Ceramic window tint in Kent
Window tinting in STEK LunaRay SMART nano ceramic film, installed to the Washington 24% rule at 8620 S 228th St. Front two windows $200, full vehicle surround $550, and the same film at every shade.
What you can legally do, by what you drive
Washington writes its tint law window by window, but nobody walks in asking about windows. They ask about their truck. The translation is short: the front side windows must pass at least 24% of light on every vehicle on the road, with no exception for body style. Behind the driver is where the rules diverge. On a sedan or coupe the 24% floor applies to every remaining pane. On an SUV, van or pickup, everything behind the driver can go as dark as you like, with the rear window specifically conditional on the vehicle having both side mirrors.
| Vehicle | Front sides | Back sides | Rear glass | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan, coupe or hatchback | 24% VLT | 24% VLT | 24% VLT | Every pane of side and rear glass has the same floor. 24% is as dark as a car legally goes, anywhere on it. |
| SUV or crossover | 24% VLT | Any darkness | Any darkness | The front doors are held to the same 24% as a sedan. Behind the driver you can go as dark as you want, with the rear glass conditional on the vehicle having both side mirrors. |
| Pickup truck | 24% VLT | Any darkness | Any darkness | Same rule as an SUV. On a crew cab this is the difference between a legal front and a genuinely private back seat. |
| Van or work vehicle | 24% VLT | Any darkness | Any darkness | The usual valley case. Cargo areas can go fully dark while the cab stays legal and the driver can still see. |
We install to these limits every day and this is how we read the statute, but we are a tint shop rather than a law firm. For anything unusual, or if you need certainty before spending money, the statute itself is RCW 46.37.430 and the Washington State Patrol is the authority on how it is enforced.
Three rules sit on top of that table and apply to every vehicle without exception. The windshield takes clear film only, plus a tinted band along the top above the AS-1 line and no more than six inches down. Reflectivity is capped at 35% on every window, which is why mirror-finish film is not a legal option no matter how dark it is. And red, gold, yellow and black-out films are prohibited outright. The statute itself is RCW 46.37.430 on the Washington Legislature site, and our Washington tint law guide covers it in full including the medical exemption.
We install to those limits and say so up front. If you ask for a 20% film on the front doors we will tell you it is under the floor rather than take the booking, and then show you what a legal shade actually looks like on your glass, which tends to end the conversation quickly. The tint percentages guide explains what each number means if you are still choosing.
Valley vehicles spend the day parked, not driving
Most tint marketing is written about driving: glare on the commute, sun in your eyes, comfort on a long run. That is a real problem and it is not the Kent one. The vehicle that lives in this valley typically does a short trip in the morning, sits on open asphalt for eight or nine hours, and does a short trip home. The sun load it takes happens while nobody is sitting in it.
That changes which benefit matters. The valley floor is flat, heavily paved and roofed with warehouse and distribution space, with very little tree canopy over the lots and nothing nearby to moderate the temperature. A car parked in the middle of one of those lots is a closed box in full sun with no airflow, and it stays that way all afternoon. What you notice is the cabin temperature when you open the door. What you do not notice, until a few summers have passed, is what the same exposure has been doing to the interior.
Ultraviolet is the part that does permanent damage, and it does not care about the weather. A dashboard fades, a steering wheel dries and cracks, leather stiffens and seat fabric loses its color unevenly in the places the sun actually reaches. Ceramic film blocks 99% of UV, and it does that at every shade we stock, which is the single most useful thing to understand about this purchase: the protection comes from the film, not from how dark it looks. A legal 24% and a barely-there 70% stop the same ultraviolet.
There is a second thing worth knowing if the vehicle is a work truck or a van. On those body styles the law lets you go fully dark behind the driver, which means a cargo area or a back seat can be genuinely private without touching what you are allowed to do at the front. On a crew cab, that difference is the whole reason to do a full surround rather than the front two.
Full vehicle surround
Every side window and the rear glass done in one pass, cut from the same roll so the car matches itself front to back. On an SUV, truck or van this is where the law actually gives you something, because the shade can step at the B-pillar: legal at the front, as dark as you like behind it.
- All side glass and the rear window
- STEK LunaRay SMART nano ceramic at every shade
- Stepped shades on SUVs, trucks and vans where the law allows it
- Blocks 99% of UV regardless of how dark you go
The pane you cannot darken
The windshield is the largest single piece of glass on the vehicle and the one Washington will not let you shade. A near-clear ceramic film is the answer: it changes almost nothing about how you see through it, and it takes UV and heat out of the biggest sun load on the car.
- Full windshield in near-clear ceramic, $280
- Visor strip above the AS-1 line, $100
- No measurable change to visibility at night
- Pairs with windshield protection film if chips are the concern
One film, every shade
We install STEK LunaRay SMART nano ceramic on every job, at whatever legal shade the vehicle and the owner call for. That is a deliberate choice rather than a limitation, and it has one consequence worth stating plainly: the price does not change with the darkness, because the film does not change with the darkness. You are not buying performance by the shade.
Nano ceramic also means no metal layer, and that is the practical difference from metallized film. A metallized film puts a conductive layer across your glass, and a conductive layer across glass behaves like a shield. Phones, keyfobs, toll transponders and GPS all have to get through it. Ceramic has no metal in it at all, so signal passes normally. If a film has caused you trouble of that kind before, a metallized product is the usual explanation, though we would rather look at the car than diagnose it from here.
The performance that matters for a vehicle in this valley is ultraviolet, and the film blocks 99% of it at every shade. That is the number to hold on to when someone tries to sell you darkness as protection.
Tint pricing, published
No Kent price and no anywhere-else price. One list, one bench, and the shade you pick does not move any of these numbers. Treat these as published starting points. Door count, glass size and windshield curvature move a quote, and so does labor the vehicle arrives with, which in practice usually means old film that has to come off first.
| Package | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Visor strip | $100 | A band across the top of the windshield, above the AS-1 line. The cheapest fix for sun sitting right on the horizon. |
| Front two windows | $200 | The driver and passenger doors. These are the two panes the 24% floor governs on every vehicle on the road. |
| Full windshield | $280 | Near-clear ceramic across the whole windshield. Washington will not let you darken it, so the film earns its keep optically. |
| Full vehicle surround | $550 | All the side glass and the rear window in one pass, cut so the car matches itself. |
| Headlight or taillight tint, per set | $200 | Two lamps to a set. Light smoke on anything street driven, because Washington regulates lamp visibility. |
Removing failed tint is slow, careful work rather than a quick peel, because adhesive left behind on the glass will telegraph through whatever goes on next. Say when you book whether the vehicle has existing film and we will schedule honestly instead of running late on the day. The tint cost guide covers what each package includes in more detail.
Related reading
Still choosing a shade? The tint percentages guide explains what 24%, 35% and 70% actually look like, and the Washington tint laws page covers the statute, the medical exemption and what a stop actually involves. If the windshield is the concern for chips rather than for heat, that is windshield protection film, which is a different product on the same pane.
Our other Kent services: paint protection film in Kent and car wraps in Kent, with everything else on the Kent service page. Drivers coming in from further out have their own: Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma.
Window tint questions, answered straight
How much does window tinting cost in Kent?
One published list, no city pricing: $100 for a visor strip, $200 for the front two windows, $280 for a full windshield and $550 for a full vehicle surround, with headlight or taillight tint at $200 per set. Every one of those is STEK LunaRay SMART nano ceramic film. The shade you choose does not move the number in either direction, because it is the same film at 70% as it is at 24%. What can move a quote is labor the vehicle brings with it, most often old film that has to come off first.
How dark can I legally tint my car in Kent?
On the front side windows, 24% VLT on every vehicle on the road, with no exceptions by body style. On a sedan or coupe that same 24% floor applies to the back side windows and rear glass too, so 24% is as dark as a car legally goes anywhere on it. SUVs, vans and trucks may go as dark as they like behind the driver, and the rear window specifically is allowed any darkness as long as the vehicle has both side mirrors. Reflectivity is capped at 35% on every window, and red, gold, yellow and black-out films are not permitted at all.
Do you install illegal tint if I ask for it?
No, and we will tell you where the line is on your specific vehicle rather than taking the booking and letting you find out from a trooper. What we will do is show you what a legal shade actually looks like on your glass, which surprises most people, and explain where your body style gets a genuinely darker option. A 20% film is not legal on any car side window or on the front doors of any vehicle, but it is legal behind the driver on an SUV, van or truck.
My car sits in a lot all day. Is tint still worth it?
That is the case where it is worth the most, and it is the usual valley situation. A vehicle parked on open asphalt for eight hours is taking sun load the entire time with no airflow and no shade, which is a very different problem from glare on a commute. Ceramic film cuts what reaches the cabin, and blocking 99% of UV is what protects a dashboard, a steering wheel and seat material from the fading and cracking that shows up after a few summers.
Will ceramic tint interfere with my phone, keyfob or toll pass?
No. That problem belongs to metallized film, which puts a conductive layer across the glass and acts as a shield. STEK LunaRay SMART is nano ceramic and carries no metal layer, so signal passes through it normally. If you have had a film cause trouble before, it was almost certainly a metallized product.
How long does the install take?
Most vehicles are a few hours rather than a full day, and because we are in Kent it is genuinely a drop-off. Old film is what adds time: removing a failed tint is slow work and it has to be done properly, because adhesive left on the glass will show through whatever goes on next. Tell us when you book whether there is existing film and we will schedule realistically.
Can tint be done in the same visit as film or a wrap?
Yes, and it is worth combining because glass and paint are separate work on separate surfaces. Plenty of Kent customers book tint alongside paint protection film or a wrap and collect one vehicle at the end rather than making two trips. Tell us everything you want at quote time and we will price and schedule it as one job.
Can I get darker tint than the law allows with a medical note?
Washington does provide for a medical exemption, and it is a formal process rather than something a tint shop can grant. We install to the legal limit by default and will happily fit a darker film once you hold the documentation. Our Washington tint law page covers the rules in full.