davenlei

Ok, it's time to get tint on my TL and I wanted to know if anyone has had good experience with any tint shops in the O.C. area. I am in Irvine, so anywhere around here, Santa Ana, Tustin, etc. would work. Also, how much did you pay for your tint when you got it?
I called my local dealer (Tustin Acura) and they told me to go to Best tinting in Tustin. They use regular film (non-metalized or ceramic) and they charge $160 for all the windows. They do push the film all the way in the rear door quarters. It has a lifetime warranty and they said will not purple.

How important (what is the benefits) of getting ceramic film over regular film?

Hawhyen51

Non-Metalized film is usually dyed and will turn purple over time. One exception is the 3M CS series film designed for the same purpose as a ceramic film. The CS line is guaranteed not to fade and also inexpensive compared to ceramic installs. A number of members have opted for this film rather than ceramic and provides the same benefits. Ceramic film (non-conductive, non-metalized) was designed to allow advanced electronics for example, the Navi System to recieve GPS signals without degradation.

As far as tinters in the OC, can't help you there. There are a number of folks in the SoCal area who have tints, maybe they'll chime in and recommend someone. You can also use the search function and see what comes up. If and when you get it done, show some pix.

sand spaz

Wow that price is very good. I was going to recomend a guy that I always use but that price is better then what I was going to spend. Can I get the same deal that you were offered? I might go with them due to the fact that I bought my car from them also.

datmrman

Yup! Several members had their cars tinted there and highly recommended the place. Reviewers say that they are professional and know how to tint the TL correctly with moleskin. They also remove the third brake light and tint the entire back window. I plan on getting mine done there too.

KB1Spec

iTrader: (4)

I take all of my cars to this place in San Gabriel call Impex Motorsport. They uses titanium tint or quantum tint and comes with lifetime warranty. He's been doing tint for more than 10 years also.

Ka0tik

thats what i was told from tustin acura as well, im pretty sure it was cheaper tho (i would not tint the windshield). i was told by one of the salesmen at tustin of acura it was 120 (i think)

Casual

Tint Connection in Newport Beach..All my past cars have been there.Highly recommended.

davenlei

Cool! I can't wait to get my car tinted. Should I be concerned about the tint durability (color) of the tint since Best Tinting said they do not use metallic or ceramic tint? Will metallic tint cause problems with the GPS or radio static? I had a BMW 3 series before the TL and when I put metallic tint on the windows, it caused the radio to have static when the defroster was on.

datmrman

A service rep at my dealership told me to stay away from tinting in general. He said the navigation might malfunction... but after joining this forum, it seems safe(r) to go with non-metallic tint.

King of Pain

I had mine done by BEST about 2 weeks ago. Looks great. Took about 2.5 hours. They installed the felt, removed the third brake light and pushed the tint into the windows. I've had all my cars done by BEST. They even tinted my house windows.

Hawhyen51

Your manual states that a non metallic film be used to prevent any NAVI probs especially signal degradation. There were a few members who used metallic film and say they had no problems with receiving GPS signals and there were some that did encounter problems. A number of folks chose F1 Pinnacle (Ceramic) film for their TLs and others went with the 3M film. It comes down to a personal choice to what film is used.

The one other item you should aware of is tint scratching and the use of moleskin (felt) on the wipers (inside of dr. panels) seems to have prevented that dilemma. Again, other have claimed they have no scratches even without the moleskin. I don't think Acura has found a remedy at this time.

datmrman

Hi King of Pain! When I posted "Several members had their cars tinted there and highly recommended the place" that was refering back to you and a few others. Thanks again for the suggestion!

King of Pain

Oh OK

mycoldshin

yea, i got my 06 TL with navi done from Best Tinting in Tustin 3 months ago, and im VERY happy with the results. better than i expected, no problems with navi, very professionally done. the car did stinked tho for the 1st week cuz of the stuff they put on the windows, but it went away and smelled like new again.

would highly recommend. can be trusted, A++ ( haha ebay feedback line. . .)

Ka0tik

ahhh, i was gonna get my car tinted, but my friend the pigs at my school have been more plentiful and they are now ticketing for tinted windows (today i saw 4 motorcycle cops and 2 cop cars, and 1 parking ticket lady)

davenlei

I called Best Window tinting because I want to use them from all the glowing comments on their work from the people here. I asked which brand of film they use and they said they use Solar Gard brand tint. Is that a good brand? I looked on their site and the non-metallized tint BEST Tint uses has a 5 year warranty but Best tint said they provide a lifetime warranty for it.
My concern is that I do not want to have to bring the car back every 4 years because the tint is starting to purple....

yendor

As an alternative you may want to contact XLINT tint in Anaheim, the have the 3M CS film that will not turn purple. They do nice work and the 3M film will not interfere with your GPS.

datmrman

Thanks yendor for the suggestion. I think this is the place. I looked it up in the yellow pages.

davenlei

Ok, well took the car into BEST tint this morning and they did eveything for $160. They tinted all the windows (except windshield), tinted under the third brakelight, pushed the tint all the way to the edge in the rear door quarter windows and installed moleskin in all the doors. They did an excellent job on the tint. I have had several cars tinted in the past by different shops and I must say their job looks the cleanest by far.
If you do get your car tinted by them, make sure you have Carlos do it. He is the main guy there for auto tinting. I am very happy with their work and I am taking my Sequoia to them to tint next.

Thanks to everyone for assuring me they do good work! They are very good!

I will post pics once I get the car washed.

Ka0tik

did you just get a normal tint or did you get ceramic?

btw what is the difference between normal and ceramic

datmrman

davenlei, glad to hear everything went smoothly for you! So what made you decide to go to BEST? I thought you were having doubts with Solar Gard brand tint? Looking forward to seeing pics of your car. Let us know about the shade you decided on too! Thanks!

bored7one4

Don't Go To Mike Tint Shop In Orange. That Place Is Expensive And The Service Suck. Those F**kers Put My Weathers Strips Back In Wrong. !!!!!

Hawhyen51

Huper Optik defines ceramic film as ......

.....Ceramic films are 100% metal-free, 100% dye-free and will not demetallize or fade. Ceramics (often associated with demanding industrial applications) are known to be the most durable material, capable of enduring the harshest environments on land and at sea. Unlike dyed or metallized films, Huper Optik's spectrally tuned ceramic films offer superb heat rejection properties without compromising visibility, have low reflectivity and will not appear shiny. A natural view is maintained both day and night.

.....Employing advanced techniques and enhanced process control, the manufacturing process involves depositing fine ceramic coatings onto ultraclear films to transform the end product into a high performance heat, glare and ultra-violet light barrier.

davenlei

I ended up getting the 35% (all around) 'true grey' color of film since that and the metallics have a lifetime warranty. The charcoal color film is the dyed film which only has the 5 year warranty. From what I have read, the HP metallics from solar gard are the ones which mess up the radio (when defroster is on) and the GPS. The true gray line is just as durable (also has lifetime warranty) as the metallized but is 'NR' or non-reflective which does not mess up the radio or GPS.

datmrman

So these 'true grey' tint still run at the original $160? Or is that an "upgrade"?

Looking forward to the pics!

davenlei

The 'True Grey' is $160. From all the phone calls that came in (and I overheard), it sounds like it is $160 for a four door car regardless of the grade of tint you get.
The moleskin installation was very clean by the way. I had to really look closely at the inner wipes to realize they were installed.
I can't wait to get the pics taken. I gave the car a wash today but I had to go in the house before I got the camera out because my son caught a cold and was running a fever.

mptlptr

davenlei- can you post pics when you get a chance? I want to see exactly what "true grey" looks like. Generally I prefer black tint but if I can't find a non-metallic black then I may go with true grey as well. Also, for the moleskin install I assume they had to remove the door panels? Did they remove the 3rd brake light so they could tint the entire rear window?

Thanks!

datmrman

davenlei said they tinted under the third brakelight, which would imply that they removed the light to tint the entire rear window.

datmrman

Uh oh.. I just noticed in another thread davenlei just got rear ended. https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/ipod-ipod-mini-131802/

So when he returns from his trip, he said he'll post pics of the damage. So I think we may get a glimpse of the tint there as well.

davenlei

Sorry,

I have been incredibly busy and have not had time to post pics of the car. I did take pics of the tint pre-accident and will try to post them tonight.
Boy, it is hard having a two year old running around the house demanding every second of your time....

datmrman

Just got back from weekend in Irvine. It was a beautiful weekend so.. decided to wash the car and finally tint my windows! Here are some pics. Best of Tint did a great job!


Decided to with 35% fronts, 25% rears.


Side rear windows look great.


Same with the rears...



And finally.... I drove to somewhere with some nice scenery. Too bad I couldn't park closer to the lake for you guys.

datmrman

Oh.. when filling out the info form, for referrer I put down Acurazine.com! Wonder if it will be beneficial in the long run.

TerminaderTL

I just had Best Window Tinting in Tustin do mine today.

Carlos did a great job as recommended on this forum. $160 out the door. Moleskin/felt and removed the third brake light for the rear window install.

I looked at both 50% and 35% Sun Gard True Grey and went with the 35%. The 50% was too light and I am very pleased with the look now.

colossus

Just got back from BEST Window Tinting and had Carlos put on 35 Front, 25 Rears. Looks like a good job so far - have to let it bake in the SoCal sun a few days :P

next mod - Window module

colossus

A few of you have asked what 35/25 looked like on Anthracite, so I'm posting these pics. I took these around 5PM a couple weeks ago on a clear SoCal day. Car is significantly cooler with the tint now (Ebony interior ). The color of the tint is called True-Grey (matches the charcoal looks of AM well).








Again I got this done at Best Window Tinting. Carlos said 3 hours but it took about 2 hours on a saturday morning.

2003BlizAkTL

i would have recommended a place up here, i dont remember the name but theyre hella good, they file the edges on the window, and TINT THE WHOLE WINDOW, its like 220 but meh, its in pleasonton in NorCal

Ninjaboi

Sold! I think I'm gonna go with 25%rear & 35/50% fronts (will have to confirm in person). BTW, does anyone know of a good tint shop in Calgary?

flnsx

We have special pricing for people from this forum who want to buy our MoleSkin kits for their TL or TSX.

PM me

We produce our own moleskin to withstand the heat, moister and cold. Ours is made specifically for auto applications.

Check out this page http:///whatis.htm

mrhenchen

anyone know what material they use at Best Tinting? I've been searching and the outcome looks nice!

datmrman

This thread is outdated in that Best Window has increased prices and that Carlos, the main tinter, no longer works there.

At the time that most of us tinted our windows, they used SolarGard Non-Reflective (NR) True Grey tinting film. Details about the film can be found at their website: http://www.solargard.com/index./fuse...Non-Reflective