MK6 Front Tint to match factory 'Dark Tint' option

Hi guys,

Not sure if this is the right place to ask

What tint films will best match the factory tint/privacy glass? As you know the fronts are not tinted whilst the rears are with the sports pack.

Tint A Car advises that their Formula One Plus is best suited but as far as i understand it this gives a bit of a greenish reflection?

I have also been advised by Express Tinting that their 3M Black range matches best to the privacy glass.

I'm hoping to achieve a consistent tint/look with the already tinted rears.

Any other recommendations for tinting places around the brisbane would be great too

Cheers

I also have a Golf Mk6 with the sports pack and have had difficulty trying to match the factory tint.

When I purchased the car the dealer said they use a standard tint and then use a clear UV tint on the rear. I have no idea if this would match the greenish colour of the back windows.

If anyone has had there windows tinted, I would also like to here from you.

I don't know what others have found but every car window tinting company I have been to bags the hell out of other companys saying they all sell crap film and have bad warranties. I don't know who to believe?

Cheers,
Glennbot

I had the dealer (in Brisbane)do the tinting of the front windows to match the rear Sports Pack privacy tint. Feel free to PM me for further details.

Firstly, I dont know why VW would tint the back windows and not the front. Doesn't make sense. Probably looks more sporty?

Anyway I think the factory tint is not legal in Aust. - i.e. too dark. I got my front windows tinted by the dealer who outsourced it. I believe they used the darkest legal tint in Aust. for the front windows. The front windows are slightly lighter than the back, but it hasnt bothered me too much.

As Prawn stated, you are allowed a much darker tint on the rear and side-rear windows than you are on the side-front windows. Matching the privacy tint used on the rear is illegal and would gain yourself an infraction from the law if they were inclined to notice.

But there are plenty of tint specialists out there that carry a range of products and can match or compliment....

Once we take delivery of our car I'm just going to see my tint guy and get him to pick from the various films he has available.

Any reputable tint person should be able to get a good match for you.

If Blacktown in NSW is not too far for anyone, try calling Martin from Groundzero Window Tinting on 0424 725 250 - he's done a few of my cars now. Not only is he the cheapest around but he's been exceptionally good at giving me exactly what I want with different films.

I had our Corolla done a couple of years ago with a "darkest legal" tint that looks very black from the outside -- no hints of green or "mirror like" reflections -- but is very easy to see out of from the inside. I'm thinking this is the kind of film that will best match on the Golf but we'll see.

By the way, I think going with a slightly lighter tint on the front windows can still look good. I opted to do this on my Silvia, with darker than legal privacy tint on the rears and darkest legal on the fronts. This allows me to see out of my mirrors safely while still keeping the car cool and allowing me to hide from prying eyes.

Pic:
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/28/winglessside.jpg

According to the specifications in the Golf Brochure the sports pack tint is 65% light absorbing. Is this equivalent to 35% tint?

I talked to a guy at Tint-A-Car and he told me that putting any tint on the factory rear windows is illegal.

Is this true?

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru.../mk6side-1.jpg

This is with T35 on the front and UV clear on the rears. The sun shining in from the front and no tint on the windscreen also gives a slightly lighter appearance to the front windows.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Prawn07

Firstly, I dont know why VW would tint the back windows and not the front. Doesn't make sense. Probably looks more sporty?

---

As it is done from factory I guess it suits the European market better. AFAIK, in the UK at least, any tinting on front windows (ie. driver & passenger) is illegal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by coreying

Matching the privacy tint used on the rear is illegal and would gain yourself an infraction from the law if they were inclined to notice.

---

Depends on the police officer. One of my best mates has been in HWY patrol for over 4 years and not once has he pulled someone over for tint.

You'd be very very unlucky if you got booked.

Coastie, your tint looks identical to mine, & mines the same colour with Sports pack.

The front tint finished it off nicely.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Flaps

Depends on the police officer. One of my best mates has been in HWY patrol for over 4 years and not once has he pulled someone over for tint.

You'd be very very unlucky if you got booked.

---

It's not really getting booked you need worry about. Insurance is the big hassle. If you have an at fault accident, they may find your dark tint as an attributing factor and throw your claim into the bin. Depends on the situation of course but it's something to be mindful of.

Either way, if the tint is darker than legal I'd be ripping it off quick smart before the insurance assessor looks at the car.

Subaru's have had this for the past 5 years (rear and no front).

Its kinda crazy.. The rears are tinted but the fronts are not.

But the crazy thing is these cars are being sold in AU and its legal to tint
the front windows here.

So I don't know about Subaru, and I haven't seen this 'Sports pack' thingy on the MK6 Golfs. But I haven't really seen cars with rear tint and no front tint. What I normally see is like what is standard on a lot of Lexus'. The rear has 'privacy' tint and the front side windows have stanard tint. The thing is that the privacy tint is so much darker than it can under various light conditions like look like there is any tint at the front, when there is!

I'd agree that no tint on the front would be stupid :D

Quick update for those who are interested.

Had the car tinted at Tint A Car (Albion, Brisbane - Fantastic service! only took half an hour for 2 windows.) with the Formula One tint. Looks pretty good. The tint has a slight green tinge which does match the privacy glass nicely. The privacy glass is just a very slight shade darker.

Overall im happy with the outcome :)

What did Tint-A-Car charge for the 2x front windows?

Did they suggest any other options?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Schnapp

Quick update for those who are interested.

Had the car tinted at Tint A Car (Albion, Brisbane - Fantastic service! only took half an hour for 2 windows.) with the Formula One tint. Looks pretty good. The tint has a slight green tinge which does match the privacy glass nicely. The privacy glass is just a very slight shade darker.

Overall im happy with the outcome :)

---

Would you mind posting some pictures? I'm thinking of getting my Golf done with Tint-a-Car Formula 1 (not that it has rear privacy glass but I'd like to see what your front windows look like so I can get an idea of what all my windows will be like). Thanks if you can.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by glennbot

What did Tint-A-Car charge for the 2x front windows?

Did they suggest any other options?

---

It was $154 to do the two front windows. Quite a good price I think.

Initially I asked about the midnight express, but they suggested the formula one tint as they said they had a few new golfs come through and they found the formula one tint to be the best match for the privacy glass.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mtj007

Would you mind posting some pictures? I'm thinking of getting my Golf done with Tint-a-Car Formula 1 (not that it has rear privacy glass but I'd like to see what your front windows look like so I can get an idea of what all my windows will be like). Thanks if you can.

---

Dont have access to a decent camera atm, but when I do ill post some pics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Schnapp

Dont have access to a decent camera atm, but when I do ill post some pics.

---

No worries - my Golf's booked in to get Formula 1 on Monday. I saw it on a Magna they'd just done and I'm happy enough with it.

MTJ007 - Don't forget to post some pics of the finished job :-)

Dad's (dirty) untinted Mk VI:
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...IMG_0550-2.jpg

My MK V:
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...IMG_0551-2.jpg

Sorry for the crappy phone pics in the garage.. Just a quick comparison - I'm a bit busy at the moment but I'll have some whole car shots up this weekend after I detail it.

It looks darker when the car is out in the sun, I'm pretty pleased with it overall. My car didn't have rear privacy tint (and neither does dad's) so I don't know how well it matches up with that but hopefully that picture will give an idea.

My new golf has the sports pack which has the dark privacy tint on the rear windows. I am looking to tint the front windows with either 3M or Tintacar's Formula 1, depending on which matches best. In talking with Tintacar they said that the factory privacy tint on the rear windows offers zero UV protection and suggested that I should have a clear UV protection tint fitted over them.

I have Googled that the window glass in cars already provide UV B protection, but this was in general and an old article. Does anyone know what level of UVA and UVB protection is provided with the sports pack tint?

It could be wrong but I was told by my dealer that privacy glass provides no UV protection as well so I got tint put on. This was however on my rex... dont know if its different for the VW.

http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/...ead.php?t=4442

Not VW but pajero with privacy glass. VW shouldnt be any different...

All glass in a car should have UV protection.

Sounds like some extra $$profit for the dealer

uv doesn't go through the glass

in golf6's spec, it said
Sport package Dark tinted rear side windows and rear window, 65% light absorbing

from my understanding, it absorbs 65% uv......

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yevvy

uv doesn't go through the glass

---

Ordinary glass will probably not block any useful amount of UV radiation:

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uv:

• 98.7% of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches the Earth's surface is UVA.
• UVA wavelength: 400 nm–315 nm
• Ordinary glass is partially transparent to UVA.
• Ordinary window glass passes about 90% of the light above 350 nm.

Obviously this is for ordinary window glass, and auto glass may be different. Does anyone have any stats on auto window glass standards?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roy

in golf6's spec, it said
Sport package Dark tinted rear side windows and rear window, 65% light absorbing

from my understanding, it absorbs 65% uv......

---

I know more about non-automotive Window Tint than automotive window tint, but UV and visible light is different. You should have to look at the tint specs from a place like Solar Gard that basically all window tint blocks 99% of UV, whether it only allows 10% or 35% or more light through. There are also differences in reflectivity for visible light, solar energy etc

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roy

in golf6's spec, it said
Sport package Dark tinted rear side windows and rear window, 65% light absorbing

from my understanding, it absorbs 65% uv......

---

There's no correlation between light absorption and UV absorption.

Most UVB is blocked but most UVA passes through glass. You can still get burnt but it takes a lot longer and you can suffer damage long term. It's like going outside with mid range sunscreen applied.

Getting my GTI done with Formula 1 at Tint-a-car on Monday .... 35% fronts, 15% rears. I was going to go midnight express but was sold on the better formula 1 ... got a decent discount for cash which closed the gap in the cost

chilliman. Picts please! :)

I'm in Rowville and due to pick up my car in just over a weeks time (I'm getting the 118 tsi with sport pack)

Can anyone tell me whether it's really obvious having the back windows tinted, but not the front? I don't understand why vw would do that.

I'm thinking this might look a bit odd, so thinking of getting my front ones done to match. Excuse my ignorance on the subject, but I'm a bit scared of having someone rip my interior door panels apart (is that how they do it?) and rattles occuring - not to mention non-matching front and rear tints.....

Anyone know of a reputable tinting firm in my area?

Oh, and what can I expect to pay?

I don't reckon it's too noticeable not having the fronts tinted.. I always found it strange that it was rears only and after reading this thread today, I'm considering tinting the fronts too..

So anyway, I decided that the factory tint was too weak

Excuse the crap pics, I'll take proper ones with the good camera in daylight when I get time.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...P1010375-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...P1010378-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...P1010372-1.jpg

Tinting by GroundZero Window Tinting
Martin: 0424 725 250
Unit 6/4 Third Ave, Blacktown NSW
sales@groundzerotint.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nicandlance

..... I'm a bit scared of having someone rip my interior door panels apart (is that how they do it?) and rattles occuring - not to mention non-matching front and rear tints.....

---

With good reason, there seems to be quite a few cowboys around. If you can find a recommendation for someone who had done Golfs before with good results it will be worth paying extra for a problem-free job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nicandlance

Can anyone tell me whether it's really obvious having the back windows tinted, but not the front? I don't understand why vw would do that.

---

The law states that 35% of visible light must pass through the side (whether front or rear side) and rear windows when tinting is used. "Privacy Tint" is usually darker than 35% and is therefore technically illegal. However, there seems to be a 'grey area' as Vans and Trucks don't need to side rear windows or rear window at all, they can be solid panels. So in recent years we've seen some car manufacturers (like Lexus etc) place "Privacy Tint" on the side rear and rear windows, and standard 35% tint on the front passenger windows.

Having said the above, I don't know what the visible light transference of the VW "Privacy" tint is on the rear sides/rear, nor whether they do in fact put any tint on the front side windows, but when it comes time to order my Golf R I intend to fully clarify these things before ordering this "Privacy Tint" option. Because at $400 you could have an entire car done with the tint of your choice by a reputable person.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by coreying

The law states that 35% of visible light must pass through the side (whether front or rear side) and rear windows when tinting is ...

---

i think what coreying states is true... and that's why vw wouldn't provide all tinted windows is because of different law in different areas...
just to mention..i heard the factory tint is a little different from the aftermarket one...they put the film between two glasses(like a sandwich i guess) and the aftermarket one is to put the film on the glass...i'm not 100% sure and anyone knows the detail pls help to confirm...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roy

just to mention..i heard the factory tint is a little different from the aftermarket one...they put the film between two glasses(like a sandwich i guess) and the aftermarket one is to put the film on the glass...i'm not 100% sure and anyone knows the detail pls help to confirm...

---

Yeah, this is why I need to investigate it later, because I have seen very little official information about the 'tint' that VW use.

I'm not sure whether there is tint that goes inbetween two laminates of glass, because that would mean the outside (of car) facing laminate would expand/contract at a different rate to the inside laminate, but I know that the metallic particles used for tinting purposes can be 'infused in the glass'* as part of the glass creation process (like 'Comfort-Tone tinted windows for new houses etc).

*I'm not sure 'infused' is the right word as I'm not specifically familiar with the process but I've had it recently explained to me in 'consumer speak' by a few industrial tint specialists whilst investigating commerical window tint to deal with heat management issues in a server room which faces north and is always in direct sunlight.

we had the 3/4 tint come with our 147 Tiguan as standard, had no choice its mandated. I was told its laminated between layers of glass, the window tint company also felt that was the case

Personally I think its a pain in the ass, I eventually got the front windows tinited and pertty much matched but a full tint is a better outcome (IMHO); when I ordered my GTI I wasnt interested in the $400 Privacy Glass option, you can get a really decent full tint done for udner $400 in Melbourne