DIY ceramic front window tint

[ctag]

I live in the southeast and am not a big fan of cooling down a boiling cabin with AC when I jump in, so this tint job is an effort to help keep things cooler.

Started by taking a picture of the front window and tracing it out in Inkscape.

Then used a vinyl cutter to try and cut out the outline. Worked OK, but I didn't spend enough time tuning the blade to cut all the way through.

Applying...

Finished product is OK. I think I'm going to rock it for a while and then re-do it to try and keep the #@$%$@ cat hair out...

And just to see if this ceramic tint is all it's cracked up to be, I got a halogen light. Held the lamp up with my hand behind the newly tinted window, and then moved the lamp and hand over to the windscreen and could feel a pretty large increase in the amount of heat coming through. The tint works!

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[Toddman45]

Yep, I've used ceramic tint on the last four vehicles I've had. It greatly helps to block the heat & UV rays from the Sun, you can tell the difference just by rolling the window down.

The shop I've used normally has me in and out with in an hour and they always clean up well. I've never gotten in and had a mess or pieces of tent film anywhere in the car or spray streaks down the door panels.

Does the cat hair between the glass and tent film help with the UV rays?

 

[William Buckman]

I put clear ceramic tint on every window. It lowered the temp inside and not even noticeable on the front windshield. Good stuff here in Southern Alabama. So the side front windows have 2 tints..1 is 20% to match back windows, 2 is the clear ceramic.
Notice..it's easy to forget the clear, beware of putting stickers on the windows inside, it will F up the tint. And...no glass cleaner containing ammonia. V
Just use vinegar, warm Dawn water, or 50% isopropyl alcohol (drys quickly and removes any oils) using coffee filters (no lint).

 

[ctag]

Did the passenger side front window yesterday. Came out much better.

I'm including the SVG here in case anyone else cares to use it.

 

[Vettereddie]

I put clear ceramic tint on every window. It lowered the temp inside and not even noticeable on the front windshield. Good stuff here in Southern Alabama. So the side front windows have 2 tints..1 is 20% to match back windows, 2 is the clear ceramic.
Notice..it's easy to forget the clear, beware of putting stickers on the windows inside, it will F up the tint. And...no glass cleaner containing ammonia. V
Just use vinegar, warm Dawn water, or 50% isopropyl alcohol (drys quickly and removes any oils) using coffee filters (no lint).

Using Invisible Glass to be safe for tint. Never thought about using a coffee filter though, great tip!

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Coffee filters also make good little popcorn bowls

 

[ctag]

Did the windshield free hand. Wound up needing to be shrunk to fit, which left some wrinkles.

 

[AMTRV]

Hmmm…..so what is “ceramic“ about this window tint?

 

[William Buckman]

Did the windshield free hand. Wound up needing to be shrunk to fit, which left some wrinkles.

Did you put the tint on the outside of the windshield?

 

[ctag]

Hmmm…..so what is “ceramic“ about this window tint?

I'm no expert on it, but my understanding is it has small "micro" beads embedded in the tint film that do a great job at reflecting infrared light, so the tint is sometimes called "heat rejecting."

https://thetintguy.com/ceramic-tint-vs-regular-tint/

Did you put the tint on the outside of the windshield?

No, I place it upside-down on the outside to cut it to size and shrink it to fit the window's curve, then I peel the backing off and install it on the interior of the window.

 

[wax87]

I live in the southeast and am not a big fan of cooling down a boiling cabin with AC when I jump in, so this tint job is an effort to help keep things cooler.

Started by taking a picture of the front window and tracing it out in Inkscape.

Then used a vinyl cutter to try and cut out the outline. Worked OK, but I didn't spend enough time tuning the blade to cut all the way through.

Applying...

Finished product is OK. I think I'm going to rock it for a while and then re-do it to try and keep the #@$%$@ cat hair out...

And just to see if this ceramic tint is all it's cracked up to be, I got a halogen light. Held the lamp up with my hand behind the newly tinted window, and then moved the lamp and hand over to the windscreen and could feel a pretty large increase in the amount of heat coming through. The tint works!

how about the windshield?

 

[Jasun]

That's a super cool approach using the vinyl cutter and Inkscape! The level of dedication for the pre-cut is seriously impressive, way beyond the typical soap and razor blade method. It's too bad about the cat hair though, that dust/pet hair issue is the absolute worst part of DIY tinting, it's virtually impossible to get a completely clean area outside of a shop.

The heat test with the halogen light is a good idea, though. I would say for the front windows, sometimes it’s worth paying the extra $50-100 just to avoid the dust issue, the professionals from Tinterz have helped me with such things and you can give it a try. Better luck on the redo!

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