Window tinting in Revesby

Shade is talked about as VLT, Visible Light Transmission, which is the share of light the film lets through. Lower is darker: 20% lets less light in than 35%. When you are comparing shades, that number is the one to hold on to.

Most cars do not end up with one shade all round. The front and the rear are usually specified separately, partly for the look and partly because the rear often has factory privacy glass in it already.

Privacy glass is tinted in the glass itself, and any film goes on top of it. So a 35% film on a factory-tinted rear window ends up considerably darker than 35% on clear glass. We work that out on your car before recommending a pairing, so the front and rear look like they belong together.

The simplest way to choose is to see it. Bring the car in from Revesby or have us come to you, and we will put sample film against each window so the decision is made on your glass, in daylight, before a single panel is cut.

Film is computer-cut or hand-cut to the glass and applied to the inside of the window. The glass is deep-cleaned first, because any contamination trapped underneath shows permanently and cannot be fixed afterwards without redoing the panel.

Most cars are done within a few hours.

Leave the windows up for the first few days while the adhesive cures, because winding down early is the most common way fresh tint gets damaged. Some haze or small water pockets are normal at first and clear as the film dries. Clean the inside of the glass with ammonia-free products only, because ammonia degrades tint film.

Purple, bubbled or peeling tint is a job in itself before any new film goes on. Old adhesive has to come off completely, and on a rear windscreen that means working around the demister lines without lifting them.

It is slow work and it is worth knowing it is a separate cost from the tinting itself. A quote that seems low for a car with failed film on it has probably not accounted for the removal.

An older car is often the one that benefits most, because the interior has already had years of sun on it and the tint is there to stop the damage getting worse. The dash, the door tops and the rear parcel shelf are what UV takes first.

Older glass brings its own work. Rubber seals go hard and can trap the film edge, rear windscreens on some models have demister lines that need care, and there is often a previous layer of failed film that has to come off first.

None of that is a reason not to do it. It is a reason to tell us the year and model when you call, so the time and the price are right first time.

Tint can be fitted at your home or workplace and the result is the same film, but the job likes still air and shade. Dust and wind while the film is wet are what put specks under it, and a speck under film is there for good.

A garage or carport in Revesby with the door closed is ideal. A driveway on a windy afternoon is not, and if the forecast is against us we will say so and either move the day or suggest the bay at Lakemba.

A full car with a large one-piece rear windscreen is the job where the studio makes the most difference, because shrinking film to a curved rear screen wants controlled conditions. The two fronts are easy anywhere.