MoeMistry

Most ceramic, or multi-layered, films will have a slight rainbow effect when looked through polarized sunglasses. I'm not aware of any brand that doesn't have this characteristics.

I asked our Huper Optik supplier since we noticed this effect as well with our Huper Ceramic films, and here's his response:

What you are seeing is call “TFI” or “Thin Film Interference.” It is the affect of light bouncing off of multiple surfaces at various wavelengths producing a rainbow or “oil slick” affect. The best example is actually oil when it is poured onto water. Light refracts off of the various surfaces producing that rainbow affect…

The same thing can occur in varying degrees to multi-layered films or when you look through a multi-layered film with polarized glasses. TFI is not limited to just our films, it can and does occur on any multi-layered product. Things that enhance TFI are:

· Fluorescent lighting with low Hz rates (you will see it while cars are parked inside shops)

· Polarized sun glasses (Tempered clear glass will show TFI because the tempering creates and additional surface on the glass and the polarized lens picks up the TFI)

· Darker VLT films will usually show more TFI than lighter films

· Coated Glass (laminated glass) angled less than 70⁰

Hope this helps.

Keadog

Yes, thank you.

TSpyder

I have Huper Optik on all glass surfaces--60 on the windshield, 40 on the rest, incl glass s/r, if I recall correctly. Very effective at keeping the interior cooler and protecting the leather. I do experience the TFI (discussed by Moe) when I wear polarized clip-ons but don't regard it as a significant problem.

Spider

djlynch

Does anyone have the prestige spectra photosync film tint and experience any issues while wearing polarized sunglasses?

I'm having this film installed later this month is why I'm asking.

Ma991

I have it on my entire car including moon roof and have not experienced the effect with my Maui Jim's.

I have a related question. Has anyone else noticed a decrease in your FM reception after installing a film in your front windshield? I noticed a difference but didn't seem bad at first but lately I can barely get any stations clearly. Besides the film I also have a fast pass, which I removed to see if the reception got better (it didn't) and a dash dvr which I also turned off and removed to see if it reception would get better (it didn't). So I'm left thinking it may be the film. Curious if anyone else has experienced this. Hope I'm not hijacking your thread.

Premier

On any window film, wearing polarized glasses will enhance this effect. The darker your polarized sunglasses are, the more of this effect will be noticed. However, from our tests so far, Spectra PhotoSync has the least amount of rainbow effect.

Premier

This is quite odd. Spectra PhotoSync is 100% metals free so you should not get any degradation in signal. For PhotoSync, we have been installing this product to customer vehicles since late 2010 and have not seen any complaints about this. With window film, their construction is fixed and does not change over time. If this were a metallic film, you would have had reception issues from day 1, so there is likely some other factor at play here since you are seeing a signal degradation over time.

lunarx

Wow, it's really cool to hear Premier, Huper Optik and Moe all admitting to the rainbow effect.
It is there (without sunglasses), I noticed it immediately and I always wondered about it.
Nevertheless, the tint works great.

BTW that effect is not something I notice while driving, its more when walking up to the car or looking out the windows at odd angles (like when cleaning the interior etc,)

It may depend on the darkness of the tint.
My GF got the 75% PhotoSync, on her WS, and there was no noticeable Rainbow effect.
However, there was a very good reduction in interior heat.
That difference was just from doing the WS, as the other windows were already tinted (so this was not a combined change).
It was after testing it on her car, that I got my car done ; )

As stated before, I would do 65% WS (instead of 55%) as I think it would be more ideal for that window.
Picking Tint Shades is like selecting options on the Porsche Configurator, LOL.

djlynch

Yes great info. I am getting the Spectra Photo Sync 75 on windshield, 45 all others. I do not want "dark" but want the heat reduction. I am having only spectra photo sync installer in Cincinnati area do this for me Tues July 22nd so I will report back!

Premier

Thanks for sharing! Even though we didn't do the installation for you, we are glad to hear you had it done and you are happy with PhotoSync. Just on a reference scale, we have been testing Spectra PhotoSync since 2008 when we first had samples from Prestige Film Technologies. We weren't comfortable just carrying any product here, so we placed it onto our company Toyota Prius (2005) for testing purposes. So from 2008- curr, the product is still on the car and we have not seen any form of degradation in performance. We also do not see any color change or bubbling, so that's not bad for a company car that sits outside everyday for the past 6.5 years - That's about 19,000 hours of UV exposure!

One other reason we like Spectra PhotoSync is it offers high performance even at a very light shade. Their 75 product is actually 73% VLT compared to the OEM glass of the 991 rated at 78%. Below are two pictures of a 991 Turbo we are working on today

limey940

This is a coincidence, I'm having mine redone today. I needed a new windshield a few months ago and haven't gotten round to replacing the film. We just had my wifes' new car done, so left mine in there to get windshield done today.
It makes a huge difference in terms or reducing the heat build up inside the car.

cheers

Premier

Ooops, here are the pictures of the 991 Turbo VLT test (visible light transmission test).

Factory windshield for the Porsche comes in at 77%-78%

Spectra PhotoSync 75 rates in at 73%, so it's pretty close in terms of visibility and its performance is unmatched from our comparisons.

Premier

We test all products to be carried by us:

We recently conducted a test to see how hot the Tesla Model S gets in the rear. There is a general consensus among Tesla owners regarding too much heat build up. For the rear hatch of the Tesla Model S, there is an option for rear facing seats for children. Owners of the Model S have been complaining and executives at Tesla even know of this issue. With that said, we decided to conduct a test to measure the ambient air temperature of the rear hatch. Tesla's rear hatch glass is a laminated glass that has a metallic coating to it to reject some heat; however, even this is not enough from our findings.

Though this is not a 991, we believe it is necessary to show the efficacy of every product we carry at Premier. Below is our test:

Test Subjects - 2 Tesla Model S
Tesla 1 - factory laminated OEM Glass with metallic coating
Tesla 2 - Spectra PhotoSync 45 installed to the side glasses + rear hatch

30 Minute Test in the Rear Hatch with both vehicles side by side
Duration: 30 Minutes
Time of Test: 3:35 pm
Exterior Temperature: 88 degrees
Purpose: Compare air temperatures inside hatch between vehicle with no window film and the other with Spectra PhotoSync installed

Here are the two test mules:


Test Vehicle 1 - No Film
Start off at 84 degrees


In just 3 minutes the temperature rose to 92 degrees


Close to 7 minutes, the air temperature rises to 105 degrees


At the 15 minute marker, temperature is at an unbearable 123 degrees


26 Minutes - Temperature now reads 136 degrees


At the end of the 30 minute test, it is a scalding 140 degrees, which is the reason why leaving children in a vehicle can be a fatal mistake.

Premier

Test Vehicle 2 with Spectra PhotoSync 45 installed to the side and rear hatch.

Test starts at 85 degrees



At the 15 minute marker, it is 96 degrees compared to Vehicle 1 at 123 degrees.



At the completion of the test at 31 Minutes, the Tesla Model S with Sepctra PhotoSync is at 104 degrees compared to 140 degrees in the other Tesla. This is a 36 degree differential!

Drifting

Wait, so the factory windshield from Porsche already has tint in it blocking about 22% of the light?

That test with the Tesla was very impressive.

Can you comment on what levels of tint your clients "get away" with in California? From what I've read, it seems that California doesn't allow any window tinting other than the rear window. I may end up in CA, so wondering in advance.