Car Window Tinting North Carolina
Legal Car Tinting Services

Top Edge Tinting, a car window tinting shop in Cary, North Carolina, offers 29 years of automobile tinting experience.

What is Window Tinting Anyway?

Window Tinting is a polyester based film that is intended to be applied to glass. There are many types, shades and brands to meet a wide range of requirements. Specific to cars, window film, reduces heat build-up inside, reduces glare from headlights and the sun, and blocks UV Rays helping to reduce the chances of skin cancer. *Window film is endorsed by the Skin Cancer Foundation. Other benefits include added privacy and, of course, it looks great!

For homes and offices, in addition to everything mentioned above, Top Edge offers other solutions such as; Solar Films, Frost films, Anti-Graffiti protection, decorative, bird safety films, Blast protection, energy savings and more.

How Is Car Window Tint Applied?

The process can be described in a few steps, however as easy as it may sound look paper it is rather difficult. Each car has its own unique challenge.

Step 1: Clean the glass perfectly inside and out
Step 2: Cut the film to the exact size and of the window
Step 3: Shape/contour the film to match any curvatures
Step 4: Apply the film to the inside of the window
Step 5: Squeegee all the water out from underneath the film
Step 6: Heat the edges with a heat gun
Step 7: Wipe down any excess water drips
Step 8: Do a final inspection before delivering the car

Easy right? Lol Anyone who has tried will surely tell you it’s not.

Top 7 Reasons Why You Need Car Window Tinting in North Carolina?

It looks great!
Factory Match the Back Windows – On trucks, suv’s and Jeeps with factory rear tint many people tint the front windows to match the back windows.
Privacy – some people don’t want to be seen in their car however more commonly privacy tint is about protecting babies and tools and such from easily being seen.
Comfort – Depending on the film you choose tint can block up to 97% of IR heat and 70% of overall heat.
UV Protection – We all know about the harmful effects of UV rays on our skin and our children’s skin. Unless you are diligent in applying sunscreen every time you get in your car window tinting is a great option, as it blocks 99% of UVA&B rays.
Glare Reduction – Whether from the sun or oncoming headlights glare can interfere with your ability to see while driving. Window film helps this need. When it comes to glare the darker the film the better protection. *However there are laws dictating the limit of darkness allowed, more on that later.
Safety – Window film tends to hold broken glass together. If for any unfortunate reason your glass is shattered it normally stays held together by the film.

Below are the Xpel film Specifications

VLT = The amount of light allowed into the car. *The lower the number the darker the film will be

TSER= Amount of heat rejection

IR= Infra-Red heat rejected

Prime Cs Carbon	VLT	TSER	IR	UV	glare reduction

	45%	29%	34%	99%	45%
NC State Legal	35%	36%	27%	99%	62%
	20%	42%	27%	99%	78%
	15%	41%	27%	99%	82%
	5%	45%	28%	99%	95%

PRIME XR CERAMIC	VLT	TSER	IR	UV	GLARE REDUCTION
Popular for windshields	80%	42%	78%	99%	14%
	70%	49%	88%	99%	27%
	55%	50%	83%	99%	41%
	45%	52%	83%	99%	50%
NC State darkest legal	35%	59%	84%	99%	60%
	20%	64%	85%	99%	78%
Privacy dark film	15%	55%	85%	99%	83%

	VLT	TSER	IR	UV	GLARE REDUCTION
Xpel Prime Carbon Series
	45%	29%	34%	99%	45%
NC State Legal	35%	36%	27%	99%	62%
	20%	42%	27%	99%	78%
	15%	41%	27%	99%	82%
	5%	45%	28%	99%	95%

PRIME XR CERAMIC	VLT	TSER	IR	UV	GLARE REDUCTION
Popular for windshields	80%	42%	78%	99%	14%
	70%	49%	88%	99%	27%
	55%	50%	83%	99%	41%
	45%	52%	83%	99%	50%
NC State darkest legal	35%	59%	84%	99%	60%
	20%	64%	85%	99%	78%
Privacy dark film	15%	55%	85%	99%	83%

Prime XR + Ceramic	VLT	TSER	IR	UV	Glare Reduction

Popular for winshields	70%	52%	93%	99%	27%
	55%	53%	97%	99%	37%
	45%	58%	97%	99%	58%
NC State legal Most Popular**	35%	59%	97%	99%	58%
	20%	66%	97%	99%	80%
Privacy dark film	15%	69%	97%	99%	88%

	VLT	TSER	IR (750-1000)	IR (900-1700)	UV	glare reduction
Carbon
*NC State legal	45%	29%	34%	26%	99%	45%
	35%	36%	27%	26%	99%	62%
	20%	42%	27%	26%	99%	78%
	15%	41%	27%	26%	99%	82%
	5%

	VLT	TSER	IR (750-1000)	IR (900-1700)	UV	glare reduction
CXP
*Most Popular	45%	50%	54%	76%	99%	47%
	35%	53%	55%	79%	99%	60%
	25%	52%	49%	70%	99%	73%
	18%	55%	52%	73%	99%	80%

Types & Brands of Film

There is no shortage of brands these days, and new ones popping up all the time. I’m going to discuss the major brand manufacturers only today. The largest players are; Eastman Chemical which makes (Llumar and Sun Tek), 3M and Xpel. All four of them are publicly traded companies that are well established. I’ll give an honorable mention to Saint Gobain who makes Solar Guard and a small newcomer Nano-Flex, they are making some waves on social media. Each manufacturer offers a full range of quality and shading levels for both automotive and commercial applications. See the chart below showing a performance specification comparison of a popular shade in both the ceramic and ceramic premium qualities for each brand. *Specs info found on each manufacturers website. They all perform very well, but there are some differences within each comparable quality level.

Top Competitor Film Specs Comparison

	VLT	TSER	IR (750-1000)	IR (900-1700)	UV	glare reduction
Ceramic Premium
XPEL XR Plus	45%	58%	97%	97%	99%	50%
Llumar Stratus	40%	57%	67%	97%	99%	52%
3M Crystalline	40%	60%	–	97%	99%	55%
Sun Tek	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

	VLT	TSER	IR (750-1000)	IR (900-1700)	UV	glare reduction
Ceramic
XPEL XR	45%	52%	83%	83%	99%	51%
Llumar Pinnacle	43%	50%	61%	88%	99%	51%
3M IR	40%	53%	61%	81%	99%	49%
Sun Tek CIR	40%	53%	58%	83%	99%	52%

	VLT	TSER	IR (750-1000)	IR (900-1700)	UV	glare reduction
Popular for Windshields
XR Blue	80%	42%	78%	77%	99%	14%
Sun Tek CIR	80%	42%	59%	84%	99%	13%
Llumar Air blue	80%	43%	60%	86%	99%	13%
Xpel XR +	70%	52%	92%	94%	99%	27%
3M Crystalline	70%	50%	97%	97%	99%	22%

How Much Does it Cost to Tint Your Car Here in North Carolina?

Good question, one price doesn’t fit all cars. As you read there are many factors such as film type and your model car installation difficulty level. I can give you some general ranges but for an exact price I would need to know which type of car you need worked on. As a guideline tinting two front doors only (like on a suv to match the back) range $120. – $200.00. A full car (consists of all side windows and the rear window) range $250.00 – $475.00 these are the two most common jobs we get asked to do. For additional job types please see the booking section of our site or call / text us at 919.922.8858.

The Bottom Line

How are you supposed to decide where to go and what to choose? Great question. In my experience the most important factor in getting a great window tinting installation is choosing a reputable shop you trust. Peace of mind has great value. In this case entrusting someone to help you choose the best film for your needs, both the film quality level and the darkness. Confidence in the shop to work on your car, offer a fair price, and of course to do a great job installing the film. There is no substitute for experience. Film installation quality will make the greatest visual impact and last longer, more so then the brand choice. Nothing looks better than a perfect installation, free from defects and imperfections; seamless one-piece back windows and clean top edges on the doors.

Car Window Tinting North Carolina Legal Car Tinting Services