What are the most popular window tint shades?
Thats a great question, what are the most popular window tint shades and why are they?
In this article we discuss why owners are choosing certain shades over others, and their reasoning for doing so. We hope by discussing this topic, it can help you decide which shade is best for your vehicle.
First off, lets take a look at this tint shade chart to get an idea of how tint is classified and discussed.
Window Tint Shade Chart (Used for Example Only)
As you can see from this chart, the lower the number means the darker the tint, and the higher the number means the lighter the tint.
What this actually means is that a 5% tint is blocking 95% of the light coming through the window. 10% tint is blocking 90% of the light, 20% blocks 80%, and so on.
When you’re searching for the right tint for your car, there are a few things to consider;
What are the legal limits in my province or state?
What are my goals in having window tint applied to my car?
How much heat do I want to block, and how much privacy do I need for my vehicle?
Lets start with these questions, in another blog post we will go through other common questions that we are asked about window tint and how we can help you understand the process of selecting tint to best fit your needs.
What are the legal laws regarding tint in my province or state?
Each province or state has its own tint laws, for sake us being located in Ontario Canada, we will focus on the legal limits here in Ontario.
“Ontario’s vehicle inspection regulations state that vehicles will pass if front side windows have over 70% VLT. Ontario tint laws are very vague here however and state that these windows must not “substantially obscure the interior of the motor vehicle when viewed from outside the motor vehicle“. Tinting is not explicitly prohibited, therefore 70% VLT should be within legal limits.
Source: https://canadatintlaws.com/ontario/
Copyright © CanadaTintLaws.com”
What this means to us tint buyers is that 30% window tint on the front two windows (passenger and driver) are legal in Ontario. There are no legal limits on the rear windows, and windshield’s must be tinted with a clear film ONLY. Tint visors must be at the AS1 line on your windshield.
As you can imagine, these laws are put into effect at each officers discretion - however the law is there for a reason - to protect the driver, and to protect our citizens.
The liability of these laws comes down to the driver, and in most cases keeping it legal is a good idea to avoid tickets and discipline from the police.
A 30% tint on the front windows is certainly popular, however it does not provide much in terms of privacy as you can see very clearly into the vehicle. Our most popular request for the front windows is a 20% tint, which gives the happy medium between being to light, and not too dark.
Many of our clients prefer a matched look with the fronts being the same as the rear windows, however some choose to go darker in the rear where there is no legal limit. A 5% tint is a popular choice in this case as it provides significant privacy for the rear of your vehicle - and can help provide security from those passing by peering into your car.
Here is a list of what our most popular requests are;
1. Legal but dark. 30% front windows mixed with 20% rear windows.
2. Happy medium. 20% window tint on all of the windows.
3. Party in the front, privacy in the rear. 30% Tint on the front windows, 5% in the rear window.
We hope this article has helped you understand how the numeration of window tint is discussed, and to help you think on what tint is best for your vehicle.
If you have questions for us, we’re always happy to help. Give us a shout at the contact form below - or call for more information!
