How dark is 5% tint on LLumar’s spec sheet?
LLumar ATC 05 lets 5% of visible light through and IRX 05 lets 6% through, so both are as dark as the shop’s menu goes. Each one cuts glare by 94%; where they part ways is heat.
These are LLumar’s own figures, from data sheet LL0116NAEN (03/26), taken with the film applied to one clear 6 mm test pane.
| Measurement | ATC 05, dyed | IRX 05, nano-ceramic |
|---|---|---|
| Visible light let through (VLT) | 5% | 6% |
| Glare reduction | 94% | 94% |
| Visible light reflected | 5% | 5% |
| Total solar energy rejected (TSER) | 44% | 62% |
| Infrared energy rejected (IRER) | 22% | 60% |
| Selective infrared rejection (SIRR) | 29% | 86% |
| Ultraviolet, 300 to 380 nm | More than 99% stopped | More than 99% stopped |
Look along the rows and the two 5% films are twins in the eye and strangers in the heat. They pass almost the same light and reflect the same 5%, which means they read as charcoal glass rather than a mirror. But IRX 05 turns away 18 more points of total solar energy and nearly three times the infrared. If you’re choosing 5% to keep the back seat cool rather than hidden, that gap is the number to weigh, and the LLumar IRX page carries the rest of its shades.
Where is 5% tint legal in BC?
Anywhere behind the driver’s seat, at full darkness, and on the back glass provided outside mirrors are fitted left and right. The two front side windows are off limits, and BC has no shade light enough to change that.
That’s the shape of MVAR s. 7.05(8): no percentage at all, just three places film may go. The 2025 Vehicle Inspection Manual follows it. Item 14c checks that a car with tinted back glass carries mirrors on both sides and that the film isn’t reflective; item 13d fails aftermarket film on any side window forward of where the driver’s seat back sits.
The shop does fit 5% to front doors when a customer insists, after setting out what follows. Mission RCMP gives $109 as a typical tint fine. On top of a ticket, police can write a Notice & Order: strip the film, then get the car through a full inspection at a designated facility, and if 30 days pass without that, the fine is $598. Whether dark film behind the driver attracts attention on its own is a separate question, answered at will police ticket 5% rear tint in BC.
Does 5% rear tint cause trouble outside BC?
It can in Washington State, if you drive a passenger car rather than something its maker classes as a truck or multipurpose passenger vehicle. Washington sets a floor of 24% light transmission on side and rear windows, counting factory tint and film together, and 5% sits well under it.
RCW 46.37.430 makes running non-compliant film a traffic infraction for “any person” on Washington’s public highways, and its text makes no exception for out-of-state plates. The statute does let darker film sit behind the driver on anything its maker classes as a truck, a motor home or a multipurpose passenger vehicle, as long as reflectance stays at 35% or less and mirrors are fitted outside on both sides. LLumar’s 5% films reflect 5%, comfortably inside that limit.
So the same 5% rear package is fine on a crew-cab pickup heading to Bellingham and a ticketable item on a sedan making the same trip. If you cross at Aldergrove or the Peace Arch often in a car, look at a lighter shade such as 35% tint and check it against your own glass; the two rule books are compared on BC vs Washington tint laws.
Should your 5% be dyed ATC or ceramic IRX?
Pick ATC 05 if the look and privacy are the goal and you want the posted price; pick IRX 05 if heat matters as much as darkness. Both block over 99% of UV, so that isn’t the deciding factor.
There’s a twist worth knowing before you settle on 5% for heat alone. Lighter ceramic shades beat the darkest dyed film on total solar rejection: IRX 35 rejects 54% at 39% visible light, and even IRX 50 rejects 50% while letting in 54% of the light, against ATC 05’s 44%. Darkness and heat rejection are different properties: on LLumar’s sheet, switching film line moves total solar rejection more than switching shade, and infrared rejection barely changes with shade at all. A shade below 5% doesn’t exist on the menu, so for a back end that’s both as dark and as cool as the shop can make it, IRX 05 is the top of the range.
What should you know before putting 5% on the car?
Three things: how it looks next to clear front doors, how it behaves at night, and what it costs to undo. None of them is a reason not to choose 5%, but each is easier to plan for than to discover.
The two-tone side view
Because the front doors stay clear, a 5% back half creates a hard line at the B-pillar. If you can, look at a car with clear fronts and a blacked-out back in your own paint colour before you commit.
After dark
At night, a 5% rear window leaves very little light for the inside mirror. You’ll lean on the side mirrors, which BC already requires for back-glass film, and on a backup camera if the car has one. The trade-offs in low light are covered on is dark tint safe for night driving.
Going lighter later
A shade can’t be lightened in place; the film has to come off. On rear glass the shop removes it with steam so the defroster grid survives, prices removal per window, and discounts it when you re-tint in the same visit. If you’re undecided, the 15% window tint page shows the next step up, and 5% vs 20% tint compares the two side by side.
What does 5% tint cost at the Langley shop?
The shade doesn’t change the price; the body style and the film do. In ATC 05, the posted rear packages are:
| Body style | Windows behind the driver | 5% ATC from |
|---|---|---|
| Sports coupe | 3: both rear quarters, back glass | $220 |
| Sedan or pickup | 5: rear doors, rear quarters if fitted, back glass or slider | $240 |
| Full-size SUV or wagon | 7: rear doors, quarters, extended windows, hatch | $260 |
| Any of the above in IRX 05 | Same windows | Quoted per package |
Each package is genuine LLumar, plotter-cut for your exact year, make and model, with a lifetime warranty covering both the film and the labour. A whole car is usually a same-day job. Afterwards, leave the rear side glass closed for 3 to 5 days while the film cures, and clean it only with soft microfibre and a cleaner that has no ammonia. The back window tint page explains each package’s glass, and the 5% tint quote form gets you a price for your car; texts go to 604 534 6433.
