VivAvant

Did a quick search, but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. Pardon if I overlooked it...

I would like to tint the glass of my Teak Brown Avant. I am interested in both IR AND UV reduction, but since the interior is Cardamom beige and the car is garaged, IR is not as important as UV blockage. Since the windshield blocks UV already I won't be tinting it, but will tint all other windows and perhaps even the sunroof. Does the curvature of the rear hatch make tinting a challenge or even possible?

I like the look of a light tint, but I suppose a light tint trades off some IR blocking, and maybe some UV as well???

Can someone recommend types of tint that suit these purposes well? I hear there are "ceramic" films, and "metallic" films...

Can anybody give me the pluses and minuses of each, as well any other tint types I should consider?

Thanks guys and gals!
Viv

HX_Guy

If you can bring yourself to spend this much on tint, the best available seems to be the Huper Optik Drei tint. It outperforms every other tint in the same % and I believe even all darker ones. It is a 35% tint which is not very dark at all. It does run about $500-$600 though and is only for the side windows, the shop will install a ceramic tint on the back window (part of the $500 - $600). From my understanding, Huper Optik tint does not stretch which is why they can put it on the rear or front windows since those are curved.

You can see some before and after pictures on my blog here: Huper Optik Drei

fauxtek

I had my Avant done with Solar Gard Ultra Performance 40 on all glass except the windshield. It's a ceramic tint that seems to do well with IR and it claims to block 99%+ of UV and I am satisfied with it. If you're looking for a lighter tint, they go as light as 60 and 75. After doing some research and talking to folks, I avoided metallic as I was told it could interfere with phone signals, etc.

Tinting the rear glass shouldn't pose any issues for an experienced tint shop. The only real issue, which I've never seen a solution to, is that the defroster lines on the rear glass can cause a "halo" effect at night along the defroster lines for thicker films which can't adhere completely to the glass because the defroster lines are raised off the glass.

UmIsThisThingOn

I'd say a good ceramic would be awesome for your needs. It has major heat and UV reduction and you don't have to go Limo dark. I agree with HX_Guy about tinting your windshield as per his thread on AudiZine. He shows the difference in temps with before/after pics of the temps. I plan on doing mine in 80% next month.

You could do a HO 40 or 50 and still get what you're looking for.

Here's a chart with the specs:
http://www.tintcenter.com/films/huperoptik/ho_c/

IMO, Huper Optik Ceramic is the best. My installer had no problem installing it on the sedan back window, which is a little more curved than the Avant. Granted, my installer said it takes a lot longer for HO installs since he has to work with it more to get it to lay down properly.

Here's my car with HO Ceramic 40 (42%):

KremlinGremlin

I put 35% Pinnacle Formula 1 Ceramic. This is a top tier ceramic film (Both Huper and Pinnacle are the top ceramic films on the market right now).

I also put Air Blue 80 on my windshield for further protection, it's hardly noticeable at all and does an amazing job. Left my car in the sun for 2 hours and came back to find the dash/wheel barely warm.

Regarding the windshield - are you looking for protection when driving or when you leave your car out in the sun? If its the latter - I suggest you just close the roof panel instead of wasting money on tint.

VivAvant

Actually you are right, I can just close the sunroof panel when it is parked. Not so concerned about while driving.

Does Pinnacle come in colors? By that I mean some tints are grey based, and some are bronze based. I think a bronze base would look better on my teak brown avant...I notice that Huper Optik only comes in charcoal (grey).

Art234

As a side thought, just make sure you check the Motor Vehicle laws in your state with regard to window tint. Not sure about GA but NY has very specific restrictions on tint. It would be a shame for you to spend serious money just to have to remove it when you get tickets.

HX_Guy

Closing th sunroof cover helps but you can still feel the heat radiating through and if you put your hand on both the sunroof cover and the headliner, youll seen that the sunroof cover is noticeably hotter. It cost me $30 to get the sunroof done, I'd say it's worth it.

KremlinGremlin

To each his own, it was just my opinion, I wanted to have it done too - but to keep it all the same wanted Pinnacle F1 on sunroof and they quoted me $90 - to me that wasn't worth it.

And I believe Pinnacle only comes in one color(grey).