Guess certain tint companies are different, i got 20% all round & only got charged $280 from Solartint here in Castle Hill.
every tint company is different with their pricing. it all depends on who they choose to get their film from, and wot (if any) other companies are close enough to be considered competition. some companies use pretty budget grade film, so they can charge cheaper, but you will probably end up with some dye-based film that will last you all but 5-7 years before its faded or congealed. others use quality films from companies such as 'MEP', 'SunGuard', 'Bekaert', and also 'Llumar' which is who makes the 'formula one' film that Tint-A-Car sell. In which case most of these better films are metalised (which cant always be used in certain circumstances) or Carbon based films. Tint-a-car can use quality and sell cheap as they have the corporate backing and the $$$ to do so if they wish. as far as the VLT rating on the film goes (how dark it is), you can find companies that charge the same price, regardless of how dark or light you go. 'Johnsons' windows films for example charge the same price per roll to tint shops for all shades of automotive film, so those who use it dont need to vary thier price.
as far as going under the 'legal limit' for your state (as some states have differing legalities), you'll find if you sweet talk the tint shops good enough most will tint it darker for you, possibly for a cash-in-hand, no receipt type deal. in my 7 years of tinting before i changed trade, i never once heard of anyone getting pinned soley for having windows that were too dark. thats not to say it doesnt or wont happen though, perhaps the cops in vic arent as bright lol
ive had all shades, colors and patterns on my car... and i gotta say, i personally found the 20% mark was the sweet spot. between great privacy and looks during the day, and good visibility at night. having said that, besides the custom tint patterns, i have my VT covered in 5%. its brilliant during the day. nighttime, well its great at night too. BUT, the only time i dont like it is when im reversing, but thats nothing a quick window down feature cant fix
in victoria tha maxium any window can be is 35% unless its a ute,truck or van.
all passenger cars must be 35%.
close, for vic the 2 front doors on any car must be 35%, including utes, trucks and vans. you can go darker on the rear if you wish.
last time i checked the laws in NSW they had to be 35% all round, not sure what they are now, but hows this for hypocritisy (if thats a word)... at the time i checked these laws you could buy a car, such as a Toyota Kluger or Prado, which came out with factory tinted glass on all windows except the 2 front doors and the windscreen. The factory glass was tinted at 17.8%!!! Yet cus it was factory it was roadworthy! sigh. Sure it looked great, but we still had to tint the 2 front doors in 35% which looked silly IMO, not only that factory tinted glass still offers you nill to little more UV protection or heat rejection than standard untinted glass..
and NO! you CANNOT tint your windscreen people! yes it is possible and quite easy, but VERY unroadworthy lol
damn, how did i get on this soapbox?
