Ceramic near clear heat/UVB blocking windshield film, any experience?

[staying_tuned]

I had the front passenger windows tinted to match the rears and back nicely but didn’t do anything with the windshield.

It has been great but we recently got back from MO/WY/UT (from KY) and during the trip the front of my arms were cooked. I wouldn’t want to get pulled over for tint up front but I’ve heard of the clear ceramic films they have now that are supposed to work really well.

Anyone have any experience with the clear films up front and if so, how do they perform? Thanks in advance for any insight!

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[bfastr]

well. I had mine done with the clear ceramic , the UV blocking type you are talking about.
and while its great at doing just that and helps reduce sun “heat” , I would suggest you google Low angle Haze, or LAH.

and while I paid for a quality ceramic tint I still get this effect driving into the evening sun.

to be honest, I dont think I would get it again.

 

[Eskram]

I had Llumar Air 80 on a few vehicles and it worked well. https://llumar.com/na/en/automotive/window-tint/clear/

I didn't notice the haze with it, like I do with tinted film. It doesn't bother me though.

 

[HammaMan]

Ask the tint shop if they have any 50 or 70% windshields on hand to view (they'll likely all have their windshields tinted). I tint my windshields to 50% which makes a big difference on cutting down heat, but nobody notices it.

 

[crazywayne311]

I had Llumar Air 80 on a few vehicles and it worked well. https://llumar.com/na/en/automotive/window-tint/clear/

I didn't notice the haze with it, like I do with tinted film. It doesn't bother me though.

VA has some stupid laws...one of which is not being able to tint the windshields...
I do know where i got my fronts tinted with Llumar ceramic they tried to sell me the Llumar Air for my rear/back windows and sunroof...thinking about getting them done. you think its worth it b/c it isnt cheap haha

 

[staying_tuned]

Excellent, thanks for the feedback y’all!

 

[UGADawg96]

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/windshield-tinting-questions.25589/

Another recent windshield tinting thread

 

[UGADawg96]

And another

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/so-i-tinted-my-front-windshield.8039/

 

[Eskram]

VA has some stupid laws...one of which is not being able to tint the windshields...
I do know where i got my fronts tinted with Llumar ceramic they tried to sell me the Llumar Air for my rear/back windows and sunroof...thinking about getting them done. you think its worth it b/c it isnt cheap haha

Eh, it’s only illegal if you get caught. ? I do not believe any state allows it, but some (hotter) ones absolutely tolerate it.

But yes, it will absolutely make a difference in interior temps and heat rejection while driving. You just lose the privacy aspect of tinted film.

I’m never riding dirty, but cops don’t care here anyway. The one time an officer mentioned anything (many years ago), I had 20% on the windshield and it was just a fix-it ticket. I paid the fine, moved on with my life, and left the tint on.. ?‍

 

[24STX5.0]

I had Llumar Air 80 on a few vehicles and it worked well. https://llumar.com/na/en/automotive/window-tint/clear/

I didn't notice the haze with it, like I do with tinted film. It doesn't bother me though.

Same here on my last truck. It was great. No issues with haze for me either. You couldn't tell it was there unless you had a really trained eye and was right on top of it. It was very effective with heat rejection. The only worry was losing it with any windshield crack requiring replacement.

I'll probably do it again on this truck once my permanent plates arrive and I know I don't have to go to DMV for 7 years. That's when I'll get the front sides tinted to match the rears too, which is all technically illegal here without a doctor's waiver.

 

[NMMIKE]

I did Llumar clear on windshield, Llumar pinnacle ceramic on all other windows. Factory don't provide any sun protection, just color. Third vehicle doing this, and it is great protection plus much cooler.

 

[Omodan]

VA has some stupid laws...one of which is not being able to tint the windshields...
I do know where i got my fronts tinted with Llumar ceramic they tried to sell me the Llumar Air for my rear/back windows and sunroof...thinking about getting them done. you think its worth it b/c it isnt cheap haha

I first had Air 80 on my 2019 Ranger and now will not have a vehicle that isn’t tinted at least with that. The heat resistance simply makes the vehicle so much more comfortable. I do live in Georgia though.

I now have both my 21 F150 and my wife’s 22 Expedition done. It makes it to where the AC can actually cool the vehicle and not require it to be on full blast during the summer. It also helps quite a bit on glare for me.

 

[WMJ]

I have my windshield tinted with almost clear ceramic film. It really cuts down on the heat (I live in Florida) and I find that I don’t have to use one of those reflective shields. However I’ve noticed that my auto headlamps come on earlier and stay on longer so the tint is blocking some light.

 

[amschind]

XPEL Prime XR plus is pricey, but the numbers are pretty awesome. 3M is a very close second, and probably indistinguishable in practice. I have to use my truck in places that are pretty dark, so I opted for 70% and still notice a huge difference.

One footnote: the coating will absorb a lot of the incoming IR and UV. With UV, the re-radiated photons are at a higher wavelength, so their damage is mitigated even if the photon eventually reaches you/your upholstery et c. With IR, heating the glass and/or re radiating a slightly lower energy photon into your truck still warms the interior, so that still has to be addressed. In practice, that means that when stationary, the truck interior will reach the same steady state temperature as if there were no tint. When moving, most of the heat energy absorbed by the glass/tint is removed by forced draft convection (i.e. driving the truck through the air). Note that turning the truck on before you get into it on a hot day won't be any more effective with nanoceramic tint, but once you're moving the AC will have far less radiated heat to remove. That means that some kind of cover over the vehicle in the summer may have a bigger benefit than tint for very short trips.

 

[Moe7]

VA has some stupid laws...one of which is not being able to tint the windshields...
I do know where i got my fronts tinted with Llumar ceramic they tried to sell me the Llumar Air for my rear/back windows and sunroof...thinking about getting them done. you think its worth it b/c it isnt cheap haha

I did Air 80 for my rear and back windows as I didn't need it any darker, it works great for heat rejection. I may do the same or IRX 50 for the sunroof at some point, but with the truck parked in a garage most of the day it hasn't been a priority.

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