Any Orange County tint recommendations? I saw some way up in the thread, but not sure if they are still valid.
I’ve been shopping around and the quotes I’ve been getting are ~$750 - $900 for a small SUV (all around including windshield). That just seems really high.
Looking for 60-70 on windshield. And 30 all the way around.
You must be asking for some high dollar tint. Carbon fiber and ceramic tints shouldn’t be that high. Anything over $500 is a total rip off. Film Kings in Santa Fe Springs did a good job on mine.
I has been over two years since I started this thread and I’m happy to report that the Sherman Oaks place still is the place to go in the LA-area.
I took a new Ram Rebel to Sunshield Tinting today thinking I’d install the same 3M Fx that I put on my Volvo since it has held up really well and I like the color of it. When I got there, the owner (at least he seems to be the owner) explained that he only had one film that could get close to matching what the Rebel has on the back from the factory, but it is not a perfect match. He was very up front about it.
Then he introduced me to the Xpel XR film and explained that one of the advantages is that it rejects heat better than the 3M Fx. He has a little demo box there where he asks you to put your hand under, he turns on a heat lamp and you can feel it is really hot. Then he inserts a traditional tint layer between the lamp and the hand. While you can see that your hand is darker, it is still incredibly hot for my hand. Then he removes that layer and adds a layer of the Xpel stuff. My hand went cold while remaining lit by the lamp and I was sold.
I paid $125 for driver/passenger windows and was out of there within an hour. He set me up with a chair and table in an area with shade in the parking lot and let me use the wifi to work on my laptop while they did the work.
The result is precisely as he stated; not a perfect match but looks decent, I can already feel the difference in heat rejection as I had the sun on my side on the drive back, and the tint is clearer. He said it is less likely I would get pulled over by it than the Fx stuff in my Volvo, which got me pulled over once, although I suspect that’s not the actual reason why the cop pulled me over.
Anyway, great place, great guy, good stuff.
I’m waiting for the film to cure to see final results, but it was looking pretty good so far.
This is their website: https://www.sunshieldglasstinting.com/
I have been to sunshine glass tinting x2 as well and agree they do a good job.
I’m sure this has been answered, but any recommendations for OC? Thanks in advance.
Not a fan of Rayno S9s. The windshield on my Clarity has a noticeable haze (I’m sure the sides and rear do too - but they’re not as noticeable as they’re darker and you’re not staring at them like the fronts), which I hear is normal. Just not okay in my opinion, seems pretty low quality to me.
Yep optical clarity needs to be really good for windshield use.
I also have tried Rayno S9 and here’s my impression:
While they do have some good specs on paper, the film itself could perform better if they offered a better front windshield tint. The dealer I went to offered a clear Rayno film (residential?) for the front windshield that has relatively weak performance. I originally attributed this to the S9 tint itself, until I put a second layer of Air Blue 80 over the Rayno windshield tint and realized this was Rayno’s weakness. Rayno S9 also has a greenish hue if that matters to anyone. I prefer a black look myself.
I’ve tried a couple different brands now on several diff cars because science: Llumar CTX, F1 Pinnacle, F1 Stratos, Suntek CXP, 3M crystalline, and Rayno
The Stratos is definitely the best performing I’ve experienced. But for the value, esp on a leased car, the performance and value of Suntek CXP cannot beat.
If anyone is in the SGV, there’s a relatively new shop I can recommend doing Suntek CXP and CIR.
Hope this post helps at least one person because I know I’m always researching the latest on tint performance and pricing.
Currently don’t need tint, but what shop is it for future reference?
Mission Window Tint in San Gabriel. It’s a very small shop in the back of a car wash. Sam, the owner and tinter use to work at a well known spot for Tesla’s in OC.
If anyone is in the area check him out.
Can you do it with a hair dryer on the highest setting? Also, do you need to remove adhesive leftovers with something like Goo-Gone, WD-40, etc. or does it come off clean?
Follow-up question.
I now actually have a CPO vehicle I think was over-tinted (probably not in the eyes of the law, but I’m getting eyeballed by tuners driving WR-Xs and Type-Rs at stoplights, which isn’t a desired outcome).
Setting aside the potential removal of the tint itself, the original owner of the car left a warning label from the manufacturer on the window of the driver door. S/he drove it this way for 3 years before returning the car. 
I should have had this removed before I took delivery, but alas.
How serious is the risk of damaging the tint if I try to remove the label that’s on the inside of the glass? Is aftermarket tint usually applied to the inside or the outside of the glass?
Tint is applied to the inside of the glass, meaning the warning sticker is buried under the tint. I don’t see you getting it off without completely stripping the tint.
Dammit. That’s what I assumed, so I’ve left the label alone.
Decisions…
I’ve seen that a lot where they tint over the warning label. Never understood it.
Simple, people being lazy.
It’s not even a small warning label. The damn thing is like 6" by 5".
Hey, if you owned a tint shop, would you want to take on the potential liability of removing factory warning stickers from someone’s vehicle?
If I owned a tint shop I’d have my attorney prepare a proper authorization form to release me from liability.
I wouldn’t let a customer drive around with an index card perma-glued underneath the film, because someone’s eventually going to ask, “Who the f-k did THAT?” 
I think you may be over estimating most tint shops