Window Tinting and Privacy Glass

So the 2012 and 2013 double cab comes equipped with what Toyota calls "privacy glass" on the 3 rear windows.

I like what they were going for, but as someone who always throws a full tint job on my vehicles Im a little conflicted... It just needs to be a little bit darker!

So this leaves me with two questions:
1) would it be reasonable to throw very light film over the privacy glass to make it just a bit darker?
2) what are the chances that my local tint guy can match after maket film for the fronts to the factory privacy glass on the rears?

F the Sun!

 

On my 08 20% matches very nicely to the rear windows. I think they are somewhere between 20-30% but not sure the exact percent, I'd say go with 20 up front and see what it does. I know I wanted to tint the rear but changed my mind after tinting the front.

 

Stock front windows meter at around 70%, so putting 20% on top of that gives you something closer to 14%

You can put film over the stock rear glass to darken is a bit more, it'll work just fine since the stock glass is actually tinted and is not a film.


Edit... I see you're in Orange County, assuming California.

Don't go darker than 30% on the front.
It's still illegal, but I've never had a cop give me any shit over 30%.
Trick is to get the front a fair amount lighter than the rear so there's an obvious difference, and so the cop can still see inside the front windows. It makes cops really nervous when they can't see what's going on inside.
If you get pulled over at night, turn on the interior light before he gets to your door.... makes for a much more pleasant conversation.

 

Wow well I was wrong...listen to rich.

 

i’m thinking 15%on front and maybe 30% on back. i want to see out some at night in dart places. so i don’t want back to dark.

 

30% on top of the privacy glass will total around 5%... that's "limo" dark. You aren't going to see out of it at night.
And honestly, 15% on the front, you're going to have issues at night if the street lighting is not good.

 

I've done full front and back tint on the last 3 vehicles I've had... Can't live without it now.

I totally subscribe to the "way darker in the back" theory. In fact, my father in law is ex LAPD and his stance is "if I can see in, fine... If I can't, you get sited"

Think I'm going to try and go limo on the side rears and maybe 20-30% on the fronts and rear slider.

 

ok. hmmm. may not do back at all than.

and i have been in a car with 15 all around and could see out pretty good. car did not have privacy glass before it was tinted.

 

I just had my '10 DB front side windows tinted with 20% and from the outside they look almost spot on to the rear windows but inside the front windows are noticeably darker. The rears look like 35% from the inside compared to the 20% on the front windows if that makes sense.

 

I just got my fronts tinted at 50%

 

20% on the back three windows and 5% on the front and brow strip

 

Back windows are factory tinted at 20%. That is the actual window (not tint over window) like Rich said. If you tint your front windows 20% they will match the back perfectly.

Had my front 2 windows not been tinted when I bought my truck I would have put 5% all the way around (excluding the windshield of course). That said.... That is illegal but for some reason not enforced here. I like the idea of being able to put up my shade in the windshield and NO ONE being able to see inside my truck.

I have put 5% on every vehicle I've owned before this truck and yes it makes it difficult to see out the back at night while backing up. I just learned to live with it and rolled the windows down. Side windows weren't so bad but still rolled them down while backing up. Basically my windows were like a K-9 unit vehicle.

Mine are just factory tinted now with the exception of the front's at 35%. My personal rule of thumb is if I get pulled over (can't remember the last time that happened) I roll my front and rear windows down and keep my hands on the wheel as they approach so the officer can see inside the vehicle while walking up to it. I can't imagine what it must feel like walking up on a vehicle and not knowing what is going on inside.

I in no way advocate tinting darker than the law and laws vary widely from state to state. Basically here I think you could spray paint your windows and they wouldn't care. Hell.... some people here are actually tinting their windshields.

 

I have the same...

 

what is your over-all goal?

total black-out would be double 5% rear doors and back glass, single 5% on front doors to allow you to see

just matching OEM, a 'smoke' pure black high grade 20% should do good like other member said

but

with 20% or so on all the windows i found on the tacoma the pass-through light makes putting 20% on the front doors almost see through! like no tint being there at all because of the back light from the other windows.

if you want privacy and to stay 'close' to legal, we need to eliminate the back lighting.

so if you want shade and privacy, i recommend, double 5% on rear doors, single 5% on back glass so you can still see fine, the longest windsield strip allowed legally, again 5% and put around 23% to 30% or even maybe 35% on front windows.

you kill the back lighting, and still can see out the back, and a LEO can still see your shadow behind the front windows and most likely will never mess with you.

tacomas are easy, they are close to smoke black, my RX was a chore, it comes with silver mirror, i think 40& or 50% on back, none on front, to match we did 5% black on rear doors and hatch, on the OEM glass, then i think 20% platinum on the front doors and 2nd layer 20% smoke black to get it to match. check out the middle RX, thats what not matching looks like

side note, you post made me go looking for a picture of mine with the oem glass, i realized the only picture i had of her when she was brand new and stock was taken on a poloroid camera by the insurance agent about 30mins after i bought it never took a good pic before we started tearing her down like 30mins after that picture



cheers,
disco

 

I put 20 on top of the privacy glass, looks great, still not ultra dark imo

 

I put 50% on the back half which puts me at about 15%,35% on the front two and 50% on the windshield. I love it and will always put 50 on the windshield. However does get dark at night.

 

1) Yes
2) Yes

I like a 5% all the way around on my vehicles. (I know this is not legal, I have never been pulled over for it in 15 years) My tint guy ran a 15% on the back windows along with privacy glass and then ran 5% on the front two side windows and it looks great.

Your local tint guy will be able to tell you what different percentages to put on the windows in order to get them all to match closely enough that you won't be able to tell they started off different shades (Privacy backs vs clear fronts). If he can't tell you that, then find another guy.

 

man i only knew one other person who tinted the windshield, lol. my cousin did it on a CTS and i borrowed it one night and was driving, kept rubbing my eyes thinking what the hell? so i called him and said man i dont think your headlights are working? he laughed and told me the windshield was tinted, LOL! not sure what percent he had, but it was HARD to see, considering double 5% on the other windows and knowing how much of an idiot he is, he prob put like 20% or even darker on the windshield, heh! but i like your idea of light tint on front, may try that

if you kill some of the incoming light, even just a tad, then you can have less tint on the other windows... nice idea bro


cheers,
disco

 

20% on the front measures darker than the back on the 2014 you can see the difference when you look at a light background through both windows at the same time. Looks off to me when the front is darker.

BTW the meter reads 77% for the fronts on the 14. Always check the data sheet, there are 20 out there that are actually 28% light transmission. A real 30 in the front turns out to be 23% (0.77x0.3) vs 20% in the back, which looks good. Matching the actual color is another question...

 

Isn't " double 5% " kinda like 10% ?