To tint, or not to tint?

[jaykicksass]

Hey, I was thinking about tinting my rear windows a bit darker and the same to the fronts, anyone know if anywhere i can have this done at a good price and good quality?
Also what do people think of the spray tint for doing say rear lights and such?

Jamie

 

[woody1986]

I thought fronts was illegal?

 

[darloleeon]

I thought fronts was illegal?

The Law:

You are not allowed to tint your windscreen or front windows AT ALL. Anything forward of the B pillar (middle of the car) MUST NOT be tinted in anyway. You are however still allowed to perform any level of tinting on your back windows.

if the police believe that your tint causes reduced visibility they can issue you with an order to have it removed.

Why was this law brought in?

The reason this law was introduced was that there was a serious accident between a motorbike and a heavily modified car with very dark tints. It was believed that the root cause of the accident was that the driver couldn't see well enough through his tinted windows

copy+paste job.

 

[woody1986]

Thought so as one of the lads at work got ordered to remove front tints or face a fine, he ripped em off in front of the copper and dodged a fine luckily for him!!

 

[jaykicksass]

Oh right i didn't know that, i thought they could be just not very dark?

Thanks

 

[tackleberry83]

from what i remember its about percentage of light allowed through and the front have to stay at 80% allowed and the backs can be 8% i think dont quote me on that!!!

 

[jaykicksass]

I will ask my MOT tester tomorrow he should know the laws! I know it is something to do with percentages but not sure on what they are!

 

[Cupra Steve]

even if the front windows are illegal, id still get the back ones done!

 

[darloleeon]

I will ask my MOT tester tomorrow he should know the laws! I know it is something to do with percentages but not sure on what they are!

good thinking lol could you let me know what he said just for future reference

 

[ross27]

I had my front two done to the legal limit in my old car. The company tested them once complete to make sure they would be ok.

You can tint front windows, the law does not say you cannot tint the fronts. (Unless it has changed in the past 2 years)

The reason they dont advise you tint the fronts is because factory glass can already reduce the light levels quite significantly before tints, so normally even the lightest tint may tip it over the limit.

 

[woody1986]

Just got this from a tinting website.

There are legal limits specifying how dark tinted windows can be on a vehicle:

* behind the B Post (ie rear passenger windows and rear screen) there are no limits
* side windows in front of the B Post (ie front passenger windows) must allow 70% of light through
* front windscreens must allow 75% of light through

Be careful whether the tint you are considering blocks 70% of light or allows through 70% of light. For front windows the regulations are about the amount of light that is allowed through. Also be aware that if you have a factory tint that blocks 10%, you will only be able to block an additional 20%.

So the fella from work must have had illegal tints on the front.

 

[jaykicksass]

O thats good to know but i will still check with my MOT tester and see what he says. Does anyone know of a good place to get them done?

 

[jaykicksass]

What do people think of the spray tint for doing rear lights and such?

 

[2zeroalpha]

IMHO tinting rear lights looks cheap and chavvy. I realise different strokes etc.. but that's my 2p worth.

 

[spenny2004]

the front windows have to allow 75% of light to pass through. Without using a tint machine the best way to gauge it is if you can tell they are tinted they are most likely illegal. If you get stopped its a £30 fine and the tints have to come off

 

[munkyboy]

I dont think they make a tint to go on the front windows yet that bring it to the limit. On paper there is a legal tint but once it hits the glass it becomes illegal because of the tint already in the glass. Obviously the older cars mk1, mk2 golfs etc had plain glass so the lightest tint can go on those and still be legal.

I was speaking to my mate about it all and he tints windows for a living and he said to tint the back window a shade darker than the front and then put the lightest possible film on the front. This will give the effect that the fronts are not actually tinted. Also the darker your interior the darker the tint will look so you dont have to go silly with tint on the back to the point where you cant see out of it.

A lot of people have said it is pointless doing the fronts because you cant see it anyway but it also acts as a bit of security that if someone *touch wood* decides to break into your car most of the glass will hold together rather than getting it all over your car. I believe the lightest tint companies make at the moment brings the window 3% over the limit. One of my friends got stopped and was convinced they were legal and took it to the police station to get tested after he kicked a fuss about it and they checked and guess what!!!!!