The question no one ever asked.
 

ok: bare with me.
I love and hate tinted side and rear glass. it is a royal pain at night.
Now, having said that, my childhood eye glasses tinted dark when out in the sun, but was clear glass (plastic) when no sunlight .
Why has this not become used an automotive glass either oem or aftermarket.
It seem ( my opinion) to be the best of both worlds, clear glass at night, but tinted when the sun is blindingly bright.
Why isn't this a thing with replacement glass?

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Expense mainly. Timing, too.
The photochromatic lenses [photo-sun, photo sensative] you describe can be made in small units like eyeglasses, but it might be expensive to do it to a full front glass windshield, or all the windows in a vehicle.

If it's not that expensive, it may be illegal in some states. You cannot control the sunlight. If the Sun ducks behind a cloud, your windshield may still be darker, as it's not instantly reactive, but takes several minutes to change. Drive from a bright Arizona day into a tunnel and you'd be blind. By the time your windshield reacts to the dark by lightening up, Bam! you're in full sun again.
I've had a few pairs of glasses, both prescription and sunglasses, with the PhotoSun treatment, so I know how they work.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

There is an electronic tint available that is mainly used on sky scrapers and office buildings. I thought about trying some on a truck but never did. I figured it would be pretty pricey. haha

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

It's a good idea if it could be done.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Transitions glasses became available in the early 90's I had a friend that worked there Pinellas park Fl . They were and still are expensive . Mrs Grumpy has a pair and they are pretty cool but it takes a bit of time for them to " transition " from light to dark. She even gave me one of their company T- shirts that were white inside but when exposed to the sun their logo would appear on the shirt .:metal:

Most auto insurance companies won't insure a car/ truck with any type of aftermarket tint on the windshield . :chevy:


People also ask
How quickly do Transitions lenses change?
Photochromic lenses, when exposed to sunlight/UV rays, will on average take approx 30 seconds to a minute to darken and will continue to darken for a further 10 minutes to full sunglasses tint/shade, returning to an almost clear state within 2 minutes and fully cleared within 5 minutes .

https://www.transitions.com/en-us/our-company/history/

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

My Brother and I had self darkning glasses in the 70's early 80's.
Our family was not rich. So this wasn't something that was crazy $$$

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Per my brother who has the transiition lenses and when it's cold out they take longer to go from light to dark.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

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Hmmm... I remember being one of the first in my area to get windows tinted on my '68 stepper back in the 80s. Drove over 100 miles to another city to get it done and was such a happy guy!

But yes...difficult to see through at night! I backed into my fair share of fence posts, trees and ditches back in the day off near the dirt roads.

-klb

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

When I was in the Marines at MCAS Yuma, AZ, I had a pair of regulation pilot-type sunglasses with prescription PhotoSun lenses. I was OK wearing them in the hangar, working on the jets. They were in clear mode. Then we were all called to attention out on the flight line for some unexpected Dog-and-Pony show unit formation. I was at the Position of Attention, now out in the sunshine. My glasses darkened up.
The SgtMaj got on my case for wearing sunglasses in formation. I got chewed out. No Excuses. ''Photochromic lenses'' could not count. I was lucky not to get written up.

F-16 canopies have some electronically enhanced tint configuration, but with Your Tax Dollars, the Gov't will spare no expense. Out of budget for most Classic Chevy Truckers.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Maybe it's not a thing because it's "almost" as easy to lower the sun visor or just put on sunglasses. I get it, tint is "cool" but I've lived in the CA desert and TX most of my life and never really felt the need to tint my windows. Don't get me wrong, that's just me - lots of people in SoCal tinted their windows, but then again they also wore sunglasses to be twice as cool ;)

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Ask and you shall receive.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...-QYFbz8tWdSKEW


If I remember correctly Ford had a windshield that turned a gold color in the sun as a option around 2000.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

I wear transitions and when I set them down to wipe the sweat from my brow Or let's say i just take them for little bit. If they are partly shaded a post or by say mini blinds , they end up with stripes of tint/no tint . MAN is that hard to see through.:sumo:

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Now just imagine : park on a partly shady street .or : under a bunch of power lines?;)

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Check it out
https://www.amazon.com/HOHO-Electron...dp/B07428XTF7/
I would like this on the back window, for when the sun is beaming in and making me hot.

Edit: or at night when somebody is following me with their high beams on.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

My thinking isn't about looking cool, it is about being cool, and laso not having faded interior from the sun bleaching it.
I think the reason todays vehicles interiors come in black, black, black or if you are lucky a charcoal or gray, or tan only, is because of the fading problems of the other colors.

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

And what happens with your auto-tint when the battery fails?

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

Well somebody thinks it's worth the effort!
www.continental-automotive.com

With Continental´s Intelligent Glass Control you can tint your car windows with the touch of a button. Special films, inserted into the glass of the car, change their transparency through electric control signals. The degree of shading for individual windows can be determined, to “dim” your windows. This means increased comfort and safety for passengers and reduces the energy consumption of your climate control system.
The price is more than likely more than my truck is worth but it would be nice to have.:chevy::chevy:

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

That was for defrost (an embedded layer, rather than a defroster grid like on a rear window). The gold tint was a result of the layer, rather than any kind of intentional windshield tint.

K

Re: The question no one ever asked.
 

My 82 Collector's Corvette had gold tint t tops! I had to have them replaced once and they where like $2000.00 for them. Insurance paid for them though thank goodness.:metal: