jmbnova

OK, Im the newbie everyone hates. I just bought a 05 TL wo/Nav in Deep Green Pearl and am trying to find out any information about window tinting. I have never tinted my car windows before and am looking for some advice in finding the right shop to get the work done... What should I ask and look for and all that good crap... I am in the Northern VA area if anyone knows someone good. Thanks

JMBNova

Brewmaster

We won't hate you .. some people may tell you to do a search but all these questions have been asked by a whole bunch of others so your certainly not alone.

• Check to see if the shop has done other TLs.
• Make sure they use moleskin. (Moleskin is a felt that you put on the wipers in the door to prevent scratches to your tint.) Some shops will tell you moleskin isn't necessary and for most other cars that's true .. for the TL it is imperative that you get it done!!
• Check to see if they will cover the whole rear quarter windows (Some shops leave a 1/2 inch gap around the back quarter, they state that they can't get behind the weather stripping .. also false)
• Go with a good quality tint (Huber Optik, Formula 1, etc.) you get what you pay for
• Look for someone who has been in the business for a few years
• Check the manufacturer's warranty as well as any quality guarantees from the shop.

Your best defense is to find a shop that has done other TLs and call those owners .. find out if they have had any problems.

Other than that, the worst case is they do a crappy job and you have a different shop peel it off and do a better job. The good news is it's tint and can be redone if everything goes to hell!

Good luck and enjoy your new ride!

Xpditor

You don't have Navi so you don't have to worry about metallic tint interfering.

Check in here and look up tinting issues: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84831

arctangent

Congrats on your purchase!

I got my done at the location below. The shop manager is very opinionated, however, they did a great job.

L A Tint Alexandria
Archer Jones
8164-B Richmond Highway
Alexandria, Virginia 22309
alexandria@latint.com
(703) 360-2804

The have a location in Woodbridge, Sterling, and Manassas too.

AXXKicker

you mentioned that the shop manager was opinionated- did it make dealing with them difficult?

is that same manager in sterling as well?

and finally, how dark did you go? my abp tl needs tint, but i'm hesitant to black it out like i did my old accord.

MR1

Might check with the dealer to see who they have tint the windows. At least you will know that they have done TL's before.

CJams

The best thing to do is find someone that got their windows tinted and ask them where? Then take a good look at their windows to see the quality of work.

Try and stay away from metallic film since it messes with reception, unless you want to give up minor reception loss for major heat rejection.

jmbnova

You guys kick ass... thanks... I looked up that shop in Alexandria since I work there and Ill give them a call.... Seriously thanks for the help.

arctangent

working with him was fine. when they first finished my tint i noticed a flaw in the actual film on the passenger side front window. they immediately took my car back and redid that window. he was however very adamant about not rolling the windows down for 48hours due to the very hot weather and the tint needed to dry/set. they didn't do moleskin... i asked about it and he said he'd only seen one TL come back that scratched and they've done plenty. in fact, they did a SSM too while i was there. thus far, i haven't had ANY scratching.

the sterling shop is managed by someone else. i've never spoken to them. the manassa shop manager i did however speak with before i chose the alexandria shop. i was originally going to get it done at the manassas shop but i couldn't find time to make it out there.

i have 35% F1 Pinnacle all around on a NBP TL which is registered in MD, so that's the legal limit there.

jmbnova

Maybe I will check out the Manasas dude... Wonder if he would put in that moleskin if I asked him too.. does that cause any problems with getting the doors Dynamated later on? Any idea what the % limit is in VA?

arctangent

VA laws: http://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/c...sunshading.asp

i don't know anything about Dynamatting. i'll ask my brother, he has the tricked out VW that you can hear coming a mile away.

JPTL-S

My wife, myself (03 TL-S), my friend (05 TL W/Navi), and his girlfriend all had our windows tinted this past weekend at California Tint in Vienna. You can call them up at (703) 757-9535 and ask for Mike. All of us chose the Marquise Tint which has metal in it and gives off a slight mirrorish reflection. I have had all my cars tinted by them and they have always done a great job. Check them out, they are definitely cheaper than LA Tint, they wanted anywhere from 300-350!! IN virginia the darkest legal tint for the front windows is 50% and the darkest legal tint for the rear is 35%

Brewmaster

The moleskin goes on the wipers inside the cavity where the window goes when you roll it down. They are a really hard plastic and without some kind of a buffer, a grain of sand or dirt will be dragged across your window causing a verticle scratch. Dynamat goes on the door under the trim panel so one would have no impact to the other whatsoever.

jmbnova

Brewmaster
Thanks for the input... good to know. The intent is to dynamat the entire vehicle. Found a place that will do it for under a grand!!!

arctangent
Thanks for the link...


JPTL-S
Im going to call those guys tomorrow and see whats up... I am assuming that you did the 50% up front and the 35%in the rear... can you tell a difference between the two at all? Is it better to do them different or all the same.... also does that include the rear window? What did that run you anyway??

JPTL-S

JPTL-S
Im going to call those guys tomorrow and see whats up... I am assuming that you did the 50% up front and the 35%in the rear... can you tell a difference between the two at all? Is it better to do them different or all the same.... also does that include the rear window? What did that run you anyway??[/QUOTE]

JMBNova, actually when I initially bought my 03 TL-S new in 2002, I had the windows tinted with metallic tint 50% in the front and 35% in the back (VA legal). After the install, I realized that the disparity was waaaaaay to much especially with the metal. The windows just looked way too mis-matched So this past weekend, I had the windows re-tinted with 50% all the way around (metallic). Removal of the tint was $100 and to have the car retinted ran me another $270 plus 10% off for a multicar discount. Unfortunately I don't have a pic of the new tint on this computer, maybe I can post a pic of the new later, but here is the pic of my old tint: