Howdy! If you’ve found this page, you have some questions. I’m still updating the page and adding info. If you have any questions, please reach out.
The Gallery has examples of recently completed tint jobs 🙂
406Tint Facebook or 406Tint Instagram also has frequent posts.
Darkness
How dark to you want your tint? This is measured in “Percentage.” So you’ll hear things like
“do you want 5%, 20%, 35%….”
This is the percentage of light allowed through the tint to the other side (aka VLT Visual Light Transmission).
So when the sun hits an untinted window, 100% (*technically 70%) of that light is transmitted to the other side. When we slap a 5% window tint tilm on, now only 5% of that light is being transmitted to the other side of the glass.
- 5% – this is dark… like Limo dark. It provides the most privacy. In my opinion it looks the coolest.
You will have trouble seeing outside the 5% glass at night. If it’s on your side windows, it will lower your ability to use your side mirrors. If you’re backing up at night, you might have to roll your window down to safely see. - 15-20% – Most vehicles from the factory have this percentage on the rear doors or back glass. It’s a nice shade that looks good and privates privacy. Legal limit in Montana for front doors in 24%, so you’re very unlikely to catch attention from the police with 20% tint.
- 35%– This is a light shade and best for someone who wants the UV protection, but still wants to see well in low light conditions. This is legal on the front sides in Billings Montana.
- 50% – Also very light… provides UV protection and a good look on front windshields (not that it’s legal to tint a front windshield of course )
- 70% – Basically clear. All (most?) clear glass from the factory has a 70% VLT. This is a good option if you want UV protection and IR (Heat) rejection from a Ceramic or Carbon film.
Examples
We can throw around percent numbers all day long, but a picture is worth a thousand words:
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The cars above are to help get an idea what different percentages look like. I did not tint them all and have tried to credit the sources!!!
Check out Gallery for more details and examples of vehicles I’ve tinted.
Tint Types (Dyed, Carbon, Ceramic)
Dyed film gives the dark look but doesnt block heat, carbon film blocks about 50% heat, and Ceramic blocks ~75% of heat.
I use Geoshield window film which I believe is some of the best automotive window tint in the industry and comes with a lifetime guarantee.
Dyed Film (Geoshield Pro Classic)
Pro Classic series is a 1.5 mil color stable deep dyed film. This film offers outstanding dye fastness and lifetime warranty against product failure or defect. Pro Classic is a terrific window tint film that gives a deep black look without any sort of hue. It doesnt block heat like Carbon or Ceramic, but blocks 99% of UV rays and looks cool
Carbon (Geoshield C2)
Carbon is the midway point between Dyed and Ceramic film. It will block some heat “Infrared / IR” (about 50%), but not as much as Ceramic.
Ceramic (Geoshield Pro Nano)
Pro Nano Ceramic is top-of-the-line film. You get the best of all features. Heat blocking + good looking tint. Heat/IR rejection is ~75%. If you’re tired of the summer sun beaming through your windows and making your car/truck feel like an oven, Ceramic is what you want.
Window Tint Law – Is It Legal?
I’m not a lawyer so dont take this as legal advice. The recent window tint law for MT is here. Essentially it says the darkest legal tint is:
Cars, Sedans or Trucks
- Windshield: Non-reflective tint is allowed above the manufacturer’s AS-1 line.
- Front Side windows: Must allow more than 24% of light in.
- Back Side windows: Must allow more than 14% of light in
- Rear window: Must allow more than 14% of light in
SUV or Vans
- Windshield: Non-reflective tint is allowed above the manufacturer’s AS-1 line.
- Front Side windows: Must allow more than 24% of light in.
- Back Side windows: Any darkness can be used
- Rear window: Any darkness can be used
What this means is to be within the LEGAL LIMIT IN MONTANA you wouldn’t want a film darker than 35% or 50% on your front side windows and 15-25% on the rear side windows
It’s highly unlikely the police would pull you over for running 15-20% on the front sides…
5% is dark, and you run a higher risk of getting pulled over and/or a ticket for 5% tint on the front sides.