A common misconception is that window tint is dark, and night-time driving is impossible when a car is tinted. The truth is that there are many films of any darkness available to suit your preferences. Another misconception is that the darker the tint the more heat it blocks. Thanks to new technology such as nano-ceramic, films don’t have to be dark to block a huge amount of heat. The darker the film the more light it will block. Also, unlike sunglasses that do impair your ability to drive at night, tinting film is designed to reduce glare and not impede night-time driving. State window tint laws also protect consumers against illegal tint that may put them in harm’s way during night-time driving.

Another misconception is that window tint is bonded onto the outer surface of auto glass. Window tint is applied on the inner surface which also protects the film itself from flying debris outside the car.

Once tinting film is applied to a window, the characteristics of how visible light comes into the car changes. Normal auto glass without tint reflects around 5% of visible light (known as VLR%), absorbs another 5% (known as VLA%), and transmits 90% of visible light (known as VLT%) into the car.

Depending on the type and quality of tinting film applied to a window, these percentages change dramatically. Some tint are more reflective, and others absorb more light. The number you will most commonly see is the VLT% (Visible Light Transmittance). VLT% tells you how much visible light is allowed to shine into the car, and also indirectly how dark the tint looks. There are also other factors that determine how dark the film will look, such as the color of the interior and exterior.

Tinting film doesn’t just block visible light. It also blocks harmful cancer-causing ultra-violet (UV-A and UV-B) rays as well as infra-red (IR) rays that cause heat to build up in your car; however, how effective a film is in blocking these rays depends on the type of film, the manufacturer, and the quality of installation.

We at Sun Shield Window Tint understand that tinting is a complicated subject, and we aim to help you find the right tint for your car based on your needs. Please use our Car Tint Price Quote Request or call us at (281) 748 – 5660 to get a tinting recommendation.