Tint Shade

Just got 15% tint on the front two side doors of my access cab. Its pretty close to matching the access door windows but not quite. Im OCD and want it to match better. What % comes stock on these things from factory and what shade should I add to pull the privacy glass down to 15%?

Thanks
Kody

 

Surprised that isn't darker than the privacy tint..

I have a double cab and matched the front to rears and it was 27%
I think to get a perfect OCD approved tint match you'll have to take off the front windows, ask the tint people to shoot the back window with the tint reader gun, then reapply a darker. otherwise it'll pretty much always be off a little.

That's my Opinion, could be other methods though.

 

I was always under the assumption that factory tint was somewhere around 18-20. I got 35 because I'm in Mass, and it's close enough lol

 

You will never truly be able to get an exact match since the OEM glass is smoked and it is a slightly different color from all of the tint films I have used. Also, with light coming in from the wind shield the front side windows will appear lighter.

 

Ok... so what shade of tint should I put on the access doors to bring it closer to the 15% shade i just put on the pass and driver door?

Im thinking somewhere around 35% will bring the access door factory tint down to 15%?

 

I would talk to the tint shop and tell them what you are looking for.

 

oem is equivalent 20% smoke black film.

"what shade should I add to pull the privacy glass down to 15%?"

so whats the goal? black out the truck or just match the rear to the front 15%?

i would do 5% on rears and 10% on the fronts. the fact that the rears let in very little light will even out the fronts pretty good and give you privacy and you can still see well out of the fronts. dont forget that the windshield lets alot of light into the truck, so the front windows also are basically 'backlit' like a laptop screen. so you want to kill as much inside light as possible with the back window tint.

in any case a couple months ago i tinted my windows on my quad cab, i got the film from these folks

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190850490802?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

film is really good quality, pre-cut, pretty easy install and you can get real 'smoke black film' color to match the oem privacy glass.

main thing is do the COLOR/SHADE of the front and rear exactly match (even if the darkness does not)? if the color or reflection doesnt match, just scrap the front film and start over. i tinted several of my cars/trucks over the years myself, i may be able to offer some advice.

 

this is 5% on rears and 10% on fronts with daylight starting to fade at about 5:30pm

if you just want to match the windows, strip the 15% off front and redo them with 20% smoke black 2 ply or 3 ply film

 

I did 15 up front and 20 in the back of my double cab and it matches pretty good.

 

Stock Toyota privacy glass is 27% +/- 3%. I have tested this with a tint meter we have at work to confirm it.

The best most commonly available match for the front windows is 30%.

This is what I have on and they are consistent with the appearance of the back windows.

I don't think it works like this, exactly. It has to be proportionate, and there surely is a formula, but, as noted; it's probably best to have a pro tint shop figure it out. I will tell you that when I bought my truck it had 4% tint over the access cab's existing tint, and when I tested the glass with the tint installed it was at 4%, meaning that the underlying factory tint had no bearing on the 4%. I presume this is due to the extreme darkness of the 4% tint, and lighter tints might be different. So, putting 35% on top of the existing 27% tint might actually not bring it down as much as you would think.

4% by the way, is just too dark. I couldn't see out the windows at night.

 

Scraping the front tint is not an option. And im not trying to match the front with the back, im actually doing the opposite. And im not worried about light coming in.

I simply want to know which percent shade I should add to the rear windows to match my 15% tint on the front.

 

Please

 

I tint for a living and if you want the rears that are about 26% stock to be at 15% you will need to use a 60% on top of the existing. It should then meter out at about 15.6. You better meter your fronts with film on them. Glass is not 100% clear, it's usually around 79% without any film on it.

 

The highest I can get is 50%. That should bring it down close enough.

Thanks eyedclyde