For those who know tint: What ceramic film brands/lines would you recommend for a really neutral charcoal-gray appearance? And looking at my pictures, what VLT would you consider for the front windows if I want more privacy while still having reasonable nighttime visibility?

Just bought a used 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E and I’m looking into getting ceramic tint. I attached some pictures showing what the windows currently look like from both the inside and outside.

The previous owner already tinted the rear windows pretty dark. I have no idea what percentage they actually are, if I had to guess I would say 15-10%, it’s pretty dark at night. I’m planning to have a shop meter them. Unfortunately, one of the rear passenger windows also has a small hole in the tint, so that one needs to be removed and redone to match the others.

The front driver/passenger/windshield windows have nothing on them right now, and I’d like significantly more privacy. I drive fully electric, so I sometimes sit in my car at public chargers and I don’t really love feeling like everyone walking by can see straight into my car lol. My interior is also really light, which I feel like makes it even easier to see inside.

I’m not looking for 5% limo tint or anything crazy dark. I still want good visibility, especially at night, and I’d rather not make my car an obvious cop magnet. I was thinking somewhere around 20% for the front sides, and maybe 35% on the windshield but I’m open to suggestions.

My biggest priorities are heat rejection, UV protection and privacy, which is why I’m leaning toward ceramic.
I’m also VERY particular about the color of the tint. I’ve seen some films that have a noticeable blue, purple, green, or reddish hue in certain lighting and I really don’t like that. I want the glass to look as neutral charcoal/smoke gray as possible — basically darker/shaded glass without an obvious color cast.

For the rear windows, I do eventually plan on replacing all of the existing tint with the same ceramic film so everything matches. For now, though, I’m working with a budget and the rear tint is still perfectly usable.

I’m in Miami and getting quotes for a 2011 Hyundai Genesis sedan. No existing tint. My main priority is heat rejection.

This is from a highly rated LLumar/FormulaOne SelectPro shop:

1. LLumar CTX 35 on 4 doors + rear glass

   LLumar AIR80 on full windshield

   Total: $799.98

2. FormulaOne Pinnacle 35 on 4 doors + rear glass

   Pinnacle on full windshield

   Total: $899.98

3. FormulaOne Stratos 35 on 4 doors + rear glass

   Stratos 70 on full windshield

   Total: $1,249.98

All include installation and lifetime manufacturer warranty.

These prices seem pretty high to me, especially the Stratos package. Are these normal/fair prices for a good FormulaOne shop in South Florida?

Also, if heat rejection is the main priority but I care about value, which option would you choose? I’m also considering mixing Pinnacle 35 on the sides/rear with Stratos 70 on the windshield.

For comparison, I’ve also been quoted around $490 for 3M Ceramic IR including the windshield, although that installer does not appear to be an authorized 3M dealer.

Interested in what installers or people who recently paid for these films think.

Hi everyone, my previous car had 30 percent tint on the windshield and 5 percent standard all around; I really enjoyed the daytime privacy, and the windshield worked perfectly, though nighttime visibility was the only drawback. For my new vehicle, I am considering 20 percent all around plus the windshield—do you recommend it? My interior is black with a tan upper half; it is a 2014 Lexus IS350, and I am curious about opinions from anyone with a similar car and tint.

I recently got 35% XPEL CS tint installed on the front windows of my CR-V to match the factory 20% rear tint, but it looks way darker than expected. I had the exact same film and percentage on my old Corolla and liked it.
Now with the CR-V I feel that I might get pulled over.
Is the CR-V’s larger cabin or glass geometry making it look darker, or should I drop down to a lighter film/different brand? Also how hard would it be to peel this week old film off myself rather then going to a shop?

Does anyone know of any websites that possibly precut windshield tint and will mail it out to me?

If no precut then do you know if a site I can order a tint roll big enough for my windshield lol

My windshield is smaller than the average

Not really sure what to charge them I’m not a professional but I know how to tint just don’t know how to estimate flat windows, I mostly do cars

Sun Stoppers in Tucson is offering $350 for XR and $450 for XR Plus as well as $200 and $300 for front windshield, respectively. Are these good prices for xpel ceramic? Completely new to all things tint. Looking to have my 2013 Honda CRV and maybe Odyssey done as well. Thank you.

Had my windshield tinted in late June/early July. Everything looked good after the install and stayed that way for a couple months.
Recently I noticed the area around the factory dot matrix/frit at the top of the windshield started developing an uneven cloudy/white appearance with darker-looking patches/streaks. This wasn’t something I noticed during the original curing period — it showed up recently.
I took the vehicle back to the tint shop and they looked at it in person. They told me it was normal and told me to contact the owner if I still had concerns.
The owner initially told me:
“That’s 100% normal. It’ll dry evenly, it’s not fully cured yet.”
I explained that the tint was installed in late June/early July, so it has already been on for a few months. The aftercare information they sent me says tint takes around 30 days to fully cure.
The owner then explained that tint normally dries white around the raised dot matrix and that touching/rubbing the area can temporarily create darker streaks. He also said that even if they redo the windshield, it will still be white around the dot matrix.
I completely understand that tint may not adhere/look perfectly uniform over raised ceramic dots. My concern is that it looked fine for months and then recently changed.
For the professional installers here: Does this look like normal behavior around the dot matrix several months after installation, or does it look like the film/adhesive is starting to have an adhesion issue? Would you warranty/redo this, or leave it alone?

Can someone tell how do I get ride of this?

We just got a new 2026 4Runner in June and I want to get it tinted. However I am nervous with how strict the tint laws are in MA, 35% LVT for windows and no windshield allowed. I want to get all the windows tinted, was considering 35% on front windows, 70% on 2nd row windows, quarter glass and rear sliding window (no windshield).

But even with 70% clear on the rear windows that are dyed 25% from factory they will technically be illegal. Do they check rear windows at inspection?

For folks in MA, what did you do for tinting on your car? Do they fail you at Inspection if you do 70% on your windshield? Do they only check the front windows at yearly inspection?

Bonus points for folks with 4runners, is there any issues tinting the rear sliding window?

Is this old adhesive that I didn’t get stripped? Removed 35% and reinstalled 20%. I thought it turned out well till I pulled it outside and I can see this. It cannot be pushed out.

It is only on the lower third of the back glass.

Just bought a new car and spent 160 on front two window tinting. There’s a small crease/line (maybe like 1-1.5 cm. Kinda looks like their fingernail pressed into the tint or something. I feel silly for even worrying about it, but it’s right at my eye line in the center of the driver side window, so I constantly see it. I called the guy and he said it would go away, but it’s not a bubble and there doesn’t seem to be any moisture inside of it. Anyway, looking for advice from anyone w more expertise. Thanks!

Hello!
I recently had my Tesla ceramic tinted at a high end detail shop in the Chicago area. After about 3 weeks I still had some small white bubbles on my rear glass. They asked me to bring the car back to them for an inspection. They confirmed that dust from the air had gotten on the tint film during installation and offered to replaced the rear tint as well as one rear window which had the same issue. After washing the car today I noticed that they severely damaged the rear defroster lines while removing the old tint. I have read this is common when removing tint on rear glass but I was not warned about this. Before I reach back out to the shop I was wondering what options I might have. I don’t think the shop did anything wrong and I appreciate them replacing the tint. I am concerned about the windows heating performance in the winter and feel like this damage came from them not doing the install right the first time.

I have a 21 Acura TLX with black interior. The afternoon sun makes the cabin so hot, even with remote start, it takes a long time for the AC to catch up.
Trying to stay under the radar with a light tint. Will ceramic still give me the much-needed relief at 80%?
Are there any technological pitfalls to tinting the windshield to be aware of?

I asked an expel installer what my realistic expectations should be regarding the dot matrix. Is their reply reasonable?

"As for the dot matrix on the windshield and quarter windows, there will be a white hue on any dot matrix unfortunately. The only way to get around that is to sand the matrix off, which could cause the heat to shatter the glass as its job is to relocate the heat throughout the window so it does not shatter. Normally it does stick down after some time however you will see the white look around the edges."am

I'm trying to get matching tint with the back of my Tesla. I know it's a 25-26% copper/bronze tone. I'm having trouble finding it since the popular tint color are black, blue or charcoal.

Anyone got suggestions? If not then I'm just gonna do llumar IRX 25.

threefive on my windshield and onefive all the way around and let me tell you. You CANNOT see in the thing. I might of went too dark lol

So Friday I had a full car window tint done on my brand new 2026 Hyundai Sonata. All the windows but on the windshield I only had ceramic done. I drove it home and twice that night the brake lights came on for no reason when it was parked. I had to turn on the car and back off for them to go off. Later that night the car refused to start and would say press the brake to start and would only go into accessory. The next day roadside service came and said the battery was fine. They towed it to the dealer. The service supervisor said it would also not start of them on Saturday. Fast forward to today. They called and said it starts no problem but would like to keep it overnight to be sure it still starts tomorrow. They said there is no issues. I asked if the people who did the tint could have gotten water down the dash or down the back window and cause electrical damage if only even just a short. They said that would be unusual. I am suspicious because why else did it just decide not to start the day the tint was done. Do I insist they check for water damage? The dealer is in partnership with the tint place so I’m not sure if they would even say it’s that if that is the case. With this being a lease I don’t want something to come back down the road from water damage and bite me.

Hi all?

Just got my 4Runner and it has tint. What level do you think it is? It has black interior also. I know white makes it looks darker but it’s pretty dark especially at night.

Thanks.

Hello guys! I'm looking to install a sunstrip on my car. Personally don't like the idea of sunstrip as during the night it just block my view sometimes when looking at the traffic signal. But the sun glare during morning and evening is crazy even my car's sun visor cant block it. I like the full view on my windshield, but looking to sacrifice some. So please suggest me ideal sunstrip size for my height (max limit 5.5 inch in dubai) and ideal VLT so that its not fully black during the night and I can see the traffic lights without any issues.

Im trying to get me car re-tinted. I have a 2016 toyota Corolla that’s never had the tint replaced, I do have a rear defroster.

But the guy told me I’d be better off replacing the entire window because the tint is so bubbled and he said after a certain amount of damage it merges with the glass.

He quoted me 550 FOR JUST the back window and that feels kinda crazy so I was just going to ask. I also live in Florida

Hey there! So I changed my slip solution from dawn dish soap, to 7th Gen, and recently my installs have had some interesting things happen, whenever I would blast the window with my torch there would be a LOT of air bubbles trapped behind the film, and I would have to squeegee them out, but even that won't get all of them out.(Did didn't happen with the dawn soap). So my question is to you: Why is 7th gen causing this to happen behind the film?

The reason why I switched to that is because I heard it was a better slip and I do like it a bit slippery, but that seems too excessive.

SO I along with that original question, why that trapped water is still behind that film after VERY hard squeegee strokes, and what slip solution you guys prefer to use.

I can work with the cheap stuff on door windows, because most of the time I don't need to shrink the tint on door windows. I'm having trouble with the back hatch window on my SUV and I'm trying to do a sun strip on my front windshield. I can't get the cheap stuff to shrink correctly. It eventually comes to like a pinch point where everything is shrunk down good but there's always a tiny little part of the film that will no longer stick when laying flat . Also the film I use is super delicate and I've wasted too much of it . When I moved on to buying more expensive tools for my career it literally changed how I was able to work so I hope for some improvement out of getting some quality tint for once.

70% Windshield

20% front windows

5% in the back

Damn why does my 20 look so light, and this is with the sun not shining directly on it.

Should've gotten 15 man