Ceramic Window Tinting

How Ceramic Tint Actually Blocks Heat

If you've ever sat in a car with 5% limo tint and still felt like you were roasting, you've experienced the problem with traditional window film. Those cheap dyed films make your car darker — blocking visible light — but they let infrared radiation pass right through. IR is what you feel as heat on your skin.

Ceramic window film uses nano-ceramic particles embedded in the film. These microscopic ceramic spheres are engineered to absorb and reflect infrared radiation before it enters your cabin. The result? Even with a relatively light 50% or 70% VLT film (perfectly legal on all California windows), you get significant heat rejection.

Real-World Temperature Difference

We test this every summer with a thermal gun. On a 100°F Sacramento day, an untinted car's dashboard can hit 150°F+. The steering wheel becomes untouchable. With quality ceramic film, those same surfaces stay in the 100-115°F range — still warm, but not burning. Your AC cools the cabin faster because there's less heat to fight.

For EV owners, this matters even more. Less heat means less cabin overheat protection running while you're parked, which means less battery drain. Tesla owners in particular see noticeable improvements in range during summer months.

Ceramic vs. Carbon vs. Dyed Film

Here's the honest breakdown: Dyed film is cheap and looks decent for a year or two before it turns purple. It blocks UV but barely any heat. Carbon film is better — good UV rejection, decent IR rejection (40-50%), and it won't purple. But if heat is your main concern, ceramic is the only real answer with 80-98% IR rejection.

We carry all three options because every customer has different priorities. But when someone says "I want my car to actually be cooler," we point them to ceramic every time.