RealMarty

I had my GS430 tinted on Saturday with Solarguard 35%.

From what I can tell they did a good job (no bubbles, etc) and they were not expensive ($160). I'm not an expert on tint, having only tinted one car 4 years ago, so I need some help.

At night when I look in the rear view mirror I see multiple reflections of the lights of the cars behind me from the heater lines on the back window. It's not terrible. Just distracting.

No problem seeing clearly out the back during the daytime.

Is this normal?

///MDex

Sounds slightly odd to me.

I had mine done a few weeks ago, but no such occurence. Maybe the tint is affecting the rear view auto-dimming. Only thing I can think of.

The only difference I notice right after a tint job is the cloudiness. That usually goes away within a couple of weeks, depending on the time of year / heat.

I'd say wait it out, then call the shop where you had it done to see if they can shed any light.

2SAVVY

Marty,

Check to see if they used a single rear piece on the rear window.. Other than that the only thing I can think of is the tint hasn't fully dried out and you are getting that multi-reflection because of that..

My guess thou is they used 2 pieces on the rear window.. Hope that helps and i'm glad you finally got your wheels!!

RealMarty

Dexter,

Nothing wrong with the auto-dimming on the rear-view mirror. Same reflections with the dimming off.

2SAVVY,

Rear window was done in one piece. I watched them do it.

And thanks. It's really great to finally be driving my GS.

===========

Perhaps the problem is due to it's not being fully dried out.

Anyone know how long will it take before it's completely dry?

Anyway, it does have a lifetime warranty so I have little to be concerned about.

///MDex

My techs told me the heat of letting the car set outside during the day, esp this time of year, will accelerate the drying process.

FWIW, mine is a one peice also; tint that it.

TMitchell

RealMarty, how did your tint job turn out. You were complaining about the rear window.

RealMarty

Overall the tint job is excellent. No bubbles. Tint goes right to the top of my windows. Back is done in one piece. It looks great.

I'm still getting a bit of a halo effect from headlights reflecting off of the heater lines in the back window, but not as bad as when it was first done 2 weeks ago. It's a surprise but definitely liveable.

All in all I'm extremely satisfied.

TMitchell

All in all I'm extremely satisfied. [/B][/QUOTE]



Can you tell much difference in inside temperature, after it has been sitting in the sun for awhile. We have quite a bit of 100+ degree days here and my car sits outside at work. I also have a 01 Grand Cherokee ltd. and it has the real dark factory finish on the rear door glass and back windshield. Both cars have about the same shade interiors. The GC is considerably cooler after sitting in the sun than the GS. My old 540i could be vented for 30 minutes twice a day while the car sat, so it never felt any where near as hot as the GS. I was thinking about going with the metallic film, since the shop said it would keep the car cooler. I don't have Nav and I don't think it will effect radio reception. Do you no of any other reasons why I should get the regular or the metallic. Did they have to remove your door panels?

RealMarty

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Marty - I checked www.solargard.com and I think that all their tints have metal in them, but yours I believe is called non-reflective. The 'metallic' kind you're thinking of is the 'mirrored' (often bronzed) stuff.

RealMarty

Bit,

I checked the site and on the page about Automobile tints http://www.solargard.com/Products/Auto.htm I found

Solar Gard automotive films are available in a variety of colors and shades with different light transmission levels to satisfy local tint laws. You can choose from high performance metallized films including Quantum™, titanium, stainless steel bronze and charcoal or a full range of conventional non-reflective charcoal and grey films.

So, as I read it, they make metallic and non-metallic tints. I believe I got a "conventional" charcoal non-metallic, non-reflective tint.

Jazziz

Marty
The reflections are normal. The heater filaments are applied, and have sharp distinct edges. Once you apply the film, which has some thickness to it, it is rolled around your sharp edges and refracts the light coming in.
When the metal tints were first being introduced, one of the manufacturers, I believe SolarGuard, had a demonstration were you stand in front of a regular piece of glass, a piece of glass with a normal tint applied, and then their new metal tint, all in full sunlight, to see if you can feel a difference. The conditions were summer time in middle georgia, and believe me you could tell the difference. This was circa 1990, so I know they have improved the product since then.
The question previously brought up if the car is cooler is all relative to the time it sits in the sun. A car with or without tint will reach a point were it is "heatsoaked" The tinted car will arrive at that stage later. My goal was to protect the seats and the dash further from the damaging UV's.
I bet you didn't expect such a long a$$ reply, with a bunch of techno babble, to your gentle straight forward question, did ya?
BTW, see ya Saturday.

RealMarty

Hey Frank,

Thanks for the explanation. So, I guess I have to get used to a little reflection. And I'm cool with the "techno-babble". Now I u'nersnstans it.

But, I do think you've been suckin' too much of that jet fuel man. It's gettin to ya.

TMitchell

I went in to a place called Alta Mere to check on having my windows tinted. They said the car would look awesome with 35% all around smoke grey metallic. They have a life time warrenty, but they found a disclaimer note saying that Lexus has the rain repellent front windows and some type of baked on process for UV protection. This could allow the front window film to not stick properly. Any know anything about this?

xshadowz

For those who use radar detectors, keep in mind that metallic tint in particular will decrease the sensitivity of your radar detector. See the article below:

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caran...keywords=radar