Bay Area Window Tint

Pablo,

See my Tinting 101 post.

http://priuschat.com/forums/tinting-101-vt...html?highlight=

Research all the different brands/varieties available.

Most of us have our preferences for the Prius, and different reasons for our selections.

Once you decide on your brand of tint then you can narrow it down to your dealer/installer.

 

pablo
did you find someone good to do your tiniting? if so where and how much..thanks

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darwin100 @ Jul 28 2006, 07:04 PM) [snapback]294152[/snapback]</div>

I live in Marin, CA

I got my windows tinted at http://www.totaleclipse.biz/ in San Rafael.

They were very nice and professional.

Paid just under $400 for 5 windows.

I did 20% back, 35% back passenger window, 50% front driver/passenger windows

Nice gradual effect, hard to see from the photo. The 50% on the front windows is hardly noticable from the interior. See attached photo. [attachmentid=4300]


~joey

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(grandprius @ Jul 31 2006, 12:55 PM) [snapback]295315[/snapback]</div>

Hi Joey,

I live in the Bay Area as well over in Berkeley, CA. I must that your prius looks great! Do you anticipate problems with CHP or PD pulling you over for your tint? Does anyone know if what's the 'standards' for tinting in CA? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

-Mark

 

I'd really like to find someone in the south bay who installs V-Cool. It is a selective metallic tint that has 70% VLT while rejecting over 90% of the IR. It sounds like just the thing for the front windows. I'd go with the 40 or 30% VLT for the back.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ Aug 1 2006, 01:43 AM) [snapback]295592[/snapback]</div>

After some research i've seen quite a few people goto AutoMall Tint over near the Milpitas area. Actually their example is a V-Cool %70 VLT. Check it out. Just google Automall Tint. I'm still wondering if there's a place near Sunnyvale or Mountain View. Anyone Help?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 1 2006, 05:51 PM) [snapback]295946[/snapback]</div>

Just returned from picking my Prius up from Auto Mall Tint Specialist in Fremont.

http://www.automalltintspecialist.com/

Sidney and staff did a great job and spent a lot of time with me, both on the phone and in person, to help me understand and select the best tint for my needs. I had read quite a bit about the V-Cool and Huper Optik.

I decided to go with the V-Cool 70% for the front two window (actually 4 – he included the two small ones), SunTek HP 35% for the rear passenger, SunTek HP 30 % for the rear most windows, and SunTek HP 20% for the hatch. I chose the SunTek as I wanted to get a bit of a darker tint along with the retention properties. When I saw the ceramics, they did not seem to go dark enough for me.

Sidney will hook you up. He walked me around the parking lot showing me several examples of the cars, with various tints. I didn’t realize what a difference it makes if you have a light interior or a dark interior.

A couple of things to remember.
1. Rents are higher here in Silicon Valley than Texas, Florida, Virginia, and thus, you cannot directly compare prices
2. Took about 1.5 hours to do. There's a outdoor mall across the street, a pizza parlor with good beers on draft, a Costco, plenty of shops, Starbucks, goes by quick.
3. Let him know you read about him on PriusChat, and he will give you a fair price – let him know you will pay cash.
4. You can find other places in the Silicon Valley, with cheaper prices, cheaper material, poorer quality installation and service.
5. But Remember: the bitter taste of poor quality and service lingers long after the sweet taste of a cheap price is forgotten


Cheers, Tweldon

[attachmentid=4450]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tweldon @ Aug 10 2006, 09:23 PM) [snapback]301315[/snapback]</div>

Hey! Thanks for the Info, how much did you pay for it? Why didn't you for the OP instead of the HP. Did you not like metallic look?

Also, thanks for the detailed info. Cheers!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 11 2006, 02:40 AM) [snapback]301368[/snapback]</div>

Didn't want the metalic look, just wanted lower heat and darker inside. It would look good on some colors though.

He's got a board where you can put the various tints up against each other and check them out.

He'll give you a good price, based upon which combination you choose. Very centrally located, right off 880. Huge shopping center 'cross the street.

Cheers, Tweldon

P.S. If I get ambitious, I’ll put on the side moldings today!

 

Sidney tinted my Prius a week ago and I am very satisfied with the work. I went with 50%/30%/20%. I was going to go 35% on the rear side windows and 30% on the hatch, but he recommended a darker tint for the hatch because of its near-horizontal angle. I'm glad I took his advice; I can see now that had I gone with my original choices it would have been too light.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Aug 11 2006, 02:25 PM) [snapback]301657[/snapback]</div>

Just remember it is illegal in CA to tint the front roll down windows. So....if you are going to do that, I would go with a light tint that is discernable from the rear windows and hope the police are not having a slow day and want to write a ticket.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cairo94507 @ Aug 14 2006, 06:52 AM) [snapback]302959[/snapback]</div>

??? Is it?

Well i called Sidney up and he said he'd tint me up for $400 cash. It's heartening that you guys have had good experiences from him so I'm considering it. Basically going to get 70% V-kool Front/17% Suntek HP Rear (Because i have a big Woofer in the rear of my trunk and don't want anyone to see it)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cairo94507 @ Aug 14 2006, 06:52 AM) [snapback]302959[/snapback]</div>

You're wrong. Go read the California Vehicle Code, section 26708.b.11.d.1.

You can put up to (or down to) 88% VLT film on your front side windows as long is the combined VLT of the glass and film is at least 70%. So it's legal to put 70% film on untinted front side windows.

I wouldn't put 35% on my front windows - I'd pretty much expect to get a fix-it ticket for that if pulled over for another violation. At 50% I think I have a chance at it being ignored as long as I didn't give the cop a reason to write me up for other violations.

 

I have a white exterior and sand interior. I do want to get the strongest tint as legally possible. however, i am not sure how it would like on my white car. does anyone have a suggestion, or sample picture of their tint on white?

thanks for the tip on automall tint. i might give them a call too.

 

Hi Yuanja,

I'm no expert on tinting but i believe a really dark tint would look good. Personally i'd say since you have the white that you go ahead and get a very striking dark color. I believe with your inside color so light also that you could possibly go to 17% VLT on the back windows and hatch and get a very decent tint. If you'd like some more in depth response do let me know. This is just my 2 cents. Cheers!



[UPDATE]: Check this out. It has pics of a white Prius

 

I got it done! Finally!~

Well i'm very happy with Automall tint. Heh, i'm such a stickler for price but i decided that i shouldn't try to skimp on a good tint job. After seeing the pics that were uploaded here i just was itching to get mine done too. Heh, Enjoy guys! Oh, and btw i recommend AutoMall tint Sidney is a great guy! I'd go there again and he's a very decent guy. Cheers!

~GreenS
My tint is 70% V-Kool (Front Triangles and doors) Suntek HP (30% Rear Doors, 20% Rear Triangles, 15% Hatch)

ENJOY~
Pictures BEFORE TINT












Pic AFTER Tint

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Aug 14 2006, 12:09 PM) [snapback]303135[/snapback]</div>

Ugh, that's obviously not what I meant to write. What I meant to write is that you could put 70% film on untinted front windows and it would measure legal, but technically it wouldn't be legal. But no one would ever know because you're not going to be asked to peel the film back and measure the film and glass separately.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Aug 18 2006, 04:50 AM) [snapback]305237[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, that's true. I went with the 70% on the front because I'll have no issues with the cops. Sidney's main concern (the guy who did the tinting) is that there wouldn't be a very 'gradual' blending of the tints. But in the end he and I were quite happy with the outcome.

 

Here is a picture of my white Prius for the guy that asked.
20% on the rear windows except the one under the wing is 35%. The front windows are 50%.[attachmentid=4619]