Being one of the most common customizations to cars, window tint is a very vast market. This leads to not just a difference in tint percentage, but a vast range of brands and quality as well. Therefore, like most products a window tint’s cure time can vary depending on the brand, material, and quality of the window tint.

Another factor of the tint’s cure time is the temperature of the climate your in. People will recommend you get your window tint done during the summer or in a temperature-controlled garage/shop. Applying tint during winter weather can cause the curing process to take up to several weeks. Following these guidelines, you’ll be looking at a 2-3 day curing time for most window tints.

However, those who install tint themselves tend to play it on the safe side and will allow the tint to dry for 3 to 5 days.

Two variables within the window tinting process can dramatically affect drying time. Firstly, the more surface area the more material is needed to cover the window, which means more adhesive that needs time to dry. Secondly, If the window tint is being dried via the sun or UV light alongside just air the darker the tint, the harder it is for light to reach the adhesive.

A couple of things that might happen during the curing process are water pockets, streaks, and scratches. During the curing process, you might notice a haziness or cloudiness to the tint film. This is a common occurrence and is caused by water.

Firstly, when the tint has been applied a squeegee can only remove so much water. Afterward, the remaining water will form pockets underneath the film. There is nothing you have to do for this manually.

Window tint is a porous film and will allow the water pockets to evaporate naturally. How long it takes for the water to evaporate completely depends on the climate the windows are subjected to. Overall the evaporation process shouldn’t take very long at all.

Secondly, the film will sometimes appear to have scratches or streaks after the application as well. This is due to the vehicle’s weather stripping. The weatherstripping can trap dirt or dust particles and when windows are rolled up or down causing streaks to cling to the window tint. The scratches can be caused by the plastic of the weather stripping itself.

Finally, there are a couple of other things to think about and remember when it comes to window tint. Most important, before even purchasing window tint, is to make sure what percentages are legal for the different windows on a vehicle according to each state’s window tint laws. One last important note is if you plan to use the vehicle before you’re confident it is completely cured, it is best not to roll down your windows.