Sunroof Tinting Myths
Tinting your sunroof might be the best decision you make this summer.
People talk a lot about using window tint for protection against solar radiation – in fact, we’ve written articles about it in the past. Despite the growing awareness that it’s important to keep yourself and your occupant protected while driving, many people overlook tinting the sunroof. Imagine someone gets a full set of Autobahn window tints on their vehicle, but neglects the sunroof – they will certainly benefit from protection from solar radiation and enjoy newfound comfort from unbearable solar heat gain, but they are missing out on protection from the sun when it’s directly overhead.
Tinting the sunroof is vital for those interested in full protection for themselves and the interior of their car. And don’t worry, applying a powerful tint to your sunroof won’t stop you from being able to see out or from enjoying the “open air” feeling of your vehicle’s interior, all that you’ll notice is a more consistent interior climate, and less solar damage.
There are lots of misconception floating around about sunroof tinting. Read on to learn more about some of the more pervasive myths.
Myth #1: Tinting your sunroof is easy and makes a great DIY project.
Truth: This is blatantly false, for several reasons. The installation process of a sunroof window tint is actually much more difficult than installing on side windows, because of the orientation of the sunroof. Sunroof tinting should only be attempted by relatively serious installers.
The other problem is the types of films that are available for DIY installation. Simply put, the tints that you can buy in an autocrats store or online are different than the tints used by a professional shop. DIY tints are optimized for ease-of-installation, rather than performance. If you want a premium result and you want it done right the first time, it makes sense to go to the pros.
Myth #2: Tints can cause exploding sunroofs.
Truth: Some people claim that tints increase the thermal load on the glass and can cause breakage due to thermal expansion. This is false, because most random sunroof failures occur due to errors in manufacturing (read more detail on exploding sunroofs right here). Due to their orientation, sunroofs are actually designed to withstand more heat than your side windows and a layer of film will not push them out of their comfort zones.
The myth that tints will cause your sunroof to randomly explode are pure sensationalism, and shouldn’t dissuade you from getting all the benefits that come with a tinted sunroof.
Myth #3: When it comes to window tint, the cheap stuff is fine.
Truth: We alluded to this earlier, but will go into more depth here. When you think about it, we ask a lot from our window tint. Tint needs to block UVA and UVB radiation, reject solar heat, not interrupt our visibility, look good, maintain appearance and performance for years, and not cost a fortune.
The only way to get all these aspects out of a tint is to trust a brand that has built its reputation on the reliability and performance of its products, and to trust installers that have been doing it successfully for decades.
Trust the Local Experts
Getting the perfect tint job isn’t actually that difficult – all you need to do is talk to the folks that have been doing perfect jobs for over 20 years. On Southern Vancouver Island, that means Diversity Auto Films. Check out our services page to get acquainted with what we offer, or just send us a message – we’re always happy to chat.