Welcome to my take on dyed window tint!
Today I'd like to go into the very basic of my favorite window tint brand Xpel Prime! Namely Prime CS.
CS stands for "Color Stable" and Color stable is another way to say that this tint uses a dye that is unaffected by UV! so it will never go purple or fade to clear! which is fantastic news for anyone looking for a budget friendly tint!
"When comfort and cost is key, dyed window tint won't let you down. PRIME CS BLACK can cut out the glare, protect your skin from harmful UV rays, and make any journey that much more enjoyable"
Some of the features of Prime CS are listed on Xpel's Website here, for those of you interested, but lets get a little more unbiased opinion and I'll walk you through the Pros and Cons of This film, starting with its UV protection
UV Ray Protection
UV Protection isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of window tint, but it really should play a factor when your thinking about which windows you want to tint in your vehicle.
Unlike heat rejection performance, you don't have to pick a dark, low VLT tint to gain the the highest performance! in fact, how dark your tint is has nothing to do with it! no matter how dark or light your tint is, you'll reap the benefits of blocking 99.9% UV A and UV B that can lead to numerous skin cancers, premature aging and skin cell damage. It works so well as a UV Protectant that is Recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation
Crystal Clear Signal
Something I never would have thought about before getting into this industry is selecting a window tint that wouldn't interfere with my Bluetooth, radio or cell phone. Some window tint film contains alloys and other precious metals that can interfere with all of the above in the name of Heat rejection performance!
Dyed window tint like Prime CS from Xpel contains no metalized particles ensuring that it does not interfere with any of the signals you use on a daily basis.
Appearance And Warranty
This film always looks great from the outside of the vehicle! Prime CS Black especially matches the factory tinted glass from domestic vehicle manufactures very well! We've seen this tint on new Ford F150's and the match is almost Perfect!
The glare reduction is fantastic, and due to the color of the film it ends up looking a little darker then it's Carbon color counterparts from other manufactures which usually ends up coming through as a Green or brown color which I've never been a huge fan of.
A great perk is as we mentioned in the beginning of the article this tint utilizes UV stable dye! So it will never change color or fade to a lighter shade over time!
"XPEL, Inc. (the “Company”) expressly warrants to the owner that, for the life of your vehicle (the “Warranty Period”) from the date of initial installation. The Company will cover defects on the PRIME Automotive Window Film (the “Product(s)”) such as: discoloration, fading, bubbling, peeling, cracking, and delamination" - Xpel Website
The lifetime warranty is upheld through any Xpel dealer throughout north America! that means that even if you move across the continent, you'll be able to claim your warranty should a manufacture defect occur via their "find and installer" dealer locator! Awesome!
One down side though is that the film does carry a slightly blurry appearance, which makes it unfit for windshields and if you're picky enough, the front roll down windows.
Heat Rejection Performance
This is where the dyed window films tend to fall behind... They don't stop a ton of heat when compared to their Ceramic counterparts like Prime XR and XR Plus.
Looking at the performance table from Xpel we see that at its darkest, 5% you're seeing a modest 42% Total Solar Energy Rejection (TSER) which isn't substantial by todays standards, but that being said its better then nothing!
In conclusion, Dyed window tint is a great option for those looking for UV protection, good aesthetics, Glare reduction and a more budget friendly option.
I hope you've found this article informative in my quest to educate and inform you all in what the options are out there for everything automotive protection!
