Useful info. Good job. :thumbup:

Tint becomes one of those things that you cant do without (well atleast for me). I cant imagine driving a car without tint now. It'll feel like walking around in public naked.

Nice write up.

I use to tint my own cars and they all come out great. It takes me alot longer to do it then the shops though.

I only do it if I can get commericial quality tint at a decent price though.

The place where I took my car to get tinted says that it was a bit difficult to do the job. What would make tinting windows difficult.

I tinted my car myself with 20% Solargard tint from SnapTint.com. They sell kits that come with laser pre-cut sections of the film for each of the windows in your car.

The job took a little bit of prep and a lot of patience, but two hours after I began, I was finished. The tint, being of such a high quality, has shown no ill effects over time. The cuts were 100% spot on.

All told, it put me out $55 and a couple hours of my time, whereas a tint job with Solargard's premium tint would have run me more than four times that at a professional shop.

Tinting itself is not difficult. Its doing a good clean job that makes it tougher. Lexus seals are a little tight and the trim is usually in the way. These things make doing a clean install a little harder. Nothing a good installer cant work around.

I just had my windows tinted using the Solar Gard Supreme series. I'm waiting another couple of days to let it dry out.

What do you think of solar gard supreme? the color appears to have a slight greenish tint. is that while it drys or is that the color of the film? i was hoping for a charcoal color tint since my car is black. if that's indeed the color I suppose i can't do much about it at this stage right?

other than that the job is surprisingly good. he recommended i clean the windows by using "SprayWay" products..

If you decided you don't like tint, how do you remove it, assuming it's been installed for a number of years? Specifically, how do you remove it from over the rear window defrost grid without destroying it? (I didn't have the tint installed in the first place)

This is one of those things best left to the pros. I have seen many cars over the years that customers have tried to remove film on with damaged defrost lines. If you feel the need to diy than here is a good link. http://www.tintdude.com/remove.html

I went to a tint shop where I've done 4 cars there. Always a clean and professional job. The guy (15 years experience) says I gotta take out the tweeters (which also means the door panels) before he installs it. He says the tweeters block the window and he can't get all the way in. It would get dirty easy. Anyone have this encounter before? I have a 03 GS300 (no nav)

As a tinter I can tell you that the tweeters are not a problem. They are on the IS but not the GS. It makes it easier but not needed.

I'm not to sure about Metal tinting. What I've been hearing from most tint shops here is that Metal tinting isn't a good option because if you have the smart key it will "kind of" interfere with the frequency. It also affects your FM radio. Just a heads up for people thinking about metal tinting. I for one wouldn't be making metal tinting as a option.

Smart key is not a problem. You loose a little range and the radio reception will suffer as well.

CA tint law: http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/CA/

Great write up.

I am getting my 1994 LS 400 tinted in the next 5-10days.

I called up 'Novus' a local (and national) reputable glass/tint shop, and they quoted me the following for the car.

$140 for the cheapest, 5yr tint.

$165 for the next quality up.

$185 for the second to best.

$200 for top quality tint, lifetime warranty.

I asked about the front window strip, and he said $25 added.

He also said with "a Lexus" you need to go with the top quality. (Of course lol) --

I am going to get the best tint they offer, with the lifetime warranty and the $25 strip. So $225 + tax. I think that is reasonable with lifetime warranty.

In B'ham, Alabama btw. Which our law is 35% I believe, and is what I will get -- I've gotten a tint ticket on a previous car that was 7% (measured by the cops) -- Was really 5% tint, but the meter must be a touch forgiving, not sure.

On the previous car I had tinted by a friend who worked for Novus (He is really good with his hands) -- He charged me 100$ on the side, and did it at Novus shop on the weekend.

Took him a good 4 hours to do a 300ZX 1991. (Which is a 2-door, has front windshield/doors/small rear windows/ and the hatchback).

He took his time, and it was perfect imo. He didn't remove doorpanels, but did take off the rear view mirror.

On that car, we did 5% on doors/rear windows/hatchback window. Then 50% all the way down the front windshield (can't really tell at 50%.. it just makes it blend alot better) Then a 5% strip on the top.. It looked sharp, and never had any problems while I had the car.

Anyhow,..

I noticed people talking about removing the rearview mirror, and some inherent problems with it. Also doorpanels.

I've taken a look at the 1994 LS 400 -- and it seems like removal of the rearview mirror will be unnecessary as it is attached to the roof, not the windshield.

The door panel removal seems to be at the discretion of whomever is tinting. I'd rather they not remove them for chance of improper re-installation, but they will do whatever is protocol.

My question(s) are:

Given it is a 1994 Champagne LS 400.

A) Will my rearview mirrior likely be removed from the celing? (I'm thinking no).

B) Will the door panels likely need to be removed on this car?

C) Going from no tint, to 35% on this color, champagne, it should make a world of difference in the 'looks' department right? I'm thinking it is going to really give the car what it is missing.

I'm not crazy about the champagne (silverish color) -- looks a bit beige at nighttime under certain lights, and really silver in sunlight. (I like the silver, the beige tones that come out I do not) -- IE: My sig has a night picture which makes it look the tone I do not like too much).

I think the tint will really contrast the paint.. and help the overall 'look' of the vehicle... Agree?

D) On the front strip,.. alot of people do not get this, but I've always thought this strip 'completes' the tint job.. tieing it all together.

As such, what are your recommendations for the 'size' of this strip? Should I just leave it to the tinter to put on whatever he usually does.. or should I request the strip be 'X inches wide/vertical' ?

Thanks!

I live in Florida and if I didn't have tint I would die. One suggestion is DO NOT put the windows down for at least 48 hours even though they say 24 hours. Mine ended up shifting and wrinkling the paper.