4u2nv

I have been told that in the back windshield on the very top. u CANNOT tint it.. i believe that little part is where the matrix is (i think thas wat its called) someone please help... What will it do if i tint it?

MikeekiM

I was given two choices by my tinter...

Either tint over it with the regular tint film... or black it out with a special material he uses for such an application...

With the tint film option, the outside will always look like it has some air bubbles... There simply is no good way to tint this area... But from the inside, you can still see through this area...

With the black-out option, the material is made to fill in the bubbles quite well from the outside, but it basically blacks out this area from the inside...

Personally, I chose to go with the black-out option... Never regretted it, and never looked back...

I have a friend who chose the tint-film option, and he always has friends asking him why his tint job looks bad... And he always has to explain that it is just difficult to tint that "matrixed" area, and that it is normal... He also is happy with his choice...it's just he can't stand explaining and re-explaining the fact that this area is hard to tint...

4u2nv

hey thnx.... For the black out option u r talking bout. wat kinda spray did u use?

Spider0079

I have a silver TL and have tinted all five windows. I got the whole back window tinted even the top part. It has only been a month and I have had no problems with bubbling. The place I went to guarantees their work for the life of the car if there is a problem they will redue it. Though I have run into a big issue with my tint of choice. I got titanium tint which has a metallic look in it. Apparently if you have navigation and get metallic tint it will not allow the navigation to receive the signal properly. I thought that could not be the problem but, I had my navigation checked and when the antenna is outside I am told the navigation works well. I am going to see if I can change the antenna or maybe take off the tint. If there are any results that show it is definitely the tint I will post.

MikeekiM

It's not a spray... The tinter used a black strip that is made specifically for the matrixed area... He says it is a very popular solution, and he uses it all the time...

I don't know what it is called... There are a lot of folks on the forum from the California Bay Area who have used the same tinter (Extreme Auto Tint in Santa Clara)... Perhaps they know what the material is called...

If not, I have no problems giving the guy a call on the weekday for you to find out...

MikeekiM

I may not have explained it correctly...

My buddy does not have "bubbling" per se... Some just think it looks like there is bubbling I suppose...

I am not exactly sure how to explain it other than to say that some people are not happy with the way that regular tint film adheres to the matrix area...

As I mentioned, my buddy is quite fine with it... He is only tired of fielding questions from people who see his car and question why it lays down on the matrixed area different than the rest of the rear window...

For me, I am not making a judgement call one way or the other... I think it is personal preference... My friend and I are both happy with our install...and we both chose different paths...

dark inspire

yeah it looks like bubling but its not, because of the matrix at the top. Mine arent blacked out but tinted, it doesnt look to bad, i jus tell people thas the antenna

but i havent had anyone ask, so i think its fine.

MikeekiM

Yea...maybe it is more accurate to call them "small air pockets" instead of bubbling... Bubbling seems to equate to poor installation...and it ain't that...

But hey...it's just semantics at this point

timberland73

iTrader: (1)

My tint goes up to the matrix, but cuts off there. From the outside it looks fine. From inside it looks kinda funny but it's not that big of a deal.

MikeTL-S

yea , it doesn't really bother me, and i like the fact that the tint in the back window is one piece

MikeekiM

Yea...I understand about the preference for the single piece...

My old integra had four pieces due to the large curve in the rear window (1st gen integra)... It was a great install though... As most places, they lined up the pieces with the defroster lines, and no one could tell at all...

My TL only has two pieces...and it looks great... The blackout on the top, and then the 20% Madico Onyx tint... Love it!

4u2nv

hey is there ne tint less than 5%? like 1 or 2? thinking bout redoing my tints

MikeTL-S

Don't think the difference between a 5% tint and 1 or 2 % tint would be noticable, do you?

LiQiCE

I've got 1 piece in the back with the tint over the dot matrix. When I first brought it home, you could see there were some bubbles in the tint ... but I've had it for almost 2 years now and I don't notice any major bubbles or problems. There still maybe some small air bubbles but I don't notice them. Just make sure you take it to a good tinter. The guy I went to had done quite a few TLs and had no worries about tinting over the matrix.

1nePhatTL

mines tinted all the way up, whats the big deal?

bkzjimmy

same here and its been over a year!

MikeekiM

I don't think anyone is claiming this is a "big deal"...

The original poster was just wondering about the matrixed area of the back window (and it is a not uncommon for people to be wondering about this area)...

Based on the responses in this thread there seems to be three options (all of which are fine options):

1. Use a black-out material on the matrix area
2. Tint all the way up with one piece of tint film
3. Tint up to the matrix area, and do not cover the matrix area

MikeekiM

FYI: Here are some links discussing the "dot matrix tint" (just some quick googling)...

http://www.autowindowtintings.com/fa...age=faqAnswer9

http://www.tintdude.com/vinyl.html

http://www.tintdude.com/totw89.html

http://www.dotmatrixwindowtinting.com/rear_windows.html

special e. dition

..and it looks great!

The top of the rear window seems impossible to tint, so the black vinyl was applied to the outside of the window. It makes a hell of a difference in the amount of light that gets in, especially after riding around for 4 months with the top of the window not tinted..

fsttyms1

i have mine tinted over the dot matrix, and it looks great. no bubbles no nothing!