Do you know the story of how window tinting first made its debut? It may be a common service now-a-days for your vehicle, but that wasn’t always the case. Whether you’re enhancing the new car you just purchased or sprucing up your old ride, automotive window tinting is a fairly new technology.
The first instance of window tinting that was recorded was around the time of World War 2 and the surrounding years. One of the most popular tinting manufacturers was called EZ Eye factory tint. This kind of tint was found occasionally on the ’40 Mercury Romango from Detroit, or a few years later, the ’58 Chevy Impala.
A few brave souls took a stab at DIY (Do it yourself) tinting jobs from home, using spray on tint. However, this often produced a rather dark and uneven tint. So when window tint became available professionally in 1966, this changed the game. After all, this was still during the time when you couldn’t tint the windows of an already-purchased car. The only way to get it was from a newly manufactured vehicle straight from the dealership.
The first film started out as “dye-based”, which had disappointing heat rejection. This meant that it would absorb heat to the interior of the vehicle rather than reflecting it away. It also had a poor lifespan, was known to turn a shade of purple and break out into bubbles over time. In the early 90’s, a second generation of window tint was created out of metal integrated with dye. The combination of heat-absorbing dye and heat-reflecting metallic particles made for a fifty percent reduction in heat. This was a major improvement from a few years earlier. However, a major drawback of the new version of tint was that it would occasionally interfere with the electronic devices in the car, such as the radio and GPS.
The latest additions to the window tinting industry are the top of the line ceramic films. They are able to last a lifetime, reflect UV rays and solar heat, and do not interfere with electronics inside the car. If you are in the Melbourne or Vero Beach area and are interested in getting on board with this improved technology, check out our website or stop by Solar Solutions today.