car tints + plexi + % of tint

[Rom]

I'm looking at getting some car tinting film to put on the plexi but am not sure what percentage tint to go with. Any suggestions?

"Why not get tinted plexi?" The answer is that my cabinet is a bit different from the norm and I'm wanting a clear border with the tint just covering the screen.

[DrewKaree]

Prolly a 5% is fine.  

1) It'll be readily available in case you need to fix it
2) It's not TOO dark to see through
3) I believe the gold (bronze?) comes in that %

See other threads concerning bronze tinted plexi for why you might want it.  In my experience with prescription sunglasses, a brownish tint helped to give a clearer view and clean up what I see.

Limo tint is unusable, 50% will make you adjust contrast and brightness so much as to make that % a waste of your time, 25% and below.....if you can find a scrap of it somewhere to test out, great, otherwise, I'm going with my initial recommendation.

[Rom]

Is 5% good enough that you can't see the bezel? I don't want to go through the hassle of making one.

[DrewKaree]

I'm REEEAAALLY not understanding you now.  In your original post, you said you wanted the tint to cover the screen, with a clear border all around it.  Going by that description, the bezel wouldn't even come into play.

Please post more exact information regarding what specifically you are looking for.  You just threw me for a complete loop there.  

If you are in the U.S., you can check out the automotive section @ Wal-Mart and compare all the tints side by side.  They DO sell a cling-type that is way dark, but again, without more specifics, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend something.

[Rom]

Here's a sketch of what I'm aiming at so you can see what I have in mind.

[RandyT]

What percentage of transmission you need will depend on the effect you are looking for.  

If you go dark enough, the bezel becomes unnecessary, plus gives you the benefit of hiding the actual orientation of the monitor regardless of the orientation of the game.

The auto tint will work, but there are a few problems.  Unless you are really good with that stuff, bubbles and poor uniformity will be a problem.  But perhaps a bigger problem will be the color cast.  Some of the tint has a purplish cast to it that will probably be disturbing and difficult to adjust for.

Now for transmission percentages.

The dark gray smoke plexi that I originally suggested for use measures between 14% and 16% in the visible spectrum (I have the proper instrument and checked it.)  BTW, the transmission does not appear to be affected by thickness.  It appears that the formulation of the acrylic is altered to give the same specs regardless of material thickness.

The lighter shade is somewhere around 40%, but you will need a bezel if you use this stuff.

The automotive tint has it printed on the box, and comes in a number of shades and colors.  But a dark smoke or "limo" tint at around 20% will probably be a good solution if you decide to go that route.

Good Luck!

RandyT

[DrewKaree]

I would go with Randy's suggestions (since he said he measured the light transmission)

Window tint isn't that hard to apply.  I've never had an issue with appying it, as I had to install decals in restaurant windows often, and did three cars, as well.  I NEVER got a bubble, as long as I followed some simple instructions.

1 - Find a spray bottle.  Fill it with COLD water (cold water will cut down on some of the bubbles in your mix).  Add about a TABLEspoon of dishwashing liquid.  Shake to mix

2 - Spray the HECK outta the material you're looking to apply to, and peel a section of the backing away....put the material on and start.

3 - Continue to pull the backing away as you hold/place/move your tint into the position you want.  If   the tint is moving reluctantly AT ALL, spray more mix underneath until it does.  

4 - Once your tint is in place, find a tool to smooth any bubbles to the edge of the tint and off your material.  They make tools to do this, but you really don't need anything other than a plain ol credit card.  

Now that you've found a tool, spray the heck out of the side of the tint that you will be using the tool on.  Start smoothing.  Again, any reluctance at all, add more spray.  Continue to do this until the bubbles are gone

5 - Get a BRAND SPANKING NEW razor blade.  They're so cheap that you'd be a complete fool to use anything else.  Even an "I've only used it once" blade might have something stuck on it that could screw up your new tint job.  You'd hate to find that out around the time it starts to peel up and tear your tint in the area you want it to STICK on!

Trim the tint from the areas you don't want to have tinted.  Spray the whole tinted area one last time and go over it with the credit card lightly to finish the edges off

Doing the three cars using this method, I've NEVER had that ghetto bubbles-in-the-middle look or the stupid double-overlay stripes.  Using this method allows you ample "open" time to work with the material, and if you need more time, just add more spray.

The stuff is cheap.  If you don't like the tint % you bought, peel it off and pick a different %.  Start with Randy's 20% suggestion and go from there.

[Rom]

Thanks for the replies. Would of been easier to go with a tinted plexi but like eveything with my cabinet I've had to be different.

[Vol]

One thing of note:  Automotive film tint is usually designated with the percentage of light transfered through it.  So 5% tint would only allow 5% of the light to transfer through and will be much darker than 25% tint.

[screaming]

But perhaps a bigger problem will be the color cast.  Some of the tint has a purplish cast to it that will probably be disturbing and difficult to adjust for.

  Any brand recommendations?

/Steve

[DrewKaree]

screaming, all I've ever used is the stuff I found in Wal-Mart.  Don't know the brand name, but they've never carried anything other than what you should find there now.

As to:
"...Automotive film tint is usually designated with the percentage of light transfered through it.  So 5% tint would only allow 5% of the light to transfer through and will be much darker than 25% tint."

mebbe it's just Wal-Mart's way of doing things, but the stuff I used was just the reverse.  The % referred to the amount  of light blocked, i.e. 5% was a really light tint, while 50% approached what I'd consider limo tint.

USUALLY, the auto tint will have a little scrap on the outside of the box to give you an example of the material.  Just look for that and go by that.    It's a more reliable indicator of what the stuff is than us telling you "this brand is this way, that brand is that way, blah blah blah"

[RandyT]

But perhaps a bigger problem will be the color cast.  Some of the tint has a purplish cast to it that will probably be disturbing and difficult to adjust for.

  Any brand recommendations?

/Steve

Not really.  To be honest, I don't recommend this route as the actual acrylic is by far a better solution.

But if you need to go down this road, be sure to pop the package open and look at a white light through it (regular store lights are fine).  If you can perceive any vivid color, you might want to shop around some more.  You are looking for something as color neutral (gray) as possible.  Whether this can be found in automotive tint, may be the ultimate question.

RandyT

[screaming]

Not really.  To be honest, I don't recommend this route as the actual acrylic is by far a better solution.

But if you need to go down this road, be sure to pop the package open and look at a white light through it (regular store lights are fine).  If you can perceive any vivid color, you might want to shop around some more.  You are looking for something as color neutral (gray) as possible.  Whether this can be found in automotive tint, may be the ultimate question.

RandyT

  Yeah I'm seriously considering some tinted plexi, I just don't know how much I need (or want) to invest in it.  I already have to drill two holes in my monitor bezel and I'm looking at a third. I want to hide as much of the swiss cheese as possible

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll be shopping around..

/Steve