3M Obsidian
From $225
2hr · SUV 2hr 30min · +1hr w/ windshield
See the film →3M Ceramic IR
The heat specialist. Multilayer ceramic in seven shades, rejecting up to 95% of infrared and up to 66% of the sun's total energy.
Ceramic IR is the film to buy if heat is the reason you are tinting. It is a metal-free multilayer ceramic construction, so it does its work without the signal interference metallised films can cause.
The headline number is infrared rejection: up to 95%, measured on the film itself. That is the figure the whole tier is sold on and it is genuine.
Read it alongside the other one, though. 3M publishes two infrared measurements. Infrared rejection covers a narrow 900 to 1000 nanometre slice measured on bare film. Infrared energy rejection covers the full 780 to 2500 nanometre band with the film on glass, and counts heat the glass absorbs and re-radiates into the cabin. On that broader measure Ceramic IR rejects 66 to 67%, against 62 to 64% for Color Stable IR and 54 to 55% for Obsidian.
So the step up is real, and it is smaller than the headline suggests. What you also get is the best of the range on total solar energy, up to 66%, a low visible light reflectance so it looks like glass rather than a mirror, and up to 99.9% UV. If you park outside all day in a South Gate summer, this is the film. If your car lives in a garage, Color Stable IR will not disappoint you.
As with every shade we fit, California allows only near-clear film on front side windows. Everything here is for your back and rear glass.
The numbers
- Shades
- Seven — Ceramic IR 5, 15, 25, 30, 35, 50 and 70
- Visible light
- 5% to 64% depending on shade
- UV blocked
- Up to 99.9%
- Total solar energy rejected
- 51% to 66% depending on shade
- Infrared rejection (IRR)
- 78% to 95% — 900–1000nm, film alone
- Infrared energy rejected (IRER)
- 66% to 67% — 780–2500nm, film on glass
- Glare reduction
- 12% to 93% depending on shade
- Construction
- Metal-free multilayer ceramic
- Visible light reflectance
- 4% to 7% — low, so it reads as glass rather than a mirror
- Signal interference
- None — metal-free, so GPS, satellite radio and 5G are unaffected
- Warranty
- Limited lifetime, original owner only, non-transferable
- Figures measured on
- 6mm 73% VLT automotive green glass, ANSI/NFRC 200
- Source
- 3M Technical Data Sheet, Ceramic IR Series, Revision B, July 2021
The Other Tiers
3M Color Stable IR
From $325
2hr · SUV 2hr 30min · +1hr w/ windshield
See the film →3M Crystalline Black
From $595
2hr · SUV 2hr 30min · +1hr w/ windshield
See the film →Ready When You Are
Tell us the car and what you want out of it. We will come back with a price and a day that works.