[ronanb]

hi everyone, sadly i gave in to my desire for tinted windows and left her in today with a newly open local window tinting shop. Oh shit! lets just say it has to be factory fitted to look the part yeah? the side windows are grand but its the back one that looks awlful. The guy said it needs to dry but that was at 1 o clock and still no change, its just luks cheap and you would know it was an after job! Heading back first thing in the morning to get it removed hopefuly! My 2 questions are, will it come off easily and leave no trace? and if any1 from n.ireland is reading this could they recommend me a good window tinting shop please! Thanks for your time in reading this.

[jjbirch]

its something to do with the dots around the window i think even the back window is hard to do

[COLSEN]

do u have pics? I have seen a few that have put me off getting it done. I reckon you'd be able to buy the tinted factory glass & get it fitted tho for the proper look.

[Hoops]

Hence why i will be leaving my windows alone this time!!!!

[Pioneer]

Pentagon up in lisburn does a top quality job, they do work for david prentice. Never got it done myself but the work they do is close to factory finish. They should have a web site if you search for it.

[ronanb]

i'll get pic up a.s.a.p, yeah its at the edge where the dots are that it looks the worst. i did think of buying the factory fitted tinted glass but my god are we not chatting serious money for that??? thanks for the name in lisburn but the worst news ive heard is the this film doesnt come off easily, the heated lines on the rear window can be damaged when trying to remove! awh why did i ever bother.....

[jjbirch]

Originally Posted by ronanb

i'll get pic up a.s.a.p, yeah its at the edge where the dots are that it looks the worst. i did think of buying the factory fitted tinted glass but my god are we not chatting serious money for that??? thanks for the name in lisburn but the worst news ive heard is the this film doesnt come off easily, the heated lines on the rear window can be damaged when trying to remove! awh why did i ever bother.....

i heard some kids have just smashed you windows i am so sorry maybe a claim for tinted glass is need as you had it on before lol

[Hoops]

Originally Posted by Pioneer

Pentagon up in lisburn does a top quality job, they do work for david prentice. Never got it done myself but the work they do is close to factory finish. They should have a web site if you search for it.

I always use Pentagon if i get my windows tinted - i did my 997 C2S and i did my last E92 M3 - however, my current E92 M3 didnt come with the factory rear tints, just the normal lightly tinted windows all round, so im not going to bother tinting them any further - but the main reason im not going to do them is because on my 997 especially, the rear window was far from perfect and Pentagon even admitted that was the best they could do and can never guarantee getting it 100% right because of exactly the reason quoted above. Personally i will never do it again - it never drys out properly and it will never look perfect and can reduce the aesthetic appeal of the car imo.

[SiKkBaSs]

How much does this tinting malarchy cost??

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by lightweight

How much does this tinting malarchy cost??

I used Eclipse to do my front windows last week - they now blend in with the factory sun protection glass and IMO looks superb.

http://eclipsetinting.co.uk/cgi-bin/index.pl

A full car is about £200 I think - I paid £80 inc vat to have the fronts done - All film is computer cut to perfect size before fitting and the finish they have achieved is totally faultless. Wind down windows are 'easy' though, it is the dreaded 'dots' that cause grief.

To the OP, keep rubbing around the dots with a soft microfibre cloth, it may well still bond yet. Takes about 3 days to dry out properly. My tinters recommend I didn't use the windows for 3 days after installation.

Do they offer a guarantee, some firms, such as Eclipse offer a full money back guarantee if your not 100% happy!

[Hoops]

Originally Posted by M3-FAST

I used Eclipse to do my front windows last week - they now blend in with the factory sun protection glass and IMO looks superb

I'd be interested to see pics of your car Paul - i had the factory tints on my rears on my last E92 M3 and i had Pentagon tint my fronts to "blend" in - but because the rear factorys are SO dark you would have to run "illegally" tinted windows in order to match them up. I went smoke on my fronts and although it was fairly close it wasnt the same colour and still annoyed me that the colours of the windows were different - hence why im leaving my new M3 alone as they all match and all look so much better and theres no danger of the rozzers pulling me for pimp my ride windows!!! As i say, i'd be keen to see how you have "matched" your windows for comparison.

[AndyR0b]

Hi, I have been thinking about getting this done myself but have been put off after reading some of the US forum threads about the rear window dot matrix issue. Is there anyone that has just had the rear side windows done and not the back due to the dot matrix. If so does it look any good. Thanks

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by bmwbailey

I'd be interested to see pics of your car Paul - i had the factory tints on my rears on my last E92 M3 and i had Pentagon tint my fronts to "blend" in - but because the rear factorys are SO dark you would have to run "illegally" tinted windows in order to match them up. I went smoke on my fronts and although it was fairly close it wasnt the same colour and still annoyed me that the colours of the windows were different - hence why im leaving my new M3 alone as they all match and all look so much better and theres no danger of the rozzers pulling me for pimp my ride windows!!! As i say, i'd be keen to see how you have "matched" your windows for comparison.

Eclipse matched the 'greyness' of tint very well, it is not as dark as the fronts, nowhere near, but helps blend the fronts in with the rears. The BMW sun protection is not as dark as some manufacturers but there is such a stark difference between the front and the back that something needs to be done. It was always my intention to tint the front a little to match, and I ordered the sun protection glass as you will never replicate that factory tinted look on the rear windows as the OP has found out

The following pic was just taken at work, weather is dull and grey so difficult to see properly but you can tell that there is not such a difference between the fronts and rears. I will take some proper pics when I do my next mods

The tints are borderline legal but to be honest I think I would have had to annoy a copper for him/her to 'do me' for them. My sis is a copper and she has had a look and says that she wouldn't bat an eyelid at them. It is the really dark tints on the chav Saxo's that are attracting more attention.

Overall, they have given me EXACTLY the look I was after, at a good price and you can barely tell they are not factory finish as they have been installed so well. You can quite clearly see into the car when you look through the windows so hopefully all will be OK. In fact we had a couple of coppers stop by our unit the other day and one was chatting to me about my car saying he thought it looked nice and his mate was getting one. He also never made a comment about the tints so fingers crossed

[big pimp]

ronan - were you and I not PM'ing about this?
I recommended Pentagon in Lisburn, as they do the tinting for David Prentice where I bought my car, and they pretty much matched it perfectly.

sorry to hear you've had a bad experience. for reference, tint comes off easily enough if it is well heated first...

[Hoops]

That does look pretty dark to me Paul - but hey ho!!! Just dont put a Remus Race on otherwise you WILL be attracting the eyes of the law!!!!

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by bmwbailey

That does look pretty dark to me Paul - but hey ho!!! Just dont put a Remus Race on otherwise you WILL be attracting the eyes of the law!!!!

I must admit, on that photo it does look a lot darker than it really is - will try and take some better ones....

Defo won't be putting a Race on!

[alpini]

ronan. i'm ronan also! and i don't live far from omagh...!

got my last coupe tinted with pentagon in lisburn (back window and back side windows). they do really professional job but they insisted that the back window must be replaced because they have tried to apply film and the curvature does not allow for smooth finish. total cost to me was about £600 - job was great.

have changed my coupe to new one that comes with factory tint - but possibly gona contact pentagon to do front windows now!

you live IN omagh? good to hear from someone local!

ronan

[alpini]

Originally Posted by big pimp

ronan - were you and I not PM'ing about this?
I recommended Pentagon in Lisburn, as they do the tinting for David Prentice where I bought my car, and they pretty much matched it perfectly.

sorry to hear you've had a bad experience. for reference, tint comes off easily enough if it is well heated first...

no that was me - i'm ronan also! lol!

[MO_1]

Does the thing with the dots effect all E9x Or is it just e92? As i was going to have my e90 done

[big pimp]

Originally Posted by alpini

no that was me - i'm ronan also! lol!

lol - i knew it was you dude - thought you lost your username or something and just re-registered!

[Carrera RSR]

Originally Posted by MO_1

Does the thing with the dots effect all E9x Or is it just e92? As i was going to have my e90 done

Many brands get affected by this. The black dots which look good when the glass is not tinted ruins a good tint job. All E9x's are affected. What also makes it look worse is the rear screen heating elements. The only way to get the best job is parking the car in the sun, this week is good!, and when the glass gets hot keep pushing the film into the dots and heater elements. The more you do it the better it gets. It will never be 'factory' but a good job can be attained. I've tinted the glass in my previous V50 and E91 M Sport all round, the rears being darker around 45-50%, and the fronts were light smoke at around 35%. The current car I ordered factory sun protection glass and just got the fronts done but again lighter than the rear glass. I've done around 40k miles a year in the last three cars over the last 6 years with no interest from the rozzers for having the front glass tinted. Here are the last three to get an idea

PS I'm Ronan

[bigfriendlyg]

I had my e90 done and yes the dot matrix is visiably and it does leave marks..... IMO its not a big deal its only noticed if pointed out... I wouldnt not buy a car if it didnt have factory tint and i would tint again even with a dot matrix....