coupe
$249*
Carbon and ceramic film, fitted on your driveway
We install window tint at your place in Tierra Santa, not ours.
Tint is not only about how the car looks. The right film cuts the heat that builds in a parked car, takes the glare out of a commute and keeps UV off your seats and dash. Sitting up on the mesa between the 15 and the 52, this neighbourhood is inland enough that the marine layer is long gone by mid-morning and the sun is on the car for the rest of the day.
We fit carbon and ceramic films, from a straightforward carbon tint up to Apex Ultra ceramic at 95% heat rejection, and we will tell you honestly which one is worth the difference for how you actually drive. Every package, price and coverage diagram is set out on this page, so you can decide before you call.
Film needs a clean, covered space to go on well, so a garage or carport is ideal. Our technicians are licensed and fully insured. Family-run since 1994, rated 5.0 across more than 1,000 five-star reviews on Google, Yelp and Facebook.
Three full-car film tiers, plus front-window and windshield options you can fit on their own. Prices are set by the film you choose and the size of the vehicle, from a coupe up to a full-size SUV or truck, because bigger and more complex glass takes more film and more time.
These are the same prices we charge across San Diego County. Each package shows what the film does, which glass it covers, the shades available and the warranty that comes with it.
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What's included
The one tier that cannot come to you. C2 Carbon has to be fitted indoors, so Bronze is done at our San Marcos shop.
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What's included
The cheapest tier we can fit at your address, and the one most people here choose. Pro Nano rejects far more heat than carbon at the same shade.
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What's included
The step up for a car that lives on the driveway. Apex Ultra is the largest reduction in cabin temperature we can fit.
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C2 Carbon
$149*
50% heat rejection · in shop only
Pro Nano Ceramic
$199*
76% heat rejection
Apex Ultra Ceramic
$249*
95% heat rejection
What's included
Usually taken to bring the front two windows up to match factory-tinted rear glass on a newer car or SUV.
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What's included
For glare on the 52 heading west in the afternoon or the 15 heading south in the morning. It is a separate job and can be added to any package above.
* Plus tax. All prices are estimates and subject to change until the vehicle has been inspected to verify condition and size/complexity of the windows. A covered area is recommended for installation. Additional labor will not be charged without customer approval. By tinting your windows at Smith Bros, you are acknowledging and agreeing to the Window Tint Disclaimer.
Every option can be fitted on-site in Tierra Santa except Bronze C2 Carbon, which is in-shop only. The full technical comparison of the GeoShield range is on the main window tinting service page.
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 here 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.
On the back, yes. A 35% film is legal on the rear side windows and rear windshield and is a common privacy choice. 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.
The thing worth remembering is that darker does not mean cooler. A 70% Apex Ultra ceramic film rejects far more heat than a dark carbon film, because the heat rejection comes from ceramic particles in the film rather than from the shade.
We will settle the combination with you before anything goes on the glass, so the car ends up legal and actually cooler.
We are a GeoShield dealer and fit their film exclusively across all three tiers. The ceramic films block heat with nano-ceramic particles rather than a metal layer, so they reject a lot of infrared without interfering with phone signal, GPS or tyre-pressure sensors the way older metallised films could.
The films resist surface scratching, hold their colour instead of turning purple after a few summers, and both ceramic tiers carry a lifetime film warranty against bubbling, peeling, cracking and colour change. Cheap film is cheap because it does none of that.
Up on the mesa the exposure is relentless in summer: open streets, little shade, and no coastal cloud to take the edge off after ten in the morning. That is exactly the condition under which dyed budget film fades and clouds, so colour stability is the part of the specification that earns its keep here.
The full film-by-film comparison is on the main window tinting service page.
We come to you: the driveway, the garage, or your workplace car park. Film wants a clean, covered space, so a garage or carport gives the best result. Being inland and up on the mesa, we get fewer of the windy afternoons that make coastal driveway installs awkward, so an open driveway is usually fine here as well.
The C2 Carbon film is the exception, being in-shop only both as the Bronze full-car tier and as the front-window option, because carbon has to be fitted indoors. That is done at our San Marcos shop, and it is the reason Bronze is priced below the ceramic tiers.
We are out seven days a week, 7am to 7pm, covering Tierra Santa from the Santo Road side across the neighbourhoods towards Mission Trails. Your technician texts on the way and again when the car is finished, so you are not waiting on a vague window.
A full-car tint is normally a half-day job. We need the car for the whole appointment and enough room around it to open every door.
Keep the windows up for three days while the film cures. Haze, small bubbles or trapped moisture straight after an install is normal and clears on its own, usually within one to two weeks in this kind of warm, dry inland air.
Requested service online and they came out the same day, two hours later. Fantastic field service management, with updates as to when the agent would arrive along with his personal phone number. Nicholas was young but professional. The car went from looking like a 3 year old warzone to a brand new car.
After requesting a quote through Yelp, Luke got back to me very quickly with a thorough explanation of their products and pricing. They had next day availability and Donnie showed up right on time and worked diligently to bring my Honda Pilot back to life. After 4 hours she looks brand new, and the pricing was very fair for the quality of work. I love finding a service professional who takes pride in their work.
I requested the exterior detail to remove some house paint that had been splattered on my car, then ended up going with the silver ceramic package. I am seriously impressed on all levels: customer service, detail, and quality of work. Andrew ceramic coated it to perfection, it looks better than it did brand new off the lot. I cannot thank these gentlemen enough.
Rated 5.0 across more than 1,000 five-star reviews on Google, Yelp and Facebook. Get a free quote for your vehicle.
More finished cars, tint and everything else we do, are in our work.
A ceramic coating does for your paint what ceramic film does for your glass: it rejects UV, sheds water and keeps the finish from dulling, which matters when the car sits in open sun most of the day. We are an authorized Opti-Coat installer, with tiers from $599, and we fit ceramic coating in Tierra Santa.
Paint protection film takes the rock chips and road debris a coating cannot stop, with packages from $1,000 using self-healing Autobahn film. See PPF packages.
Booking more than one at a time saves you an appointment, since the car only has to be free once. We also offer mobile auto detailing in Tierra Santa, and the full range is on the services page.
We cover the surrounding area too, including Kearny Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Santee, Mira Mesa and Downtown.
Full-car film runs from $249 for Bronze carbon on a coupe up to $699 for Gold ceramic on a full-size SUV, plus tax. Front windows on their own start at $149, and a windshield runs $299 to $499 depending on the film and the vehicle.
Every price is broken out by vehicle type in the packages above, so you can price your own car rather than work from a range.
Front side windows must let at least 70% of visible light through. Rear side windows and the rear windshield can be any shade you want.
We will walk you through a combination that stays legal, and a 70% ceramic film at the front still rejects a lot of heat.
On the rear side windows and rear windshield, yes. On the front two side windows, no. Those are held to 70% VLT, so a 35% film up front is not road-legal in California.
Yes, and that is how most of our tint work happens. Film wants a clean, covered space, so a garage or carport is ideal, though an open driveway up here is usually workable too.
The C2 Carbon film is the exception and is in-shop only, whether you take it as the Bronze full-car tier or the front-window option. That is fitted at our San Marcos shop.
Apex Ultra Ceramic, the Gold tier, at about 95% heat rejection. It is the biggest reduction in cabin temperature we can give you.
Pro Nano Ceramic at about 76% is the sensible middle, and C2 Carbon sits at around 50% but has to be fitted at the shop.
Yes. Tint removal is $90 per hour and covers stripping the existing film off the vehicle before the new film goes on. How long it takes depends on the film and how long it has been on the car.
Film that has gone purple or started to bubble takes the longest, and inland sun produces plenty of it. We will give you a realistic estimate once we have seen it.
Three days. The film needs that time to adhere fully, and rolling a window down early can damage it.
That is trapped moisture and it is normal straight after an install. It clears as the film cures, usually within one to two weeks, and warm dry air speeds it up.
No. GeoShield ceramic films use nano-ceramic particles rather than a metal layer, so signal, GPS, keyless entry and tyre-pressure sensors are unaffected.
That was a real problem with older metallised films, which is one reason we do not fit them.
The Silver and Gold ceramic packages carry a lifetime warranty on the film, as do the ceramic front-window and windshield options. The Bronze Carbon option carries a 3-year film warranty.
The warranty covers the film against bubbling, peeling, cracking and colour change, and every film we fit blocks 99% of UV.
We bring the studio to you. Tell us your vehicle and we'll handle the rest.
Mon–Sun · 7AM – 7PM · San Diego County & Southern California