Anyone know of a good place in the DC area for tint? I'd like get 35% all the way around. I hear LA Tint does a pretty good job. Has anyone had experience with them?

 

Yeah I'm also interested in getting 35% tint all around from someone in the Northern Virginia / DC metro area. Hopefully someone has experience with a tinter that has done our dot matrix! I might ask one of the guys at the dealership near me (Pohanka) who they recommend..

 

Is anyone familiar with Formula One Tint? LA Tint near me uses this film......just wondering what the quality is like.

 

Just had my windows done with Formula One Tint at LA Tint in Sterling last week. They tinted over the matrix and did an excellent job. I was talking to another guy there that has had three cars done by them and he, too, was very pleased with their work...


Good luck

 

Would you mind telling us how much they charged (dot matrix included)?

 

There are different types of Formula One tint. I got the top of the line (read most expensive) and it was just over $260. At the higher end of the range one should have to pay, but if you live around here you know everything is inflated! Also, the guy there was the first one that I talked to that didn't hesitate when I mentioned the dot matrix and the navi...

btw... It is a metalic tint and has had no noticable effect on the navi...

 

Cool.....thnx for the info Scott. Think I may have mine done at the Sterling location in the next few weeks. One other question -- is the metallic tint smoked (factory tint in color) or silver? I'm not a big fan of the Silver Mirrored tint you see sometimes.

 

They have the metalic tint in smoked and reflective. I got the smoked tint...

If I remember correctly, the reflective tint (it's not really the 'mirror' type...) is a little less expensive. My TLS is silver and I felt that the smoke color provides a better contrast...

 

Hmm, hopefully they are as good as you say ... $260 is up there in terms of price, but it isn't horrible for quality work.

ScotTLTypeS - Do you have any pics of your car after it was tinted? What percentage did you go?

99Hokie, I'd love to see some pics after you get yours done too, I am thinking about getting the same kindof thing ... 35% all around (are you going to do the Windshield? If I did, it would be all legal... nothing in any of the area where you're not allowed to).

 

Good deal, the smoked is exactly what i want....the contrast will look good on my White TLS. Thnx again Scott.

LiQiCE -- I can send you some pics when I get it done. No, I don't plan on getting the windshield done, that's definitely asking to be pulled over around here. Also, I think you can find 10% off offers in your Yellow Pages. A friend of mine had one at one point last year.

 

I bought my TL from Pohanka in Chantilly. I had them tint the windows before I picked up the car. The place they took it to did an amazing job. The tint color is almost perfectly matched with my Emerald Green TL.

Good Luck

 

Do you know who Pohanka took it to? I could call Pohanka and ask I guess, but I wouldn't want to go through them to do it since it would probably cost more. (It would be easier just to go directly to their source)

 

I was told that they use VA Tint in Manassas...

 

I will look through my paperwork and see if I can verify that it is infact VA Tint.

Will get back to you.

 

Yup, get the Formula one tint at LA Tint in Sterling. They did my car and 3 of my friends, great job, tinted over the dot matrix, etc.

 

So are you guys still happy with the quality of the tint job you received at LA Tint in Sterling, VA? I ask because I want a quality job done right the first time and preferrably done by someone who knows how to tint over the dot matrix.

I need to get my windows tinted to block the heat and save my ebony interior. I don't have the navi, so metallic tint should not be a problem for me.

Please let me know if you are still happy with their work.

Thanks.

 

Count me as a happy customer...

 

That's all I needed to hear. Thank you, ScotTLTypeS.

Making an appointment ASAP.

 

paxus -- maybe they'll work a group deal for us? Now that it's warm again, I'm looking to get mine done too. I was actually planning to call them this week.

 

I don't know if he would do that or not. I called LA Tint in Sterling today. More specifically, I called Geoff (I think he's the only one that works there) and he said he was busy the rest of this week, out of town for the weekend, and wouldn't even schedule me an appt. In fact, he instructed me to call back on thursday to make an appt. for next week. I'm guessing that he is probably not all that interested in making deals -- I base this assumption on the fact that he seems pretty busy.

 

Fair Enough -- thnx anyhow.

 

Wow he's that busy? I think I'm gonna call him tomorrow then

 

Incase anyone is curious, I got my tint done at LA Tint in Sterling on Friday. It looks really good and they did an excellent job with the dot matrix.

Pics of my car tinted

I got 38% all around, Formula One Ultimate tint.

 

Heh, I saw your name on the register there. You were the only other TL-S that got tinted there that day. I got mine tinted around 4:30 pm with the same specs - 38% all the way around (F1 Ultimate). I have to say he did a great job on my ride. The tint offers great contrast with the silver car, and plus the black interior makes it seem a lot darker.

VERY noticeable difference in heat inside the cabin after the car was sitting in direct sunlight for 2 hours.

So, LiQiCe, do the headlights in the rear view mirror look like several pairs of headlights now (where the defrost lines are located)? Ever since I got tinted the light refracts differently than before.

 

LiQiCE/Paxus,

Do either of you know the next level down from 38%? I'm relocating to Florida in about 3 weeks and would like to go a little darker. Since I know the quality of LA's work, I just assume get it done up here -- Thanks.

 

They do on my mine! And I'll bet LiQiCE will experience the same thing. At first I thought: "Did it look like that before, but I just wasn't looking that hard?". Bothered me for a couple of nights, but then I got used to it...

Do folks with other brands of tint experience this?

 

I think I can answer that (We all had it done at the same place...).

The next step darker for the Formula One 'Ultimate' tint is 28%. The darkest available is 18%...

 

Thanks Scott!

 

Yup, I'm glad that you guys mentioned it!!! Because I was wondering the same thing ... "Was it always this way?!?!"

Its not that annoying unless I really concentrate and look at it, but when I first got the tint I was going nuts about it.

I'm happy that its not just me.

BTW- www.latint.com gives a lot of good information on the available percentages and different tints.

 

ScotTlTypeS/paxus - I have the Johnson tint on my TLS, 35% smoked. I also have the refraction of the headlights as well when looking into the rearview mirror. You will get used to it after a few nights.

 

I agree with you all in that you get used to the refraction of light looking through the rearview mirror. Little things like that can annoy me, but it's a small trade off for having less heat in the cabin in the summer.