I just bought a hardtop off a forum user, and I wanted to get the front drivers and passenger windows tinted to match the factory on the hard top. I went to a tint shop, best in Philly, and they told me that the rear was 15 percent from the factory.

They used sun tech tint. When they finished tinting, it was obvious that the front was darker from the inside than the rear. From the naked eye, the tint appears to match, but from the inside it is evident that they don't. Is this normal for aftermarket tint? If it's not, what do you recommend I do? (Go back and demand they fix it? Try a new percent tint? Go to the higher level tint? )

Has anyone else had an issues like this??

 

Hey!
I have yet to tint. But did look into it lota since I plan on doing it myself.

15 -20 % matchs pretty close from the outside lookin in or at the vehical.

From what iv read you will always notice the difference inside looking out.

 

When I do this I plan on doing 20-35% on the top. And 15 on the front...I hope using the same brand will help with the problem you are having.

Bahah or I might get cheap and lazy and live with it...personal preference I guess

 

It depends on how much it bothers you. There will always be an ever-so-slight visual difference as the front windows are tinted via laminate film, and the rears have it baked into the glass.

I told the shop that tinted mine to "make the fronts match the rears" as well, and my front windows turned out slightly darker too. It's not really noticeable unless you are looking out both the front and back windows on a really really bright day, but there is a small difference.

We have some really dark days around here, and if I were to tint the fronts again, I'd go lighter. Lateral sight out the front windows is sharply reduced, especially in the dark AND rain, and we all know the stock headlamps on the JK mostly suck. Maybe that's an indication that I should upgrade my headlights, but in all honesty the front side windows should probably be a bit lighter for safety reasons.

 

It also depends on the quality of the tint. Sun tek and 3m both (others may also) make a carbon based tint. It is the only tint i use. I personally have a roll of the Sun Tek brand that i use at home. It is better than cheaper films that are metal based. Carbon based films have a truer gray/black look and also doesn't interfere with electronics signals. Also keep in mind the so called clear glass has some tint in it. If you measure the rear window with a meter you can't just add the numbers to determine a match. My personal roll is 35% because our state specifies no darker than 28% on the front windows and 15% on the rears. With the 35% applied to the front windows it meters 30% which is slightly lighter than the rears. I would have to meter the rears and do some math to determine how to get the closest match. I would expect it to be 20-30% film.

Also when when going darker there is a quick drop off in outward visibility somewhere around 30%. As the pupil dilates its hard to tell in low light the difference between 50% and 80%. As you get lower the eye can not compensate as well. With my 35% there is a slight difference between the windshield and front side windows. I can still see very well at night and in inclement weather. At around 20% and lower the difference becomes much more drastic.

 

Talk to any SPECIALTY window tint shops that specialize in nothing else other than tint and they will all tell you the same thing, ceramic is the best! Do some research and you will find that ceramic window tint lets in more light and blocks more heat than any other type of film, and you can get it as dark as you want. But think about it, if you want to let in 80% of light inside for safety reasons, ceramic will do a better job at keeping uv rays and heat out than any other film at the same shade level. One bRand of tint is LLumar, but it isn't cheap, however you get what you pay for good luck in deciding

 

I believe that is the Llumar CTX series. It is also a great film. I use SunTek CXP because of a local distributer that allows me to buy half rolls and the product has performed exceptionally in the FL sun and inclement weather. Another option is the 3M Color Stable line which another that I have used with great results.

 

I just did the tint on my 13' the shop where I got it done metered the rear windows they are 22% I had the fronts tinted 30% it blends really nice and I can see where I'm turning at night. I did have 20% tint on my other car and at night it was hard to see. They used SunTek on my.

 

I just had mine done yesterday with 35% 3M film. Matches pretty well. The factory is like 41-42%. Mine is slightly lighter, but looks pretty decent.



And it was $20. Lol. I supplied the tint.

 

I would have them tint the rear with the same film they used on the front. This may be to dark for you but it will look great