Why are my tinted car windows hazy?
This is obviously annoying and can cause many car owners to feel unsettled, and it is common to feel that way if you don't know how solar film works, but usually there is nothing wrong or bad with the film. On the contrary, it is usually a good thing that the film is sometimes perceived as hazy.
Haziness or blurriness can be caused by two things, the quality of the film or the installation. Let us explain.
The product - Low Angel Haze (LAH)
This type of haze has to do with the window tint film itself, rather than something stuck between the glass and the tint. This type of haze is visible when looking through tinted car glass such as a rear or a side window on a sunny day. When the sun is at a low angle in the sky, this foggy appearance is most pronounced. The higher the IR rejection (Infra-red rejection) the window tint film has, the higher the low angel haze. LAH is the result of particles in the film clumping or sticking together in the manufacturing process.
So it is therefore absolutely nothing strange that a car window can be perceived as foggy at certain angles to the sun. On the contrary, it is good because it shows that the solar film you have installed has good protection against IR radiation. If you don't experience low angel haze sometimes in your car with tinted windows, you should urgently replace your solar film with a real solar film to avoid the sun's harmful IR radiation
EVOFILM provides excellent protection against harmfull IR radiation.
- EVO95 Black: IR radiation reduction 79% (VLT 5%)
- EVO75 Dark: IR radiation reduction 55% (VLT 25%)
- EVO50 Smoke: IR radiation reduction 48% (VLT 50%)
- EVO25 Ice: IR radiation reduction 86% (VLT 75%)
The installation - Blurriness
After your car windows have been tinted, they might appear cloudy or blurry and you may see little water pockets accumulating beneath the film. That is tiny molecules of water that are trapped between the film and the glass. When car windows are tinted, the squeegee can only remove a certain amount of the water from between the film and the glass. But don't worry, window tint film is a porous material, so the remaining water will typically evaporate out and the film will fully cure to the glass.
The amount of time for your new window tint to be dry or cured completely is determined by the skill of the installer, the outside temperature, and the type of film that has been installed. Usually this takes under a week, but poorly installed tint will be hazy for several weeks. This is why many people elect to get their window tint done in the spring and summer, rather than when it is cold out.
We do NOT recommend trying to speed up the evaporation process with a heat gun or or by placing the car in direct sunlight. Do your best to avoid adding extra stress to the tint during the curing process. This includes rolling the windows up and down. If you can, just leave your windows closed until the tint is fully cured.
Low angel haze explained by an expert
Check out when Ralph van Pelt from Flexfilm explains low angel haze. He is an expert in window tinting and a leading star when it comes to sharing his knowledge online. He knows what the rest of us don't about window tint film. Thank you to Flexfilm and Ralph van Pelt.
Also thank you to tintshield.ca carmeltint.com diversityautofilms.com and pro-xpel.com.my from whom we have humbly borrowed knowledge to write this article.