The recent write up about tint and solar radiation really tells the true
story.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

caryccc wrote:

>John:
>You seem to be very knowledgeable about window tint.  I am concerned with
>high privacy / high transparancy first, and heat reduction second.  (even
>though my AC has never worked)  I understand why a metal spluttered type of
>film is more effective at reflecting heat and / or UV rays than just a
>normal tint film.  However, I wonder if a darker tint is actually better at
>keeping a van cooler temperature-wise than a lighter tint.   I suspect that
>a darker color would absorb more light rays (and therefore more heat).  I
>think people may believe darker = better because they associate a dark car
>interior with lower temp.; in other words, a false logic of it simply
>"looking" cooler.  I have asked around at several tint shops, but cannot get
>any definitive answers regarding darker actually reducing interior temps.
>  Years ago, an intelligent person told me that non-tinted windows were
>better, because the UV rays that penetrated thru the glass could likewise
>exit almost as freely, but that a tinted window (which reflects most but not
>all UV rays) ultimately traps more UV (and therefore more heat) inside,
>because the UV that enters the car has greater difficulty reflecting back
>out of the interior.  I like the privacy of a dark tint, but find that I
>can't see out at night when I need to back up, park, etc.  I have tried to
>find the old-fashioned mirror-type tint, which satisfies the day privacy /
>night visibiliy issue, but apparently it is no longer for sale in FLAPS.
>
>I have heard about a window tint test done by a university somewhere in the
>Southwest (AZ?):  Two identical model cars with the same interior and
>exterior color were parked in the sun.  One had dark tint, the other light
>(or no) tint.  After 4-5 hours, both cars supposedly had the same interior
>temperature.
>  Have you or anyone else heard of this experiment?
>  Has anyone actually measured the interior temperature difference before
>and after tinting their windows?
>  Anybody with tinted and non-tinted windows vans want to try the above
>experiment?
>  Maybe Pop-top versus passenger metal roof?
>  Any ideas or comments on these issures are appreciated!
>
>Cary
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