryer on high heat, but don't get too close and melt it.
A small amount of tint on the front windscreen makes the rest of the car look darker because less light get in (like looking into a dark house vs a house with the lights on), but don't tint down past the mark. That's illegal. It also looks cheezy IMO to tint way down the front.
 
I'm not a fan of tint on muscle/classic cars, just doesn't look right to me.
 
High-quality, thoughtfully-selected tint looks good. Cheap tint looks cheesy. Limousine black tint looks yo-yo-ghetto-bling-yo (i.e., stupid). See this thread.
 
Having formerly owned a window tint and detail business I feel qualified to weigh in on this. My only disclaimer is that I have been out of the biz for 10 years or so but I still talk to my tinter once a year or so. Back in the day we used Llumar and Johnson window films. With tint film you definitely get what you pay for. We had more issues with the Johnson than the Llumar. This may sound kind of funny but for a home job use your sliding glass door if you have one as a place to work from. Mix up some water and Johnson and Johnson no tear kids shampoo, the honey colored stuff in the clear bottle in about a 10% mixture and don't be afraid to use it. Clean the inside and outside of your windows with some non ammonia foaming glass cleaner. For the best results pull the windows out of the car and set them on some sawhorses covered in towels. You can also do it with the windows in but it makes it harder especially with the older rigs to make sure that no dirt gets in the final product. Always work the tint on the outside of the window first to shape it and trim it, you will be puttin the heat on the layer of film that you remove to expose the glue and it gives you a little leeway on the heat factor, a little not much. once you get it heat shaped to the contours of your glass, you spray down the sliding glass door and the tint will cling to it. Once there you can remove the cling layer and spray down the glue side as well as spray the inside of the window. The spray acts like a lube to allow you to position the film without it sticking until you want it to. We used to use what looked like a body filler squeegee but was considerably softer and was a somewhat specialized tool. About 4" long flat edge that was a medium soft rubber edge. Once you get it where you want it, squegee the water out from the center out to the sides and from the top down. Start with the side windows first as they are usually the easiest and the back windows are usually the toughest. On any window that rolls up leave the film about 1/16" long on the top edge and after it has dried for about 1 hour come back with a fine metal file and file the edge at about a 45* angle to the window and it should be trouble free for the seal at the top.

Tint shades are rated in the amount of light they let pass thru. 50% is barely noticeable but will cut out a lot of UV, we used to do this on houses and storefronts alot. 35% is about what comes from the factory on most cars. 20% is pretty close to what most SUVs have on the back windows and 5% is commonly referred to as "limo" tint. They all block about the same amount of UV rays.

I have been out of the loop for a while but 15 years ago in Washington state the laws were any 35% for any window on any car, the front driver and pass window on any SUV, van or truck; all other windows were as dark as you wanted them. We actually did most of the State Patrol and Sheriff K9 vehicles in the area and we would go 5% all the way around in the back, seems they are exempt from the laws they enforce. One warning though, the dark stuff and especially the reflective stuff tend to reverse themselves at night and as little as bright dash lights can affect your ability to see outside. The front windshield could be tinted down from the top 6" from the outside window molding and 4" up from the dash line on the inside on the bottom.

Raw material cost is about $35-50/car or was back in my day, and we would charge 179 for a 2 door car. We would always try and talk the customer into removing the rear window on the older cars. We had a glass shop next door and they would pop them in and out for $50 and we would split the cost with the customer.

--Jason
 
Why do people have the misconception that anyone with tint on there car is a thug? My wife and I have it and were not thugs. It's on all my cars and company trucks in fact.

Tint is great....makes your car look better...saves the interior, less eye strain from squinting, keeps the car cooler and if you have AC that is huge!

Also keeps A-holes from looking in your car for things to steal.

Watch any new car commercial and you will see that the windows are ALWAYS tinted on the cars.

Besides...nobody wants to see you pick your nose...:toothy10:

PS....don't use cheap film....demand LUMAR products!

Here is an example of 20% filtration Lumar film.
 

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Whatever,......people get pulled over for doing stupid things...tint has nothing to do with it. I have had tint on all my cars and done so since the 80's.

I unfortunately drive a lot for my job and sometimes exceed the speed limit.

I have been stopped many times over the years....in excess of 15 times for certain....I know, when will I learn and no I'm not proud of it.

Out of all those times I never had the cops say anything about my tint.

The one time I got mouthy with the little SOB cop....he pulled out his meter and checked the tint on my Caliber.....whoops...20% is over the limit.

Yup I got a ticket...$39.00 mail in.

He didn't pull his guns or scream at me to get out and drop on the ground or anything like that.

Me thinks someone must live in a crime infested section of the hood where cars with tint roll around with shotguns sticking out the top of the windows.....that shiz don't fly in the country.

Mop:-D
 
momoparman, that is a beautiful bakkaruda you got there! down here in South Texas practically everybody has their windows tinted. Without it even with your AC blowing wide open the heat from the rays coming thru the windows burns the crap out of you. With tint you can actually turn the AC down quite a bit and it still stays cool inside. Hell, all of the SAPD cars and Highway patrol vehicles are tinted. I have the windows of my Peterbilt's tinted!
 
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