What is factory tint, and where does its shade come from?
Factory tint is colour made into the glass, not a layer stuck to it. Nothing can peel off, which is also why it can’t be stripped to make a window lighter.
Hyundai’s January 2023 service bulletin for the Palisade sorts carmakers’ side glass into two kinds. Solar glass cuts part of the UV, infrared and visible light. Privacy glass is the dark kind, which Hyundai puts at “typically less than 20%” visible light transmission. On laminated privacy glass the shade comes from a darkened plastic layer sandwiched between the two sheets, rather than from the glass itself.
Aftermarket film is a separate layer on top. LLumar’s tint FAQ notes that car film is typically applied to the interior surfaces of the glass, so on a privacy window, daylight passes through the factory shade first and the film second.
How dark does film over factory tint end up?
Multiply the two transmission figures. Glass that passes 20% of the light, under a film that passes 38%, gives 0.20 × 0.38 = 0.076, or roughly 8% of the daylight getting through.
The table uses 20% as an example value for the glass, in line with Hyundai’s “typically less than 20%”. Your car’s glass may be lighter or darker, which is why it’s worth metering. Film figures are the measured visible light transmission (VLT) from LLumar’s performance data sheet, not the shade names.
| Film added | Film’s measured VLT | Over example glass at 20% |
|---|---|---|
| AIR 80 | 77% | about 15% |
| ATC 50 | 60% | about 12% |
| IRX 50 | 54% | about 11% |
| ATC 35 | 38% | about 8% |
| ATC 15 | 18% | about 4% |
| ATC 05 | 5% | about 1% |
Read the right-hand column as a close estimate, not a reading. LLumar measures each film on one 6 mm sheet of clear test glass, and real car glass varies. The arithmetic still explains a common surprise: a shade that looks medium on a sedan’s clear rear doors can look close to black on an SUV that already had privacy glass.
Why add film to glass that is already dark?
For heat, UV or a darker look, because privacy glass mostly handles the look and the privacy. LLumar’s own page for AIR says factory privacy glass looks good and adds privacy yet lacks “good heat control”, and pitches AIR as the film to add it (LLumar AIR).
Heat without changing the shade
On LLumar’s sheet AIR 80 passes 77% of visible light while rejecting 60% of infrared energy (IRER) and 43% of total solar energy (TSER). Over the example glass, the window goes from 20% to about 15%, a change most people won’t notice from the street.
A darker finish
IRX and ATC take the glass darker. Because the factory shade is already doing much of the work, step a shade or two lighter than you’d choose for clear glass: 35% over privacy glass lands near 8% in the example.
UV for the people in the back
Every film on LLumar’s sheet blocks over 99% of UV from 300 to 380 nm. The Skin Cancer Foundation points out that the tempered glass used in most side and back windows “does not block UVA rays effectively”.
How do you find out what your factory glass lets through?
Get it measured. A tint meter reading on your own windows replaces the example 20% with your car’s number, and that’s worth asking about when you book. A carmaker’s figure, where one exists, tends to be a range like Hyundai’s “typically less than 20%”, and the glass can change between trims.
Windows on one vehicle can also differ. On the 2023 Palisade, Hyundai’s bulletin lists solar glass in the front doors and privacy glass in the second and third rows. Meter each row you plan to film, so you know where every window starts before you pick a shade for it.
Does BC law limit how dark the combined glass can be?
Not behind the driver. The regulation, MVAR s. 7.05(8), names no percentage for side windows behind the driver, or for the back glass when the vehicle has an outside mirror on both sides, so film over privacy glass there is legal at any combined darkness.
The factory shade is judged on its own under s. 7.05(9), which holds tint built into the glass to the federal CMVSS light-transmittance requirements, commonly cited as 70% wherever the driver needs a clear view. BC’s 2025 Vehicle Inspection Manual reflects the same split: under item 13c, glass marked AS-3 is acceptable only on side windows to the rear of the driver.
In front of the driver, the answer doesn’t depend on the glass. Item 13d fails aftermarket film on the front side glass, meaning anything forward of the driver’s seat back, and clear film counts. The shop installs front-door film when asked, and it is not road-legal in BC: a ticket is typically $109, a Notice & Order can require you to strip it and have the car inspected, and the shop walks you through that risk first. The rule is set out in full on tinting front windows in BC.
How can you tell factory tint from film already on the car?
Look at the edge of the glass. Film is cut to sit just inside the edge, so with a rear door window lowered a little you can usually see where it stops; factory tint runs right to the edge because it’s in the glass.
The difference matters if you’re buying used. Factory privacy glass stays as it is and film can go over it. Old aftermarket film is a separate job: failed or unwanted film is removed, adhesive and all, before anything new goes on, and tint removal is priced on its own.
Booking film over factory privacy glass
Send the year, make, model and trim, tell the shop if the rear windows are factory privacy glass, and ask whether they can be metered. Then choose the job: AIR to cut heat and keep the look, or IRX or ATC to go darker.
The full-size SUV rear package covers seven windows, hatch included, from $260 in ATC; sedan and pickup rear glass starts at $240, and IRX or AIR ceramic is quoted per package. The SUV window tint page and truck window tint page cover those vehicles, and window tint vs factory privacy glass weighs film against leaving the glass alone. When you’re ready, use the window tint quote form.