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TINTED WINDOWS |
| Pictures |
1988 coupe (James Songco) |
| 1989 coupe (Luther Ward) |
| 1991 sedan (Doc Westin) |
| 1991 coupe (Dale Murray) |
Brian Fabel
I had just got the car, and I thought the first thing to be done was have the windows tinted.
My parents paid for it and swore it would be the last and only modification they would ever
pay for. The tinting was done at a place called Picture Perfect . They charged about $100 for
what they said was a %35 percent tint job. My parents would not let me have it tinted under
legal limit here in Maryland, which is %35. The man said my window were already tinted %50,
however I beg to differ. He said that he would add %15 to have a net total of %35. Although
I was some what disappointed with the job, it was still a lot better than before.
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Bill Courington
I had the rear and side windows of my '90 coupe tinted at the turn of the new year. We've had little sunshine since then,
but I drove across Arizona in 75 degree sunshine without the air conditioning on, so I think the stuff may be quite
effective in reducing heat which was my goal.
The tinting material is called Formula One Premier which uses some metal instead of color to reduce heat with less
darkening. It has a very slightly metallic look. I think, but don't know for sure, that the metal has made headlights in
the rear view mirror a little annoying; they seem to reflect on the defroster wires in the rear window. As I say, I can't
be sure that this wasn't a problem before, but I don't remember it. In any case it doesn't really affect vision and I'm
pretty used to it now.
I had the back window done in the darkest shade, the rear sides in the middle, and the front sides in the lightest. I was
not at all interested in making the car look like a limo; in fact, if there had been a clear material that slowed the heat,
I'd have chosen that. I figured that the rear window had to be dark because it's so huge and horizontal. I figured as well
that the front sides had to be quite a bit lighter than the rear sides so as not to look tinted, which is illegal in some
states. That left the middle tint for the rear sides. Unfortunately the windows looks different in different lights, so
there's no good way to describe the appearance. If you choose a tint on a sunny day, you can bet it will look darker on a
gloomy one.
The installation was done well, though there were lots of bubbles. The accompanying brochure said they would gradually
disappear in a couple of weeks. Many have, but some remain. Then again, we have had no warm weather, so I'm hopeful
the liquid in the last of them will find a way out in the spring.
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James Songco
I had mine retinted (because previous owner neglected it). The tinter #$%^#-up my defroster grid. They made
little effort to take care of me and my Legend. Advise; go to a tinter after seeing someone else's windows from
the test of time, and if they are taking old tint off from the defroster, tell them to do everything possible to
KEEP what you have. By giving them 100% of your car, you should get back a minimum 100% of your car. I'm never
going to those duds again. By the way, all new glass w/defroster retails for $700.00 and has to be
imported/ordered.
If in Phoenix, e-mail to me so you know who NOT to go to." Reason being, I'm quoted in other sections too and
also mention the Acura service shop I go to, I just don't want them to be mistakenly imferred to doing the
re-tint. They do great work there as well as window tinting, I just don't want the reader/surfer to be 'putting
2 + 2 = 5' instead of the proverbial 2+2=4.
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Jim Trinh
I shopped around for the best price I could find for tinting my windows. The prices in my area (south of San
Francisco) ranged from $180 - $400 for 5 windows. I managed to find a place near my house called Quality Tint
that did all five windows for only $150. A great deal! But of course I'm playing with fire on this because in
the state of California it is illegal to tint the front side windows any shade. Mmmm, the price of appearance.
Anyway, I chose 10% bronze tint for the back 3 windows. For the front sides, I went with 35%. Even though bronze
is classy and more expensive, smoke tint provides more privacy, which is what I wanted.
A lot people I know want my kind the bronze tint because it's not too dark and looks classy. Me, I would have
prefered the smoked tint because one of the reasons of tinting was to enclose myself in an envelope of privacy.
But the good thing is I don't get pulled over as much (actually I have never been pulled over) for my tint being
too dark.
A big fear most people have of tinted glass is it may be too dark to see clearly (especially during night time).
But as long as you don't get the cheap, purple tint film, looking out during daytime is hardly any different. And
at night, it's hardly any darker, allowing you ample vision and clarity. I am very happy with the shades I chose.
The front windows (35%), are dark enough to provide me with a level of privacy in sunlight, excellent privacy on
cloudy days, and enough privacy at night. All the while not attracting any seriously attention from law
enforcement. As for the rear windows (10%), they were dark enough to block out even the most curious eyes from
peering into my car. But looking out, it appears just like a cloudy day, with hardly any distortion or fuzziness.
I would definately recommend window tint to everyone.
Other benefits include reduction of light from that jerk behind you with his intense 10,000 candle power
headlights. This won't have you constantly reaching to adjust your rear view mirror (or reaching for the gun you
have stashed in the glove compartment to shoot the bastard). Plus you can make faces at the car next to you
without them noticing.
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Michael Cruz
When I bought my Legend Coupe the previous owner had purple tint applied too the windows. I presume this was
done shortly after the first owner purchased the Legend. The reason for the this conclusion is: time has not been
good to the purple tint as the wear was very noticable. The tint was peeling at the top of the rear side windows
as well as the big rear window. After putting up with the Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze tint for several months, I
decided it was time to re-tint as I could not take it no longer. I went to Jeff Tom the owner of Auto Image to
schedule a removal of the old tint and to apply new tint to Legend R. I selected smoke tint and 10% tint shade or
Limo tint. Removal of the old tint is no easy task because if its not done right the rear defroster would become
inoperable. The following week I dropped the car off and when I returned later that afternoon, Legend R had a
great new look. Jeff once again did an excellent job. If you are planning to have your windows tinted, I highly
recommend Jeff Tom at Auto Image.
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Not only do tinted windows block out sun and heat, keeping your car relatively cool on sunny days, but
it adds a touch of mystery and privacy. Any car with tinted windows look so much more mistque to it and
keeps out the prying eyes of others.
