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Thread: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

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    Jr Member dexter's Avatar
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    Default Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    So far on the forums it seems pretty common to read about tints being referred to numerically (15, 20, 35, etc). I, like many others I assume, thought this number represented the amount of visible light that would penetrate through the tinted glass.

    As I found out via email from one of our suppliers at work, it seems this may not be the case with all brands of tint.

    Quoted from the email:
    There are four versions of the 3M Color Stable Automotive Films - also commonly used for buildings -- available to XXXXXXX Graphics:
    The Color Stable product is available in 4 widths: 20", 25", 40".and 60" x 100' length.
    You/your CSR can look up "Color Stable" on the 3M Business Centre for price & availability

    CS-5
    The darkest Color-Stable film designed primarily for the automotive market where a very low visible light transmission film is desired and allowed by state law. CS-5 allows 8% of visible light through the glass. It rejects heat, reduces glare and retards interior fading. It is used extensively on the passenger compartments of limos, vans, buses and other forms of mass transportation.

    CS-20
    Dark Color-Stable film is designed primarily for the automotive market where a lower visible light transmission film is desirable and allowed by state law. CS-20 allows 16% of visible light through the glass. It rejects heat, reduces glare and retards interior fading.

    CS-35
    Medium Color-Stable film is the standard in the automotive market. In many states, legislation regulating vehicle tinting has been written around this product. Therefore, becoming one of the most popular films in the line, CS-35 allows 38% of visible light through the glass. It rejects heat, reduces glare and retards interior fading.

    CS-50
    Light Color-Stable film is designed primarily for the automotive market where a high visible light transmission film is desirable and allowed by state law. CS-50 allows 51% of visible light through the glass. It rejects heat, reduces glare and retards interior fading.

    3M is a leader in creating technologically-advanced window films. Our latest achievement is the creation of premium Color-Stable automotive window films that hold their color, are high heat rejecting and don't interfere with your satellite signals. All Color-Stable films come with a limited lifetime warranty, which includes color stability. No purple windows. Guaranteed!
    So while the "35" and "50" are pretty close, the numbers of the CS-5 and the CS-20 surprised me a bit. One would think that the CS-5 would be 5% and the CS-20 would be 20% and thus offering 4x the visible light penetration whereas the numbers are actually 8% and 16% respectively and thus offering only twice the visible light penetration.
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    Member SonicBoy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Good find! I never knew this and like most assumed the # represented the %. I guess for C5 and C20 the % was close enough and everyone just decided this was how much light was let through.

    Easier to remember too...

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    Sr Member The Wolf's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    this is interesting. When I got my tints done they offered me the numbers as percentages (5%, 20%, 35% etc), but I also asked about getting 15%, to which I was told "15% and 20% are the same thing". Makes sense now
    NO CREW

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    Jr Member dexter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Yeah, mine was offered as a percentage value as well (5, 17, 23, 35). I just thought it offered some insight for those who may be thinking about tinting and, like you said, it clarifies some of the discrepancies between percentage values like 15% and 20%.

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    Jr Member dexter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Ah, glad this seemed important enough to get sticked!

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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Who do you guys recommend in the Richmond Hill area that will do it for a good deal?

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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Quote Originally Posted by tase25 View Post
    Who do you guys recommend in the Richmond Hill area that will do it for a good deal?
    Audio Heaven...and please try to check our sponsor section, or review section, or our search feature. It's been covered a few thousand times previously.
    2010 Black Mazdaspeed 3 - Lightly modded

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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Quote Originally Posted by S.F.W. View Post
    Audio Heaven...and please try to check our sponsor section, or review section, or our search feature. It's been covered a few thousand times previously.
    My B.

    Do you know what kind of tine interferes with radio signals the most? When I bought my tint the guy told me ceramic was the way to go, but now I'm wondering if that was just a sales feature.

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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    the ones with metal in them interfere slightly with wifi the most, others do not, ceramic is best and latest kind of tint

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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    In case anyone is still interested, I checked with Solar Gard's spec page and they had the following %s for the two tints that Audio heaven offers.

    NR Charcoal
    NR Charcoal 54 54%
    NR Charcoal 35 35%
    NR Charcoal 23 23%
    NR Charcoal 17 17%
    NR Charcoal 7 7%

    NR Smoke Plus
    NR Smoke 50 47%
    NR Smoke 35 31%
    NR Smoke 20 16%
    NR Smoke 5 4%

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    Default Re: Some Interesting Notes About Tint

    Getting my car tinted today

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