Hey guys, I have an appointment on Monday to get my tint done. VA legal is 50% sides, 35% rear. Im going with the best tint they have, which the guy assured me is pretty dark. However, I do have the chance to go dark.

35% sides, 28% (I think) rear. How dark is this? For those of you in the area that do have tint, think I would get pulled alot for it? Anyone have legal and are happy with it? Thanks for the advice, I want to make the best decision when I go in!

 

I honestly would just go with state limits. It's plenty dark enough for me, and having to rip $200-ish worth of tint off to satisfy a fix-it ticket isn't worth the risk to go a few percentage points darker.

 

i think state's legal is 50%, but i got 35% all around and never any problems with the cops.

 

I had 25% all around on my RSX and got pulled just once on 66 in Fairfax county in 2 years. but those cops are ridiculous anyway. loved the way it looked though.

and for some reason I recall my ticket being in the $100 or less than that. it wasn't high enough to warrant me taking it off

 

Thanks guys, im thinking 35% all around would look good. I am just worried about the 50 on the sides and 35 in the rear, especially showing, if its noticable, and it looks kinda tacky. Guess Kelly has the most info about that. Thanks for all the info though!

 

I would go with the 35% all the way around personally, if you have a dark interior. If you have a lighter interior or the orange color I would say maybe a 30%. The police in Fairfax county is where I have heard of the most problems. Other than that, any time your tint isnt legal, you pretty much rolling the dice. It depends on the cop, his mood, and what else you were doing at the time. If you get pulled over, turn your interior lights on and it lightens up the appearance of the tint from the outside and will give you the best shot at getting away with it.

I know you already have an appt. for Mon. but i can get you in on Sat. in College Park right off the beltway on Rt.1. We do first come first serve, but we open at 10 am, and if your the first in we can have you gone in about 30 min. or less. What price did the guy give you? Usually the tinters in Va are pretty expensive. For the Z our list price is $150 cash and $160 credit (full lifetime guarrantee with ALL work), but the owner (Doug) may do better since its a fairly easy car. Just wanted to let you know. Give us a call or check out the website if you're interested. Fresh Designs Inc. www.FreshDesignsInc.com

 

I would go with the 35% all the way around personally, if you have a dark interior. If you have a lighter interior or the orange color I would say maybe a 30%. The police in Fairfax county is where I have heard of the most problems. Other than that, any time your tint isnt legal, you pretty much rolling the dice. It depends on the cop, his mood, and what else you were doing at the time. If you get pulled over, turn your interior lights on and it lightens up the appearance of the tint from the outside and will give you the best shot at getting away with it.

I know you already have an appt. for Mon. but i can get you in on Sat. in College Park right off the beltway on Rt.1. We do first come first serve, but we open at 10 am, and if your the first in we can have you gone in about 30 min. or less. What price did the guy give you? Usually the tinters in Va are pretty expensive. For the Z our list price is $150 cash and $160 credit (full lifetime guarrantee with ALL work), but the owner (Doug) may do better since its a fairly easy car. Just wanted to let you know. Give us a call or check out the website if you're interested. Fresh Designs Inc. www.FreshDesignsInc.com

 

btw, guy -- what would the cost be to remove existing tint? (and not meaning to hijack the thread)

I have tint now, but I want it darker

 

PM sent

 

i just got 30% tint all around and i must say it's really dark. too dark for my tastes, i didn't notice it when he showed me the film. that and i have a black interior. you can just roll down your windows when you see a cop?

 

Too bad in maryland you don't get a ticket for X many dollars, you get a piece of paper a police officer has to sign off on within 7 or 10 days showing that you removed the tent. If you don't have it done in that time your registration will be suspended.

 

Well I went up and got 30% all around, and I love it! The shop was cool, the people were awesome, and Doug did my tint himself. It turned out so freakin sweet. Must have passed 4 or 5 cops going home (495/66 area) and not one gave me a second glance. Overall I am very happy with the shop and they gave me a killer price. They do alot of business, so if you show up, make it early so you can be in and out quick.

All in all, good experience! Thanks Driven1!

 

To remove tint is not a fun job at all. To do the work at the shop will cost you $120. (for a 350Z). I recommend doing it yourself. although it is a huge aggravation.

Here's a couple suggestions/directions for you though. And for anyone else who needs to remove their tint safely w/ damaging the glass or rear defrosters.
Materials needed.
1) 409 in a spray bottle (or any ammonia based cleaner i.e. windex)
2) 4-5 new razorblades
3) 1 breakaway razor knife or exacto.
4) 1-2 sos brillo pads
5) a bucket of warm soapy water
6) a roll of paper towels or a clean towel or two. I prefer a small squeegee.

Side Windows w/ no defrosters/antennas

1) take a razorblade (new) and start at the top edge of any window.
2)peel the film of the window (you will notice in most cases that the window will have the glue from the film left and it will be sticky).
3) Once the film is removed wet the bottm edge with some water or 409 and crack the window so the top edge is exposed. (Be careful when rolling the window up and down while the glue is exposed. Doing this too much will put unnecessary strain on the window motor because the glue will stick the the window rubber seals. Thats why you wet it first)
4) wet the entire window with 409 (protect panels if necessary i.e suede, etc.)and let sit for a min or two so the glue will absorbe the 409 and begin to break it down.
5) Take a razorblade and begin to scrape the glass in a downward motion with the edge flat on the window removing the excess glue as necessary.
6)Wipe/squeegee the window dry and check for any missed areas. Repeat steps 4-6 as needed. Dont forget to roll the window up and get the bottom area too.
7) Once the window is clean, wet the edges (Bottom and sides) and use the Razor knife or exacto to carfully scrape the edges of the window behind the rubber seals.
8) Wet the entire window with 409 and clean to make sure there isnt any glue left is the visible areas and between the seals and the glass.

Back window

1) Using a razor carefully peel an edge of the film and remove all the film from the back window. DO NOT SCRAPE! Scraping this window will cause your defrosters to never work again.
2) Fill a bucket with warm soapy water (i.e.Joy dish soap)
3) Soak the back window with a good amount of 409 and let sit for 5 min. Reapply a second soaking.
4) Now grap your bucket of warm soapy water and your two sos brillo pads. Soak the sos pads in the bucket and begin to scrub away. The SOS will not damage the defrosters so scrub, scrub, scrub.
5) Rinse the SOS in the bucket as needed and reapply 409 as neede to keep the window wet.
6) Ok, so now that your arm is probably burning and your head has a few gobs of glue os it. Clean the window and check for any spots you may have missed.

And thats it!

Hint/Secret.
For those of you in the warmer climates or in the summer months (only when the sun is out and the hotter the better) there is an easier way to remove the back window w/o damaging the defroster. Take a black trashbag and lay it on the outside of the window. Cut the trashbag to the size of the glass on the outside of the vehicle. Now take the 409 and soak the inside of the back window. (No need to remove the film yet) Now take the trashbag you cut and stick it to the wet glass inside the car. You cut it so it should fit pretty good. Now park the car in direct sunlight and let "bake" for aaprox. 15 min. Repeat the soaking and baking process approx. 3 times. Once you have done this, you can know peel and edge of the film and remove the film from the back window. You will notice that MOST if not ALL of the glue came off with the film. Now just clean whatever glue is left and you are done. NOTE: The amount of glue the film leaves depends on age and brand.


Good Luck! And be careful with those razors. They are sharp.

 

No problem Nowell. Glad to hear you had a good experience with us. Pass the word and remember..." Don't roll them down for 3 days and don't clean them with ammonia!"

Thanks again.

Robbie

 

Sorry guys I forgot one thing. For those who wish to go darker with the tint.... We can tint over tint and make it look good and give you the desired darker look you want. For that work its the standard price to tint the car. The only catch is... we have to see the quality of work existing on the car prior to agreeing to do the work. We need to do this because as we all know there are alot of shops out there and most do work that is average or sub par to ours. (Not to be arrogant or cocky). It is for this reason we will refuse to tint over previous work. We have had instances where numerous people (including other shop owners who tint, and will remain nameless) have tried to pass our work under their name. Yes it is flattering that you want your work to look like ours, however we do not appreciate that you are misprepresenting customers who expect and pay for high quality workmanship that turns out to be average.

 

What about the windows that don't roll down?