E320Star

Hello,

Yesterday I had my windows tinted on my E320 2000 model. The tint was 35% which the legal tint in Kansas City and actually looks great since my car is black on Black making even darker than 35%. I had them install the High perfromace tint. I nboticed after I took it the glass when driving is fuzzy and and somewhat has a glare. I called them, they told me becuase it is High Perfromace, the fuzziness will go away after 30 days when the tint fully cures, is this true? Thank you.

45acp

in the first 18 hours after i had my tints done, there were bubbles about 1/2 inch wide all over on every window that was tinted. this is somewhat normal as it will cure after acouple of days. parking it in direct sunlight helps too.

Blackbeard

It's normal. If you still have any bubbles after a few days bring the car back to them and they'll smooth them out for you.

Also, the inner window gasket on the 210s is VERY snug for sound proofing purposes. It is also bare rubber which can lead to scratched tint if dirt, dust, etc gets trapped in between the tint and the gasket.

I'd recommend adding a lining of felt or other soft material like moleskin to the rubber gasket in order to prevent scratching. It's a common problem on these cars --- do a search for scratched tint or moleskin and you'll find a wealth of information.

Good Luck

Musikmann

I've never heard of high performance tint, but it and your color combination sound nice.

I also experienced some bubbling in the tint for a couple of days. I was told that this is normal and to expect it; and also to not open the windows for 48 hours.

E320Star

Thank you all. Sure thing all issues went away after i parked in the sun. Now day three. Looks a lot better than day1. Looks like I will have to take it back tomorrow to redo the front driver side. There is a scratch. They will have to re-do it for free.

However, I am concerned about the problem with rolling down the window may cause a scratch !! how true is that? anyone experienced this issue?

Note: High performance Tinting (HP) is thicker and somewhat hard to install due to it's thickness. It takes about 30 to 60 days to fully cure. Not suppose to roll down the window for 4-5 days. It lasts longer and scratch resistant after it fully cures. The best thing about it, is that it has life time warrantee. It costs $40 extra. Total job so far + tax + HP tint = 185+40(hp)+tax=$240.

Thanks

OliBenz

You guys are lucky you can tint your windows on your benz, here in California it's illegal to tint the two front driver and passenger side windows. If I'm going to tint my car I would like to tint all the windows (except the windshield), tinting just the back windows just doesn't look right, so I don't even bother getting my windows tinted, wish I could. I already got a fix it ticket for my other car because my front side windows were tinted.

lexrex

Technically, California allows 70% "tint" on the front door windows... Not that 70% really qualifies as tint...

Musikmann

I'm no expert here, but I had no problem with my '98 E430 scratching the tint. The contributor who mentioned that has a different Benz though.

One thing you might be cautious of: Something about the window regulators(?) in the W210 E-class are prone to break. I've seen one guy advise that you should NEVER open the windows

Musikmann

Thanks for the info E320Star. For what this is worth, the place that tinted my Benz gives you a lifetime warranty on all of their tint jobs. Whatever they used on mine was only about $125. I thought their work was superior.

I'm going to stop by there and I'll ask them about the HP this week. Partly because I just traded my tinted MB for one without, and might do it again.

kenstudios

The window regulators go bad when tinting water (usualy soapy water) gets in there and make them wet. Water and electric current cant go together. Once fully dry you can roll windows down however way you please.
High Performance tint????? Thats new. Tint is measured by how much light and heat penetrates through and also the scratch resistance of the tint. The higher the percentage, the more light penetrates. HP is just to make it sound foreign. Also true about those rubber seals. Over time they will scratch your tint.

E320Star

Tinting does not damage anything in the window regulators !! They do break easily becuase they are made out of plastic AND IT tends to crack after 5-6 yrs of use. i HAD BOTH rear windows replaced under warrantee right after i bought the car and it was not tinted at that time.

E320Star

Rolled down my windows, no issues. If rolling down the windo causes scrathcs, then u got something wrong in your window to begin with.

Blackbeard

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210...w-tinting.html

cragigotgame

Wait 6 months

cragigotgame

I gotta redo mine, scratches all over.

kenstudios

MB puts those window seals tight to prevent vibration and help kill noise. Over time that tight fit rubs on that film and you'll start seeing signs of scratches. If your seals are not scratching withing a year, you need to get your seals checked coz they would be loose. Time will tell.

E320Star

Naaah I doubt thsi will happen... The tint once it completely dries, there is no way it will scratch unless u use nails !!! Besides, I do have a life time warrantte on th tint job written on the receipt... Worry free is the key to enjoy your MB ..

galleryvw

unless your seals already have felt - it will happen. check your warranty for coverage on scratches.

what happens is you get little tiny pebbles or sand between the seal and your tint - and it draws a cute little line all the way up your tint job until it gets dislodged. i was fine for a couple months, until i was on a dusty road - then the next time i openend and closed the windows i had lines. the sad thing is i was aware of the problem, and even had the felt strips sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. i have since put them in, and have no more lines. it's about a 15-20 minute job to install on each window. - so the whole job is about 1.25 hours and 3 beers.

E320Star

6 months now. no scratches on the tint. No issues what so ever so far.

RickyE430

1 year on, scratches on every window

E320Star

doubt it !! Just becuase of a prev. incedent u or someone else had, does not mean it will happen on all !! No issues no scratches no nothing..

kevins e55

best way to do it is yourself i did mine only had 1 problem because i got 1 hair in the back window but if you take out the windows you get the best tint job possible and no1 around here does that do i had to do it

raymond g-

this issue with moleskin is one of those gospel things in MB land in which I remain
unconvinced one way or the other. it is as if one argues correlation as cause
when in fact, there are other factors such as environmental, cleaning habits, etc which enter into the picture.

fact is that the factory window seal/wipes are not just hard, they are rubber
hard and it's tight...making it difficult for grit to really get between the tint and
the seal. eventually, it may...and when it does, your tint pays the price.

on the flip side, say one puts moleskin on their window seal. if you've looked at
moleskin, it is a fabric with a pile...or weave. its texture makes it even more
susceptable to grit holding, though it is softer and kinder to the tint film if it is
clean.

so I've not seen emperical testing of moleskin vs factory seal performed in
such a way that is compelling other than our parroting previous beliefs and
opinions. both conditions are argueably correct and both have merit. but
in real life conditions....i'm not swayed one way or the other.

fortunately, moleskin roll can be had cheap at my local REI and the mod takes
less than one CD worth of music to pass the time if one were to undertake
this chore.

I can tell you that 3 yrs and no moleskin in the 99....the tint looks brand new.
but hey...guess what? on the 00 E320 *with* moleskin, the tint looks brand
new. both were installed within a week of each other. both share equal
commute hours and driving conditions. but (!)......both also get nice, careful
TLC during cleaning. grit isn't likely to build up as much. hmmm, maybe
there's something to this thing called 'cleaning' eh?

JKA

raymond g- has tinted the correct.