We quote car tinting per vehicle, because the number depends on the car, its glass and the grade of film. The biggest levers are how much glass there is, how curved the rear screen is, whether old film has to come off first, and whether you pick a basic dyed film or a ceramic one. Ceramic costs more and earns it here, because it rejects far more heat without needing to be dark.
Nobody can quote a car honestly over the phone without knowing what it is. What we can do is explain exactly what moves the number, so you can tell a fair price from a bad one.
What actually moves the price
- The car. A hatchback carries far less glass than a large SUV. More glass means more film and more hours.
- The rear screen. A steeply curved rear window has to be heat shrunk to shape before it can be fitted. It is the most skilled part of the job and the first thing a cheap fitter rushes.
- The grade of film. Dyed, metallic and ceramic sit at very different price points, and they perform very differently.
- Old film. Stripping cured film and cleaning the adhesive residue off can take longer than fitting the new one.
- The warranty behind it. Branded film with a real manufacturer warranty costs more than an unmarked roll. It is also the difference between a job that lasts a decade and one that turns purple in two summers.
Dyed, metallic or ceramic
Three broad families, and the choice matters more than the shade.
- Dyed. Colour sits in a dye layer. It is the cheapest, it darkens the glass, its heat rejection is modest, and it is the type most likely to fade toward purple.
- Metallic. A sputtered metal layer reflects heat well and lasts. The metal can interfere with phone signal, GPS and toll tags in some vehicles.
- Ceramic. Non-conductive ceramic particles reject a large share of infrared without a heavy tint and without touching your signal. It is the most expensive of the three and the best suited to our climate.
Darker is not cooler
This is the most expensive misunderstanding in the trade. Shade is about visible light. Heat is mostly infrared, which your eye cannot see at all. A light ceramic film can leave a cabin cooler than a very dark dyed film, while still letting you see properly out of a reversing mirror at night.
If someone is selling you darkness as a heat solution, they are selling the wrong thing.
How dark you are permitted to go has changed more than once and is enforced differently in different cities. Check the current position before you commit to a shade. We will talk it through at the studio, and in practice a lighter ceramic film usually solves the heat problem without going anywhere near the question.
What a proper job looks like
- Indoors, in a clean bay. Dust is the enemy and an open forecourt guarantees it.
- Glass decontaminated and bladed clean, not merely wiped over.
- Film cut to the vehicle, either from a plotter pattern or cut and shrunk by hand.
- The rear screen heat shrunk to its curve so the film lies flat, with no fingers or creases at the edges.
- A cure period afterwards. Slight haze and small water pockets for a few days are normal and clear as the moisture leaves. Leave the windows up during that time.
Red flags
- Bubbles or lifting at the edges in the first few months. That is adhesive failure, not curing.
- A purple cast, which is the dye breaking down under UV.
- Blade marks on the glass, or a cut window seal.
- No paperwork. If there is no warranty document naming the film, there is no warranty.
Car films are fitted at the studio and quoted per vehicle, so the automotive page explains how we work rather than listing specifications. The same physics applies to buildings, and our guide on ceramic film covers why it rejects heat the way it does.
Key takeaways
- Price is driven by glass area, rear screen curvature, film grade and any old film to strip.
- Ceramic costs more than dyed or metallic, and suits our summers best.
- Shade and heat rejection are different things: a light ceramic can beat a dark dyed film.
- A real warranty document naming the film is the difference between ten years and two.