By Troy Parcels, National Tint Manager
When I was a new driver, I wanted to tint my windows for one simple reason: it looked cool. Now,
as National Tint Manager and with 26 years of experience at Car Toys, I know better. Window tint
is one of our most popular auto salon services, and it’s easy to see why. Its benefits range from
protecting your health to extending the life of your interior. As such, it could be the most
important upgrade you ever make to your vehicle.
Of course, if you just want to look cool, it still works for that, too.
Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of tint is its ability to block ultraviolet (UV) light. There’s a
common misconception that UV light doesn’t penetrate glass, but this is only partially true.
Ultraviolet light comes in two varieties, UV-A and UV-B, and while glass does block nearly all
UV-B light, it blocks only a fraction of UV-A. Both types of UV light can cause sunburn and skin
damage. Window tint, particularly our high-quality ceramic film, offers nearly total protection
against both types of UV light—think of it as broad spectrum sunscreen for your entire car.
And that’s not the only benefit. Ceramic films, even the lighter densities, do a great job of
reducing the sun’s heat, a difference you can feel for yourself at our in-store demo stations.
If you spend a lot of time in your car, particularly in a hot and sunny environment like where I live in
Texas, good window tint is invaluable for improving the comfort of your ride. Plus, it can even
have a modest positive effect on your engine efficiency as your air conditioning doesn’t have to
work as hard.
By keeping your interior cooler, tint also helps protect the value of your vehicle. In extreme heat,
the plastics used in many dashboards can actually melt and warp. I’ve personally seen this more
times than I care to count, and it can even happen on brand-new vehicles. In addition to window
tint, our ceramic windshield coatings are specially designed to prevent this kind of damage.
These low-density films block a significant amount of heat yet still allow 70% of visible light to
pass through, for a negligible effect on visibility.
Keep in mind that different states have different laws about the density of tint you’re allowed to
use. Wherever you live, we’re happy to help you find the best solutions for your vehicle.
Auto Detailing Isn’t Just for Show
The other half of our auto salon is the full-service detailing shop. We do everything from headlight
restoration to full interior and exterior detailings. If you’ve never had a professional detailing, it’s
something special. Driving away in a vehicle that looks like it just rolled off the production line is a
pretty magical experience. But a detailing really shouldn’t be thought of as a once-in-a-blue-moon
service. More than a standard wash, a detailing can help preserve the value of your vehicle and
prevent some common wear and tear.
For example, we offer a ceramic coating as an optional service in our exterior detailing process.
This invisible shield protects your paint from the type of scratches it might receive during a car
wash. And for the interior, we use the highest-quality tools and techniques, including hot water
extractors that inject extra-hot, pressurized water into your carpets to pull out every trace of dirt,
debris, and odor. Much more effective than the wash-and-vacuum method used in many other
shops, this ensures lasting freshness you can see and smell.
What really sets the Car Toys auto salon apart, though, is our people. We focus on hiring and
training the most experienced technicians. As auto enthusiasts ourselves, we bring the same
passion to your vehicle that we put into our own, for a level of service you simply won’t find
anywhere else.
