I know nothing about tinting, but found a Huper Optik dealer in NYC that will tint my Sunroof for 100 bucks. He mentioned something about 45,35, and 60% shades.What does that mean? Which shade is lighter? I am guessing 35% right?

 

The percentage refers to the amount of light it allows to pass so 35% would be the darkest. Huper Optik comes in 60,50,40, and 30%. I just got all my windows tinted in NYC by Tom of ArtofTint. 60% windshield, 50% all round, and 40% for the sunroof.

 

thanks for the reply. For my sunroof, I would want the lightest. I dont want to block all the light, I just want to cool my car down a little bit, plus block some UV rays. would 60% make my car dark? is that the lightest I can get?

oh and Artoftint is where I'm gonna go! How was the experience? DId it take long and can I drive my car away as soon as it's done?

 

Haha, Tom did my car as well (second car he's done for me), he's one of the best tinters in the country, and the only certified Huper Optik installer in NYC that I know of. I had mine done in Ceramic 30 all around, nothing on the sunroof though.

It takes about 2 hours to do all the windows so I bet it would only take an hour to do the sunroofs, yes you can drive away as soon as its done.

 

I read a bit about Huper Optik tints when I was shopping for window tint for my Mini. Per Huper's website, the shades of ceramic they have are 60, 50, 40, 30, and 20 (I think they recently added the 20 as I don't remember them having that before). And just so you know, with Huper Ceramic tints the actual light transmittance percentages are slightly different than the name indicates. For example the Huper Ceramic 30 is actually 34% light transmittance, per the specs they posted.

Anyway, in answer to your question, the lightest ceramic Huper makes is the Huper Ceramic 60 (the higher the % light transmittance number the lighter the tint). Here is Huper's webpage where they list the specifications for each one:

http://www.huperoptik.com/CeramicCompare.asp

The Huper Ceramic 60 looks good as far as the specifications go. Visible light transmission is 58%, it'll block 99% of UV, and it rejects 42% of solar energy. If you're considering some other kind of tint you can compare the specs and see which does better (my money is on the Huper Ceramic tint). If my local tint shop had had the 60 I would've gotten it on my sunroof, but they only had the Huper Ceramic 30 so I got the side windows done but not the sunroof (got a sunshade instead).

 

I appreciate all the help. You guys helped me a lot. I'm thinking of tinting my whole care with the Huper Ceramic tint at 60%. I don't want it to be that dark, but I want something to block the UV rays.

 

Interesting thread... couple comments..

Concerning the Corvette transparent roofs and tinting and exploding glass...they are made of polycarbonate and not glass so really does not compare.

Concerning UV... I ran this over on the Corvette Forum (I have a C6 and
ZR-1) and thought I would do the same for the MINI...first the Vette post since it has some background:

[FONT=Verdana]There was a prior discussion about how much UV light wavelength was filtered (if any) by the transparent top. This question was put in the context of heat gain in the interior and to the 'sun burning' effects of those who are somewhat 'hair challenged'. First the issue of the effects of light (ranging from natural sunlight to incandescent light to fluorescent light) is very complex and can fill volumes. I have taught courses in museum (curatorial) studies dealing with control of light (lumens to UV and everything in-between) due the detrimental effects of light on museum collections (as in fading to total failure of material (like a simple term of ‘light induced rotting’) So my point…for all you science and google types… I am ONLY addressing the one question that came forth in the earlier post… ‘Does the transparent top filter out UV??’

Control of ultraviolet light is relatively straightforward. The standard limit for UV for preservation is 75 µW/l Any light source with a higher UV emission must be filtered. Control of visible light is obviously more problematic. It is essential to understand that light damage is cumulative, and that lower levels of illumination will mean less damage over the long term. Here is the standard I am using (the optimal standard to conservation of historic collections…which are a hell of more fragile issue that modern car interiors and our heads): 75 microwatts or less…and of course pure darkness is best). So here is the test:

Testing device:
The weapon of choice for museums is the Crawford Type 760+ series UV monitor

Test conditions:
Cloudy Bright; 88 deg F
Full Sun; 88 deg F
Test outside car with meter at 90 deg to sky
Test inside car thru transparent top with meter 90 deg to sky

Test One
Cloudy Bright (no direct sun but filtered thru clouds)
Reading outside: 850 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top: 75 µW/l[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]
Test Two
Full Sun
Reading outside: 850 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top: 75 µW/l

So yes the C6 transparent top does an excellent ‘to museum standards’ of controlling UV penetration into the interior of the cabin. Heat gain?? That is another subject with another analysis to come…remember the original question was UV light source.

Bit of commentary..Why museum standards note t[/FONT]he limit set at 75...not very scientific... because that is what ordinary incandescent lamps produce. In comparison, general (as in office setting) fluorescent is 40-250 and tungsten-halogen incandescent 130 UV mircrowatts per lumen.

Now to the MINI sun roof test (UV only... my thermal gain analysis was to be today but guess what.. total clouds and periods of rain..so will save that for another day).

Testing device:
Crawford Type 760+ series UV monitor

Test conditions:
Cloudy Bright; 92 deg F
Full Sun; 92 deg F
Test outside car with meter at 90 deg to sky
Test inside car thru transparent top with meter 90 deg to sky

Test One
Cloudy Bright (no direct sun but filtered thru clouds…and to debunk a myth… cloudy skies do NOT have less less UV effects (as in “sun” burn causative agents) than sunny sky..in fact cloudy bright skies can have 200+% more UV than a sunny sky
Reading outside: 650 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top: 200 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top w/ shade closed: 200 µW/l

Test Two
Full Sun; 92 deg F
Reading outside: 550 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top: 225 µW/l
Reading inside thru transparent top w/ shade closed: 225 µW/l

Although this is a very simple test that does not take into account as to position of the sun or time of year, it can suggest a few conclusions:

-The MINI sun roof (trans top) effectively eliminates about (ave) 63% of the UV rays passing into the interior
-Sun shade open or closed has no effect on UV reading thus is a 'shade for thermal reduction' only (which is good )
-If you work in an office environment with your average fluorescent light fixtures you are getting about 200 µW/l over a much longer period of time than most spend in the MINI driving about... so you need to start using sunblock in the office

So the MINI sun roof does a very good job in reducing UV... could it do better? Sure... the C6 roof does a much better job and maybe the addition of tint will help. But that is for another test
Michael

 

5% limo black tint on the sunroof about a year ago. Really cut down on the heat and glare and still sllows one to look up and see the sky and clouds and SUN and moon and whatever else is flying by.

Go for it.

 

yeah If the regular sunroof gets rid of 68% UV and the Tint will filter 99%, I'll go with the tint. Thanks for all the stats and tests though.

 

I've done the limo tint (5% light transmittance) on the sunroof in my past automobiles without any problem. My Mini dealer said to go ahead and tint the sunroof. She laughed at the notion that the tint might cause the sunroof to break or crack. So it's off to the tinter I go next week.

Good luck.

 

Windshield tinting is legal in your state???

 

No it's not in NY. He is most likely referring to the front strip on the windshield which depending on who you ask can be 6" or to the marked line on the front windshield or the length of a dollar bill. Like I said depends on who you ask.

 

No comment.

I will comment on the idea of tinting the whole windshield. It's like wearing high-quality sunglasses. Even helps at night with the glare of lights. 60% is not that dark and most passengers don't notice.

 

I'm getting my mini tinted next week and was wondering what % to get. I was thinking 20% sunroof and 35% all around. 35% all around because cops in NJ harrass. For those of you that went 5% sunroof, what do you like about 5%, is it not too dark? And for those that went 20% are you happy with it, or do you wish you went darker? I was thinking 20 on the sunroof cause i figured making it too dark defeats the purpose of the sunroof. What are all of your thoughts?

 

5% is not too dark. If anything, I wish it I could get it a little darker, since I live in Atlanta and the summer sun is just way too powerful. I also had 5% on my RSX when I lived in California. 5% is the way to go for moonroofs IMHO.

 

I don't mind 5% during the day, but at night (especially while it's raining), it's too dark for me. I didn't even like the 20% on the rear window of my old car.

Basically, if something didn't have lights on it, I hard a hard time seeing it through the film after dusk.

 

I also have 5% on my sunroof and wish it could even be darker. You have to remember that the sun is shining from above 70% of the day so it hits from any angle. My father did 20% on his sunroof and it still burns his scalp from time to time. (he has some baldness ).

I don't know where in NJ you are but in Bergen they don't seem to bother anyone unless you are driving recklessly.

They have even cleaned up their act of targeting African Americans.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/ny...06monitor.html)

 

What kind of tint did your father have? I have Huper Optik 40% on my sunroof. It has 61% total solar energy rejection, 80% infrared light rejection, and with >99% UV rejection, there should be no way my future bald head will get a sunburn. It's pricey, though.

 

I don't remember if we went 3M or lumar. Either way I bought him a Mini hat.

 

Don't tint, just get a sunroof shade. It's inexpensive and you can easily remove it. I picked up my second Zippee Shade at AMVIV 6 this year in vegas from the Zippee Gear booth, for my wifes R55 Clubman. She's extremely happy with it. I think their website is zippeegear.com, go check it out. thats my 2 cents. ttyl

 

Do a search either here or just try and google it. I saw that there is a removable sun shade product out there for the sunroof.

here is what a quick google search turned up:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Sunro...QQcmdZViewItem
I'm sure these guys have a web site as well