Some of you may have done this in the past, or have heard of this practice of adding a layer of tint on top of another tint.
This is commonly done when the first tint installed is insufficient perhaps in terms of darkness or even heat rejection.
Adding another layer of tint could increase the darkness of the overall tint, and even improve the heat rejection because after all, two is better than one?
But in most of the tint shops, some would advise against doing it and may even void the warranty of the tint. Does that mean the 2 layer practice is bad? Let’s find out more.
Firstly, while adding another layer helps in solving problems such as insufficient darkness or heat rejection, it potentially creates other issues.
For one, the reason why tint shops don't cover 2 layer warranty or even void the warranty is because if there are defects or bubbles are present on the tint, it is hard to distinguish whether they originate from the first or the second layer of tint.
Fixing these defects will also be more difficult as there are two layers involved.
If the first layer is of poor tint quality, it may not even last as long and affects the overall lifespan of your tint.
After all, you cannot remove only the second tint layer, if you wish to remove them, both layers will have to be removed altogether.
Next, adding another layer of tint means adding a thicker medium for light to pass through.
Lights passing through thicker medium will have more refraction, and may even cause some blurriness on the tint.
And blurriness can only be solved by replacing the tint which in the end requires you to remove both the tint as well.
Another effect from adding thickness is that it may cause the windows to be more difficult to maneuver.
If the tint layers are too thick, winding your windows up and down is going to be slow, and can be damaging to the window mechanism as well.
Sounds like a bad idea to install a second layer right? Well, there are cases where installing a second layer tint could help.
If you are looking for a temporary solution or a lower budget solution to increase your tint efficiency (heat rejection) or even the darkness, this is a decent idea but do take note of the potential downsides.
Another good reason to add another layer is for the rear windscreen tint.
Typically, if you are going to remove a rear windscreen tint, there are possibilities that the heater line or the demister will be damaged.
If you are replacing the tint for your entire car, and worry about the rear windscreen heater line, you can opt for a second layer for the rear windscreen to avoid this problem.
Provided that first layer of tint is in good condition of course.
So the next time you are thinking of getting a second layer of tint for your car, be aware of the potential downsides and also the benefits of doing so.
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