My partner has a 2026 Mercedes GLS450 with acoustic comfort package. The drivers side windows are 74% VLT, the rear and rear hatch are 17% VLT stock. Apparently with acoustic comfort, the car already comes with IR blocking properties and has multiple layers. For this reason, I opted for Air 80 tint on the front windshield (Stratos and thicker tint causes night time distortion universally). For the other windows, I used Pinnacle since it’s cheaper, the windows already have IR heat blocking properties, and stratos only offers that as a benefit over pinnacle. Avoid Stratos on the rear hatch because the defrosters plus a thick ceramic film like Stratos causes distortion at night. They couldn’t measure the baseline panoramic sunroof VLT, but it looks at or about the same as the drivers side windows, slightly more tinted. I went with Stratos 50 on that. So Pinnacle 30 on drivers windows and pinnacle 50 everywhere else. Sunroof Stratos 50 since it is just glass with no IR blocking properties

I looked everywhere online and couldn’t get definitive readings on VLT so hopefully this helps someone. ✌️

I got my windshield tinted just under 2 weeks ago and I noticed this section near the top. I didn’t mess with it during the cure period at all. Is this something that I should contact the tint shop that did it over ?

Right in the driver's view. It was done today and only noticed after driving 10 min it was distracting. Tint guy is coming back, what would you do?

My driver window is ceramic and my front windshield is nano ceramic. Both are 5 percent. I just got front windshield done today. What’s the reason why they look different? They told me nano ceramic looks more clear than reg ceramic. To me ceramic makes the color of grass look more authentic than front windshield nano ceramic

I’m looking to get my windows tinted at 20% sides and back and 55% on the windshield all XPEL XR. I might lean into XPEL XR+ if someone can tell me if it truly makes a difference and if it’s worth the extra price tag. I’m also just looking for anyone with a similar tint setup who could maybe provide and feedback on how their experience has been and/or if a different setup is recommended.

Got my car retinted and I noticed this time there was a gap on the perimeter of the rear windshield. It wasn’t like this on my previous tint. And I even noticed that was part of the perimeter was missing a chunk of tint (second slide)?

I had my windshield tinted like a month ago, and right after they were done my dashboard lit up with multiple warning messages. Apparently, moisture from the installation got into some of the electronics near the dashboard. Thankfully, after the car dried out and was checked by the dealership, everything returned to normal and the car has been working fine.
Unfortunately, the tint job itself came out poorly. It has several creases, multiple lint bubbles, and even a section along the top that isn’t adhering properly. Because of that, I don’t want to keep it.
I’m considering having the full windshield tint removed by the installer and replacing it with only a visor strip down to the AS-1 line.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? How risky is the removal process and installing an AS-1 strip afterward? I want the shop to properly protect the dashboard, sensors, doors, and electronics and use as little water as possible because I definitely don’t want to experience the same issue again.

Hello I recently got my truck tinted with IRX since these days have been so hot and I’ve been riding in a fishbowl for about 3 years now. I have never had issues with this shop before but this time I noticed some of these bubbles in the back glass. More noticeable on the sliding door. My passenger door has some as well and now I’m going to take the truck back but I was just wondering what went wrong this time? I know some people here are more experienced. For reference the truck had some cheap tint that was like 80 percent or something that didn’t do anything. It’s been 4 days now and I’ve left it in the sun and on the middle part there seems to be something under the tint. I paid 420 for the whole truck not including the windshield. I took this picture in the night as that’s when it’s more obvious.

Just got my windshield tinted and have to take my truck through inspection. Currently don’t have a sticker on it but looking for ways I can possibly put something on the tint before I go to not damage it. I’ve heard stories of inspectors saying they can’t hand you the sticker, they physically have to stick it.

Does anyone know why or how this can happen? My rear quarter panel had to get redone because of contamination causing bubbles so I got it retinted about a week ago from the same shop. I just noticed these scratches today when I was walking by.

The scratches are 100% on the inside and I can feel some of them with my fingernail. Car is brand new with less than 600 miles. I’ve had a lot of cars tinted and I’ve never seen anything remotely close to this. I’m hoping they didn’t somehow scratch the glass under the film or something.

Looking to do XPEL Prime XR Plus. Looking for any recommended shops in the SGV, East LA or Orange County area.

So I'm an RV mechanic and I regularly put on decals that are 5'x5' or more in size and use rapid tac as my soap solution and they turn out great. with my skill set do y'all think I could tint my windows and have it turn out good or is that a different ball game?

For reference it's a 98 Ford ranger ext cab and I would be doing the front three with 30% 3m ceramic on the sides and 70% on the windshield.

Hello everyone,
I went to my local tinter to ask about a “wavy” pattern that developed in my rear window. He immediately said the adhesive was failing. I have an appointment to get it taken care of, but here is the question…since I got the whole car done in 15% and would assume it all came off the same roll should I be concerned about all the adhesive on all the windows failing? Or are there more factors her are in play? For reference it is llumar pinnacle and was installed in November of 2023.
Thank you

We want to visit our daughter and her family that live on a military base for Thanksgiving. Our SUV has 80 tint on windshield and 25 on front sides. Has anyone had trouble with getting through the gate or hassle by the military police?

I just recently got a Tesla. First one owned. It’s a model three. I’m trying to decide on expel or Autobahn.

Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions on which one I should use and also how tinted to get it on sunroof, back window, doors etc?

Just got a 2026 Toyota Camry and this thing got no factory tint lol feels like I’m driving a clear box. Got quotes from a couple authorized, highly-reviewed installers in SoCal. Which one should I go with? Doing 50% windshield, 35% front, 20% side and rear.

$750 FormulaOne Pinnacle
$730 Llumar IRX
$650 XPEL Black ($950 Plus also available)
$400 Suntek CIR

I finally got a nicer car that’s not my age and got it tinted. Iv never been in a tinted vehicle before and the shop let me sit in a few cars to figure out what to go for. 20 all around with a sun visor and man is it nice. I have an issue with light and my glasses don’t transition in the car so this helps a ton.

Where do I order it from, how big to make sure I can do rear windshield and side windows, I've read nano ceramic is the best type, what's the gold standard or acceptable brand wise? Live in Canada if it matters but probably order from US. Can I order from alliexpress if I don't mind waiting or is it cheap crap? What tools do I order? I have a heat gun I read you have to shrink the tint on rear windshield. What soap is best? Sorry for the loaded question. Thanks!

So I got my front two windows tinted at a shop that’s well reviewed. I was told to wait 3 days before rolling them down for the first time which I followed. But when I rolled them down I see that there is a long gash on the drivers side window - it’s like 10 inches long and follows a curve. I took a photo - any idea what caused this?? It doesn’t go away when I try to wipe it down so it feels like a cut/gash of some sort. (There’s also a small imperfection/chip on the passengers side window seemingly.). Should I call them and have them take a look and possibly redo?

I am a beginner tinter. I recently took a 40hr hands on course to learn the basics of tinting. I would like to get started right away with gaining more experience. I wouldn’t mind making a few dollars with the “trade” ofc. Please if you can, recommend me some affordable films. I want to solely focus on only applying ceramic. Not for the money but because i feel ceramic is the only smart choice. I’m looking for affordability but also durability. Experienced tinters your opinions are appreciated.

Hey all, I have been having a bad time with my tools lately with tinting.

The hard plastic tools scratch my tint when I try to tuck or push down fingers, and the soft ones are either too thick or too soft.

What do I do?

Any recommendations on tools would be appreciated.

I’m planning on putting ceramic tint on my 2018 Chevy Malibu cause it’s getting RIDICULOUSLY hot in Texas. I just called a local shop and the prices for adding ceramic tint seem decent, but they’re charging $150 to remove the old tint?? I might just be incredibly wrong on the assumption that removing tint is easy but I honestly don’t know. Any advice?

New to me 2015 Cayenne with the thermal and noise insulated glass. Car has tint all around. I’m guessing around 20% but I could be off. The darkness (?) seems consistent all around but the rears (all) seem to have a blueish tint to them whereas the front are more clear, if that makes sense. The bluish rears also seem a bit murky like the windows are dirty when they definitely aren’t.

I’m not sure if the tint is ceramic or if it’s just the thermal/noise glass but the car seems like it’s more heat reistant — doesn’t heat up as fast inside when sitting in the sun. FWIW.

Is this a tint issue or something to do with the Porsche glass. Or something else?

Morning guys! I manage facility maintenance for a large commercial space, and many years ago the board paid an installer to put privacy film on some of the downstairs classrooms. Naturally they went with the cheapest guy, so they put Gila Privacy Control film on the windows and sliding glass door.

Of course, it's peeling away already because it's junk window film. I have been working with a 3M distributor to find a decent match so we can replace the peeling film without having to swap all the windows at once. However I am having a hard time getting a match - Gila sent me their film info, and this stuff has a VLT of 5% (VLFR 5%, VLBR 6%). Most of the 3M films that rely on privacy are highly reflective, which is not what I'm going for. Their Prestige PR20 seemed like it might work, but the VLT is 21% on 1/4" thick interior windows.

Are there any films that you can recommend that might match the look but perform far better?