OC tinting

I highly recommend The Tint Pros in Huntington Beach. The tint the Prius for HB Toyota and they did an EXCELLENT job on my car!

The Tint Pros
(714) 964-TINT
16582 Gothard Suite Q
Huntington Beach, CA

http://www.thetintpros.com/

 

I used Tint Plus in Laguna Hills. They have done several Priuses, so there was no worries about them driving it (or leaving it on).

The tint came out great and they were very helpful when it came to choosing the right tint for me.

Tint Plus Website


DGStan

 

Have you had any problems with the GPS system? In the owners manual they warn that the metal in the tint may disrupt the GPS.

 

Wow, looks like we lost many of the tinting articles in here. It's like we never existed anyways.

 

update:
Yelp review: Perfect Window Tint - Santa Ana, CA

Thanks!

I called up Wintech and they said they split their business. Wintech now does only buildings, and the guy who did auto for the last 25 years is now:

PERFECT Window Tint
2650 B-206 Harla Costa Mesa, CA 92627
714-546-1002

ask for Salvador.

So I got my Prius done Aug-13 for $475 and have been letting it settle in before I say anything about it here. Gotta say it's absolutely great. No bubbles/ghosting at all, just a slight rippling in the way things look as it's shrinking in. Microbubbles? Got this done right before the OC Prius meet, but didn't have time to show it off. The windows were ready to roll down the moment I was driving off from the tint place, although I should wait 72 hours.

All windowing behind the b-pillar is Ceramic 40, and everything in front of that pillar Ceramic 60 - which almost looks like it's not there. Nothing on the 'plastic' glass section in the back. So the rear looks equally tinted now and still highly see-through. I hate tint that keeps me from seeing through cars during traffic because it turns cars into SUVs and this doesn't do that.

Makes me ponder putting 60 for the windshield. Lifetime warranty from the Salvador and Hüper and he will pull off my tinting for free if I get a ticket, or fix the tint if I have any problems. The tint itself supposedly should last 15 years.

CHP pulled over a car right in front of me the other night on the freeway, no complaints about the tint.

Salvador and his nephew Andreas took two hours to put in the tint using Wintech's parking garage still. It went on extremely easily and only the rear window needed a slight heat shrinking near to top; which Salvador made look like no effort. They fit and cut the film on the windows' outside, and then slightly pop off the door paneling and slide the film on inside, so no way to damage/scratch anything inside as somebody else seemed to experience here on PC.

They also showed me a interesting Huper Optik demo box. Heatlamp, a piece of glass with different coatings to pass in front of it, and your hand underneath. Plain glass does block some heat, and dark (limo) tint feels no different from plain glass. Ceramic 40... where did the heat go? Exactly why I want the tint for.

So Salvador does cars, buildings etc also, and has been working for OEMs like Toyota of Orange, and even a few celebrities. He says Toyotas & Priuses (or just Japanese cars in general) are some of the easiest cars to work with because of the flatness of the window glass; Hüper Optik goes on very easily. All the complaining seems to be about German cars with with the highly-curved windows; not an issue for Priuses. I asked about the Formula One ceramic, but the professional opinion was Hüper was first and with the patents, and it performs better.

Have I noticed a difference? I park my car outside and it's cooler when I get into it around ~1pm these days by somewhere around 10-20 degrees. I have my AC usually around 78-79F (even when it was 100F+ a month ago) and it seems like I can to go 80F with the tint now. Also, I'm no longer getting a driver's tanned and burnt left arm anymore.

 

I had an "OKAY" exerience with Western Glass Tinting. I called the week before and scheduled the installation for Tuesday at 8:30am (tinter is not in Sunday/Monday), the tinter guy showed up late at 9:40 and I finally got my car done around 12. The tint that was done is fine. I originally had a few bubbles in certain windows but they all went away within two weeks. No problem with GPS or any eletronics. The thing that I am real unsatisfied with is that the tinter did not tint my rear hatch back door small window (right below the spoiler). After I discovered this I called the office and they handed it off to the tinter (BTW - a sub-contractor who apparently "bids" on jobs). He called me back and told me that he didn't "bid" to do that small window. That he never tinted those lil windows on any Prius', but he would do mine for an additional $40. "The curvature of the window...I might break the glass with my heat dryer....". However, I have seen many other Pruis' on the road that have been tinted and all of them have that lil' rear window tinted. I fly out of town weekly and so the hassle of going back to take care of this issue with the "owner" is not really worth it. I wanted to share my experience here so others may have some benefit with my dealings with these folks.

 

That small window in the hatch (below spoiler) comes tinted at ~35% from the factory. So I had both sides and the top of the hatch (9windows) also done at 35%. Tomarrow I can finally uses the windows again as the installer wanted it sit for 2 days before lowering the windows. During this time the small bubbles all dis-appeared and looks great.

 

I got mine done at Al's and Ed's in Huntington beach. They did a great job and also had my "clear bra" put on. I have a black Prius and rock hits would stand out. I've traveled a few road trips and it has protected my front without a mark.

 

as long as you dont get a metallic window film, you wont have any distortion from GPS, TPS, radio reception.

the best films out there are ceramic or polyester base films for that matter. dont look for the best price when your looking for window tint. the type/brand of film makes the biggest difference. quality, clarity and performance all come into play.

 

i had my ventureshield & llumar window film installed at specialized auto tint: AUTO TINT

highly recommended! excellent service & reasonable pricing.

 

Oh My God, you guys overpaid for the tinting. I went to this Vietnamese place and they did a great job for $170. My wife also tinted her CRV last week for the same price. This includes front windows tinting. You need to bargain otherwise he will charge you $200.

Topline Window Tinting
(714) 373-5199
13501 Magnolia St
Garden Grove, CA 92844

 

can you post how much it cost, including the venture film? Did you get the headlights done as well? Thanks. Any pictures of the shield? Im curious where the cut off is on the hood. Thanks

 

The Tint Connection
2490 Newport Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949-650-8468

Just got my 2009 Magnetic Gray Package 5 tinted and it looks great. I was in and out of there in 2 hours. They do a great job on installation and have been using the same materials for over 15 years (Solargard HP Charcoal - Metallic Materials). Prices are very reasonable (about half of ceramic) and Jim the owner is very honest.

My main concern was the effects of metallic tint on the navigation, bluetooth, keyless entry, etc. After talking to Jim and conducting some research, I found that metallic tints shouldn't have any effect on those systems since our cars don't have antennas in the glass. I was pleased to see that my navigation, bluetooth, and keyless entry were still working fine after the install. If you ask around enough, you should be able to find enough Prius Gen II owners with the same experience as me with metallic tints.

 

Kazots......May I ask, how much did A&E charge for applying the clear bra on the front. I have a 2010 Prius in blizzard white.

Thanks.

 

Any experiences tinting a 2010 with metalic films?
I want UV and IR rejection more than visible tint.
Where is the GPS antenna located?
Where are the AM and FM antennas?
Thanks

 

I got mine done in riverside, sundown window tint, ceramic the highest quality for only $279, all windows. Most on oc charge $450 for it.

 

our '04 was done 5 years ago ... & still looks great ... also for $170, which included front & rear windows, and the tiny triangle window in front of the front (driver & passenger) windows.

Now for the bummer. Traveling up north, I got pulled over (rather than the speeders doing 80mph +) by a state trooper, who gave me a fixit ticket ... NO TINT ALLOWED on front windows. meah ... I knew it might happen some day.

The installer wanted way too much for removal, so I bought one of these jobbies from bead bath & beyond (same as Home Depot, Lowes, etc models, only they don't stock 'em / special order) to remove it:



It's a portable hand held steamer, and BOY! . . . did it EVER make quick work of that film. After seeing how terribly wrong removal can go, I wanted the easyest method. Ever seen a car with window tint goo left behind? no thanks. There are several utube vid's showing that this is really the way to go, if you get a fix it ticket. Once winter ends, I'll be re-tinting the front windows ... again


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