Tinting... do it yourself?

[Loochy88]

I want to tint just the rear. Would it be a good idea to just buy some tint from autozone or some place and just do it myself. Everyone's always talking about getting it done.

Also, im confused on what the numbers mean. I dont want it all that dark. how dark is 20%... and does that number mean 20% of the light is transmitted or blocked? is 5% lighter or darker?

[MTMike]

Don't get cheap auto-parts store tint. Trust me, I know from experience, that crap is exactly that.... crap. It'll be purple in a year.

Get it done professionally.. it'll look better, and it'll last A LOT longer.

-Mike

[DominusEtDeusNatus]

Metalic tint is very hard to do since if you bend it, it will show up. Non-metalic is pretty easy. Just get some good quality stuff. I so want to get my side windows tinted a little.

[matt2k2]

5% is lighter then 20% etc

[jamie]

actually 5% is darker than 20%. the number means how much light it will let in...i.e. a window with 5% on it will let in 5% of the light. and a window with 20% will let in 20% light. the lower the number, the darker the tint. i have 5% on my car. its super dark. i'm used to it now so its not a problem.

[MTMike]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by matt2k2:
5% is lighter then 20% etc<hr></blockquote>

Not true. The percentage is the amount of light the tint allows to pass through. 5% is some VERY dark tint.. where as 20% is a little lighter (it lets 4 times the light thru as 5%) and 35% is lighter yet. I had 5% on my old car and it looked like this:
Dark Windows 1 Dark Windows 2

I've seen cars with 2.5% tint (twice as dark as 5%) and he might as well have spray-painted the inside of his windows black... cuz you couldn't see in OR out.

-Mike

[cixelsyD21]

I have 5% on mine, and like it. 20% is the "legal" limit in most states. Why just the back? I would get them all tinted, if only 20-35%.

Here are pics of my tint.