What shade of Window Film is right for you?
January 21, 2020Women and the Auto Industry
January 31, 2020Window Tint
WOW!! Your car looks good, what did you do to it? Everyone loves to hear this question. Your response, I had window tint installed. Window Tint is a thin layer of transparent film applied to vehicles or other pieces of glass that reduce the light that is transmitted through.
The end product is a much darker looking window. This can be applied to automobile, house, office, or even RV and campers.
Applying window tint on the automobile is probably the most well known type because of limo tint. Everyone has seen the limousine rolling through the city streets and wondered who was inside. The reason the occupants of the limousine achieve such privacy is because of the dark windows from the window tint.
Window tint adds style, privacy, protection, and security!
How does it do these things?
Style
Dark window on a car or truck adds a unique style and looks. It does not have to be limo-tint dark, (completely blacked out). In fact, that type of window film is illegal in all states in passenger vehicles. Window film is a nice look that gives your auto a fresh and sporty look. Aside from the clean and hot look, it also ensures privacy within your car. Valuables can be left out and not visible to peeping eyes. Keep in mind there are tint laws in all states. Some states are extremely stringent in their VLT (Visual Light Transmission) allowances. Basically, this boils down to how dark the film can be. Any professional window film installer will know the legal limits and can advise accordingly. There can be fines and penalties for those pulled over and tickets by police for illegal tint. A very dark VLT can be recommended by a Doctor. The most common reason is for cases of skin cancer. For this reason, a doctor’s script should be kept with your registration information for the vehicle.
Privacy
Many think of the privacy benefit when talking about residential and commercial window film. True, but it does apply to all glass that is tinted.
Privacy in the home is very comforting to have from window tint while still receiving sunlight. Curtains can make your living room appear dark and dreary. Window film will still let light in while helping you maintain privacy. The comfort provided knowing that prying eyes can not see into your home is wonderful to have.
Protection
How does window tint provide protection? Several ways that you might not have even thought of.
UV Rays! The harmful UV rays from the sun cause problems for humans and personal property. For humans, everyone is familiar with skin cancer. The tint absorbs up to 99% of these rays minimizing exposure. A more obvious reason would be glare reduction while driving. Everyone has struggled with the morning sunrise or the evening setting sun! Window film does wonders combating this. While window film on the windshield is illegal in most states, a sun strip is a perfect solution! A sun strip is a dark strip of window film cut and installed along the upper portion of the windshield. Again, check the laws in each state, but 5-6 inches or to the AS1 line is perfectly acceptable. Drowning out the sun on the morning commute is a huge relief to the eyes. Even with the use of sunglasses, the sun-strip is going to provide a level of ease and comfort that is hard to achieve in the morning sun shine.
How many of you have hardwood floors in the entryway of your home? Chances are if you have hardwood flooring close to an entry door, then you have rug placed there as well. If, this area receives sunlight on a daily basis, there is extremely high probability that significant UV degradation is taking place. Just move the rug too see how the wood looks different where it is covered by the rug. If you want to see first hand how the sun’s UV rays damage your personal property over time, find 2 windows that are side by side and install film on one and leave the other. Now hang a set of curtains and observe how the curtain on the side with no film changes over the course of 6 months and then a year. I performed this exact test in my home and the results were staggering. Once you understand how the UV rays are damaging your property, you will look and window film differently. Think about how it affects all things exposed. Now think about your own family and their exposure to the sun.
Security
Shards of glass are extremely dangerous. No matter what type of impact causes the shatter; wreck, baseball, burglar, high winds or debris, window film will help keep the glass from shattering into thousands of pieces. Window Film is not full proof, but sure does help to keep the environment behind broken glass safer. Any additional safety layers that can be added are a plus. This is never a full proof layer of security. There are very few things that provide a 10
0% guarantee, yet video evidence shows that in many cases, these benefits justify the means. If you notice on your next hotel stay in a hurricane prone area, these hotel windows are very likely to have some sort of safety security window film installed. Window film is highly popular for these applications since they do not obstruct the view. Guess at the hotel pay extra for the view. Perfect optical clarity is what makes the perfect view attainable and safe. Hotels and resorts lose the ability to charge a premium rate on the rooms with a view if the view is not perfect.
Another way it provides security is simple visibility. If a potential thief easily sees inside a window (house or car) and can put his eyes on valuables, the temptation is right there. Dark windows make these items much harder to notice or in some cases impossible to notice. Removing the temptation from the would be thief makes it much more likely that he walks on down the road and never stops at your car or home. In this case it provides security by being a deterrent. The would be thief never knows there are valuables on the other side of the glass or window.
Window Tint provides many features. Some are very easy to see. Others are much more subtle in the way they provide security or safety. Some features benefit the health, other the property.