Factory tint - UV / solar heat values

Patrick_Ottawa · Jul 10, 2014

I went to a tint shop and they mentioned that the factory tint doesn't really have any heat reduction and just has basic UV protection.

Do any of you happen to know what the UV protection and solar energy/heat values are for factory tint?

I can add a clear tint to reduce heat by 40% and provide 99% UV protection. Is it worth it?

PhilZJ · Jul 10, 2014

i tried researching that myself and was unable to get any numbers.

all I did is park the van in the sun, and took the temperature on the door trim at the base of the window. The material in the 2nd row and driver side is slightly different, but I don't remember seeing much difference. I figured the front should be a bit cooler since a portion of the UV was being blocked.

Patrick_Ottawa · Jul 10, 2014

I just received a call from Honda Customer Relations. It wasn't all that helpful but they more or less said that the windows aren't designed for UV protection (except the windshield). They do provide between 50 and 80% heat reduction but that's probably just standard glass design. So if you want real heat reduction and UV protection, you do need to add some tinting or something else to the windows. The place I called in Ottawa told me they have a clear tint that is designed for this purpose. Blocks 99% UV rays and reduces heat transfer by 40-50%. Costs about $350 to do the whole van (except windshield).

No idea if it's really worth it but I'll at least add a light tint to the driver/passenger window. I'm also getting a 7 inch tint film at the top of the windshield to help reduce glare.

PhilZJ · Jul 11, 2014

good to know, thanks for looking into it. We ended up just tinting the driver and front passenger window. We also did a windshield strip (i can measure it if you're curious how tall ours is).

The thing about UV, sure it fades colors, but it also kills bacteria

Patrick_Ottawa · Jul 11, 2014

Well, I am having my van tinted all around except for windshield and rear window. I asked the technician if he could give me some before / after numbers and he said no problem. I'll post them when everything is done (probably in 5 or 6 hours). They are putting a clear tint on all factory tinted glass (to reduce heat and UV transmission) and they are putting ASWF Performer 35 on the driver / passenger windows.

I can't wait to see those numbers and see if it actually helps much or not.

otto888man · Jul 12, 2014

Be sure you get the lifetime warranty on labour & materials. As I have seen many tints that starts to fade away in 3 years. These are cheap tints that turns to purple & bubbles. If they do & you want to replace it. It will cost more as they need to remove the old tint & remove the adhesive. If you want the ultimate protection go with the Ceramic. The Ceramic has the best heat rejection. If you do not have a sun visor yet, have it installed it will reduce glare. Did they also recommend a clear one for the windshield?

0dyfamily · Jul 12, 2014

See this thread regarding our tint discussion: Link to tint thread]

otto888man is right; better to go with the pricier quality ceramic tints up front, as they are cheaper in the long run. The ceramic tint films from quality manufacturers will last longer, for sure. BTW, in that thread I'd thought that Llumar made a 100% transmissive Air Blue tint, which was incorrect. Their clearest ceramic tint has 78% transmissivity, which is fantastic. I'm using St. Gobain Solar Gard 70 all around right now, even on my windshield, and it too is remarkably clear with the benefits of excellent heat rejection.

otto, now you have me thinking of a sun visor...but I don't think I can put one more tint film on top of the one I've got on the windshield.

OF

tbonesteak · Jul 13, 2014

spent a small fortune tinting all the windows with 3m crystalline tint and suntek for the front windshield (3m wasnt wide/tall enough to cover) and i 100% recommend it. the car is noticeably cooler. it takes so much less time to cool the car with a/c because the interior hasn't absorbed much heat. i know i did the right thing b/c my daughter doesnt even notice the sun is on her when she sleeping without the sunshade.

otto888man · Jul 13, 2014

0dyfamily said:
See this thread regarding our tint discussion: Link to tint thread]

otto888man is right; better to go with the pricier quality ceramic tints up front, as they are cheaper in the long run. The ceramic tint films from quality manufacturers will last longer, for sure. BTW, in that thread I'd thought that Llumar made a 100% transmissive Air Blue tint, which was incorrect. Their clearest ceramic tint has 78% transmissivity, which is fantastic. I'm using St. Gobain Solar Gard 70 all around right now, even on my windshield, and it too is remarkably clear with the benefits of excellent heat rejection.

otto, now you have me thinking of a sun visor...but I don't think I can put one more tint film on top of the one I've got on the windshield.

OF

I will ask my Tint guy if you can actually add a film on top of a film.

0dyfamily · Jul 13, 2014

otto888man said:
I will ask my Tint guy if you can actually add a film on top of a film.

Thanks. Not many resources in my part of the country.

I was very surprised that our local tint shop carried Solar Gard. Like 3M & Llumar (part of Eastman Chemical), St. Gobain has been in the coatings & transparencies business for a while. These people know how to make a tough ceramic tint.

I've been searching, too, and came up with the same answers as the OP did...OEM windshield do not offer much UV protection except that provided by the front windshield, and that's probably a consequence of its laminate construction.

OF

Patrick_Ottawa · Jul 14, 2014

Well, I was hoping to have actual values to share but when they went to the back to talk to the crew, they apparently don't have the tool that measures heat / light / UV transfer. For anyone curious, I had ASWF 35 Performer tint added to the driver / passenger windows as well as an eyebrow to the windshield to help reduce glare. I'm not 100% sure what the other tint is on the other windows but it's an 88% tint which mainly acts as a heat buffer / UV protection on the factory tinted glass. From what I heard, factory tinted glass does not have much UV / heat protection other than what glass already provides on its own.

I've had the vehicle for 2 days now and it's hard for me to tell how well it's working but I get the impression it's a bit easier on AC so far. Not as impressed with the eyebrow as they made it quite large and I was really just looking for a small eyebrow to reduce glare. It ended up being roughly 7 inches and is partially in my sight line which is a bit distracting. Maybe I'll get used to it but I might have to see if they can do something about that. I'm open to suggestions if any of you have anything to offer.

codex57 · Jul 16, 2014

Wow, thanks for sharing this. I'm debating going back and tinting my rear windows now. I have the front tinted with VKool 70. Night and day difference from when I drove the car in (hot day that day so I was burning) and after the tint. It's metallic tint which I'm not a huge fan of but it's super light so I won't get hassled by the cops.

i do have the sun shades so I dunno if it's worth doing the rear windows. FWIW, it gets to 110+ in the summers here so heat is a pretty big factor.

Da Hapa · Jul 16, 2014

After a previous good experience with Air Blue on my Porsche, we tinted the front windshield, front "triangle" windows, front windows and sunroof with Air Blue no our 2012 TE. I can't give anyone exact values but can tell you that this combination made a noticeable difference in our in cabin temperatures. The factory tints coupled with the pull up screens seem to do a very good job keeping the rear 2/3 of the van nice and cool but that big, expansive windshield was like a fishbowl for my wife and I up front. Granted, we're in S. CA where it's generally not that hot (compared to say AZ) but it's worth the cost, IMO.

OdysseyTE · Jul 17, 2014

I bet Honda is cheaping out on some quality UV protected glass. I can tell by looking on the window stickers that are taped from the inside and how fast they fade compared to my VW's. Germans on the other hand have much better UV protected glass. A two year old sticker on my VW looks way better (almost new) than a six months old sticker on my Honda.

otto888man · Jul 18, 2014

0dyfamily said:
Thanks. Not many resources in my part of the country.

I was very surprised that our local tint shop carried Solar Gard. Like 3M & Llumar (part of Eastman Chemical), St. Gobain has been in the coatings & transparencies business for a while. These people know how to make a tough ceramic tint.

I've been searching, too, and came up with the same answers as the OP did...OEM windshield do not offer much UV protection except that provided by the front windshield, and that's probably a consequence of its laminate construction.

OF

Hi OF,

I spoke with my Tint guy. He said that its fine to place a sun strip on top of an existing tint or an Air blue film.

Otto

0dyfamily · Jul 18, 2014

otto, thanks. The guys here in the one tint shop in my small town were hesitant to even try this. It also just occurred to me, as I was typing this, that I could get a strip of ceramic Solar Gard Ultra Performance 10 (dark tint) and use that for the sun strip on the windshield header. My assumption is, since I'm using the ceramic Solar Gard Ultra Performance 70 (clear tint) all around, that they might have similar physical characteristics during heating & cooling.

Always good to get an answer from an experienced pro. The shop in my town, though they are very conscientious, well, they haven't been around long.

OF

Factory tint - UV / solar heat values

Patrick_Ottawa

PhilZJ

Patrick_Ottawa

PhilZJ

Patrick_Ottawa

otto888man

0dyfamily

tbonesteak

otto888man

0dyfamily

Patrick_Ottawa

codex57

Da Hapa

OdysseyTE

otto888man

0dyfamily

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