Tinting only side windows?

[pnwadventures]

I’ve got some reservations about tinting the rear window. I’ll probably just do it anyway, after finding a really highly rated shop in the Puget Sound area, but I’m curious to know if anyone has done only the sides and is or on how it came out. Bonus if you have pics.

 

[jmaddr]

There is risk for sure. If something goes wrong and the tint has to be removed, there is a good possibility of breaking the defrost lines. I did mine and I have a few pinholes. And of course I have the issues around the circles in the corners like every other tint job. It’s not really noticeable unless you inspect it deeply so I left it alone due to the defrost line issue.

If you are not going too dark on the sides, the rear is already tinted to some degree so should match pretty well. If you are going dark, it might look odd.

 

[Candleflame]

I’ve got some reservations about tinting the rear window. I’ll probably just do it anyway, after finding a really highly rated shop in the Puget Sound area, but I’m curious to know if anyone has done only the sides and is or on how it came out. Bonus if you have pics.

i dont have my rear tinted. didnt feel worth it and improves visibility slightly at night through the rear.

 

[TBrownTX]

I’ve got some reservations about tinting the rear window. I’ll probably just do it anyway, after finding a really highly rated shop in the Puget Sound area, but I’m curious to know if anyone has done only the sides and is or on how it came out. Bonus if you have pics.

I'm planning to do the same thing (sides only).

Tim

 

[KaptKamp]

Quite serendipitously, yesterday I had the side windows and windshield tinted, but the shop didn't get the large roll delivered in time so the back window has to wait till next week to get tinted. Side window are 3M Ceramic 25% and windshield is 70%.

One thing I might suggest is to have the tint shop only do the side windows, and drive the car for a while to see if you end up wanting the back window tinted, you can always go back and get it done later.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I did sides only and it looks great! The ceiling glass is very dark from the factory and any extra tint would just black out the little bit of sky that does show thru. The un-tinted region of the back window is so small and sits directly above the large black rear shelf so it looks great without tint and offers plenty of heat/privacy protection. As you can see from Kamp's pic above, from the outside it's hard to even tell that there's an un-tinted region.

I did 3M Crystalline 50% on the sides and nothing anywhere else. It looks bitchin' and all limo blacked out but I wish I would have gone a little lighter (60% or so) because it makes the side mirrors very difficult to see. The tint makes the inside of the glass very reflective so during the day the dashboard reflection obscures both mirrors. And at night the auto-dimming mirrors can't be disabled so all you can see thru the tint is the faint greenish glow of some headlights.

 

[pnwadventures]

I did sides only and it looks great! The ceiling glass is very dark from the factory and any extra tint would just black out the little bit of sky that does show thru. The un-tinted region of the back window is so small and sits directly above the large black rear shelf so it looks great without tint and offers plenty of heat/privacy protection. As you can see from Kamp's pic above, from the outside it's hard to even tell that there's an un-tinted region.

I did 3M Crystalline 50% on the sides and nothing anywhere else. It looks bitchin' and all limo blacked out but I wish I would have gone a little lighter (60% or so) because it makes the side mirrors very difficult to see. The tint makes the inside of the glass very reflective so during the day the dashboard reflection obscures both mirrors. And at night the auto-dimming mirrors can't be disabled so all you can see thru the tint is the faint greenish glow of some headlights.

View attachment 673991

Got any exterior pics?

 

[techdash]

Not exactly what you asked, but I had some concerns with the rear window tint but asked around and found a shop that had done plenty of Model 3s and could do it in one piece of tint. 1.5 years with it so far and no issues.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Got any exterior pics?

Sorry, no pics of the back handy but Kamp's white car pictured above is a really good representation.

But for the sides, here's what 50% Crystalline looks like. I could lighten/darken the image or shoot from different angles/backgrounds to make it look clear as day or dark as night but this unedited random angle/lighting shot is pretty much exactly what it looks like in person:

 

[TexasTezla]

25% tint on the sides, 5% on rear and absolutely nothing on the front. I would only tint front if I was never going to drive at night!!

 

[pnwadventures]

But for the sides, here's what 50% Crystalline looks like. I could lighten/darken the image or shoot from different angles/backgrounds to make it look clear as day or dark as night but this unedited random angle/lighting shot is pretty much exactly what it looks like in person:

View attachment 674025

Sold. This is what I'm doing. Thanks!

 

[medphys3]

I did sides only and it looks great! The ceiling glass is very dark from the factory and any extra tint would just black out the little bit of sky that does show thru. The un-tinted region of the back window is so small and sits directly above the large black rear shelf so it looks great without tint and offers plenty of heat/privacy protection. As you can see from Kamp's pic above, from the outside it's hard to even tell that there's an un-tinted region.

I did 3M Crystalline 50% on the sides and nothing anywhere else. It looks bitchin' and all limo blacked out but I wish I would have gone a little lighter (60% or so) because it makes the side mirrors very difficult to see. The tint makes the inside of the glass very reflective so during the day the dashboard reflection obscures both mirrors. And at night the auto-dimming mirrors can't be disabled so all you can see thru the tint is the faint greenish glow of some headlights.

Not to derail the thread, but you can disable the auto-dimming mirrors by just unplugging them. Pull off the mirrors (they just snap in) and unplug the connector with the smallest wires. The connector with the thicker wires is for the defroster.

2 minute mark

 

[AmbassadorRDR]

I have my sides and rear windshield tinted at 18%. I was a little skeptical after reading some horror stories but mine turned out well so no complaints.

 

[ro_explorer]

I only tinted the rear side windows. It's not for looks, but for comfort in the back (I travel a lot with the family).