Mobile Window Tinting in Downtown San Diego

Every package lets you choose a shade, measured as VLT, or Visible Light Transmission: the share of visible light the film lets through. 70% is very light, 5% is limousine dark. The strip above shows the five shades side by side.

California sets this rule statewide, so it applies downtown exactly as it does anywhere else. Front side windows must let at least 70% of visible light through. Rear side windows and the rear windshield can be any shade you like.

Is a 35% tint legal in California?

On the back, yes. A 35% film is legal on the rear side windows and rear windshield and is a popular privacy choice, which is worth something on a car that street-parks in a busy neighbourhood. It is not legal on the front two side windows, which are held to 70%. Anyone offering to fit 35% up front is quoting you a fix-it ticket.

On heat, darkness is not the deciding factor. A 70% Apex Ultra ceramic film rejects far more heat than a dark carbon film, because the ceramic particles do the work rather than the shade.

We will settle the combination with you before anything goes on the glass.

We come to you, and downtown that usually means your building's parking structure. It is close to an ideal working environment: covered, out of the wind, no dust and no direct sun on the glass. Two things are worth checking before the day, though. Structures have height limits, so we need to know we can get the van in or park it nearby, and most buildings want visitors cleared in advance.

We also need enough room around the car to open every door, which in a tight stall can mean moving it to a visitor bay or an end space for the appointment. If you tell us the building when you book, we can usually work it out in advance rather than on arrival.

The C2 Carbon film is the exception: in-shop only, both as the Bronze full-car tier and as the front-window option, fitted at our San Marcos shop.

What the appointment looks like

We are out seven days a week, 7am to 7pm, covering the Gaslamp, East Village, Little Italy, the Marina district and the blocks around them. Your technician texts on the way and again when the car is finished.

A full-car tint is normally a half-day job.

After we leave

Keep the windows up for three days while the film cures. Haze, small bubbles or trapped moisture is normal at first and clears on its own, usually within one to two weeks. A car kept in a dry structure rather than out in the damp tends to be at the quicker end of that.