Heat Management Part 5

Okay, enough about engines. We shall now move over to the cockpit area, aka inside of the car.
You all very well know that Malaysia is hot, F****** hot! So hot that only a handful of us wouldn't mind driving without tints on our windows.

When I got hold of my Perdana, it bad totally clear tints(not no tints), which.. I've no idea if it's got any heat rejection or not. If I take long trips outstation my right hand will end up turning a little darker compared to my left hand due to the sunlight shooting it's harmful rays into the car. I also noticed that the top leather pieces of my seats have started to fade and lose it's color. The heat coming into the car was unbearable thought I had a full aircond flush(not to say that the flush didn't work. It got better though).

I could feel the burning sensation on my skin the moment I lay my hand on the top door panel of my door. Even with the side aircond vent blowing on full blast towards my hand, the burning painful sensation is still there. Now THAT, is UV ray, trasmitted onto surfaces via infra red radiation.

I mounted a search for a good tint, an alternative to V-Kool and 3M. I mounted a search on photochromic tints, which will turn dark when exposed to UV just like my everyday spectacles and my Rudy Project shades. They're both photochromic/photogrey/transition lenses. After a couple of days I came across Chameleon Tints, imported by Cardeas Sdn Bhd located in PJ.

I rang up and made an appointment to get my car done. A couple of choices were given :

1. Cool Rider Chameleon 50 series VLT 52% - 42%, UVR 99%, IHR 94%-98%

2. Cool Rider Chameleon 53 series VLT 50% - 40%, UVR 99%, IHR 91%-95%

3. Cool Rider Chameleon 60 series VLT 65% - 55%, UVR 99%, IHR 90%-96%

4. Black Series Chameleon 10 VLT 14% - 10%, UVR 99%, IHR 88%-96%

5. Black Series Chameleon 30 VLT 33% - 28%, UVR 99%, IHR 91%-94%






After discussing with Jeff Cen of the Marketing Division of the company, I opted to go for the 53 series for the side windows and the 60 series for the front and rear windscreen. Reason being that both the Black series aren't road Legal. The CoolRiderChameleon 50s are legal too, but a tad too reflective and gold-colored-like for my liking. The other chosen two are bluish like V-Kool.

Now, these films are photochromic, where it turns dark under the sun and becomes clear when there is no sunlight. The process of color changing takes about 30 minutes as it is a very thin layer, unlike our thick glasses which does so in a matter of seconds. But hey, I leave my car under the sun in the morning during breakfast before I go to work.


You can watch the below video for demo which was done at their outlet in PJ :

The process : 

I called in after lunch to send my car there. Initially Jeff told me that they were fully booked, but called me back a couple of minutes later to let me know that they could do my car. I drove over to get the car done. The waiting time for my car to be attended to was close to two hours, which I told Jeff he has to improve on his appointments and schedule, reducing downtime for customers. Thank God for Wifi and water supply there. He apologized and it was all cool as I didn't mind at all.



The overall shop is clean and tidy like a typical tint shop; dust free too. On your the left you see is my car, before the tints were done. Take note on how clear the windscreen is. You can see right through the car.

 Next up after the previous car was done is my turn. They drove my car into their working area and removed my door panels and rear third brake light and ionizer(OEM). Nice decal on their partition window. Good visualization I must say.






Three specialized technician laid their hands on my car carrying out their tedious yet tidy work, taking their time ensuring that there was no air bubbles trapped between the glass and the tint.

They had to remove the old clear tint and clean the glass before application.

One of them even reapplied the tint multiple times. 

The application took another two hours which is quite understandable as the old tints were a little too stubborn to come off.

 The Outcome

Notice how dark it is now? It's not too dark to my liking, just the right choice!









I took it out the next day and it still looked clear. But after finishing my breakfast, it got noticeably darker. The "burn" on my arm is also no longer there which proves the presence of it's heat rejection effect. No regrets!






I didn't take pictures, but below are pictures as proof using a VLT meter on their 60 series.

Photochromic demo test:

1. Before exposure, VLT: 67%
2. Cover with a piece of paper
3. After exposure under the Sun about half a hour
4. Changed data after exposure, VLT: 55%

Chameleon Photochromic Smart Window Film - CHANGE According to Weather! :









As for pricing, enquiries and demonstration, contact as per below :

Cardeas Sdn Bhd / Jeff Cen
No.2, Jalan Kilang 51/206,
46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

03-77706688 / 016-2626008 - Jeff
https://www.facebook.com/ChameleonPhotochromicfilm
http://www.chameleonfilm2u.com/