Thinking of tinting the windows

Your concerns about leather degradation from sun exposure are shared by many. I have had that circumstance in several cars over the years. For me in sunny Southern California, the top is down nearly all the time so sun exposure is maximized while driving and tinting windows provides no help when all windows are down. Disappointing as it is, I've just come to expect leather degradation as part of the ownership of convertibles in SoCal. But, here is some science to help guide your thoughts. These are thoughts from me as an experimental physicist with optics background.

Most glasses and plastics are strong UV blockers, regardless of tinting. Leather can be heated by visible and infrared radiation, not just UV. While not having studied leather carefully, it seems to me the temperature cycling of the leather is damage-inducing without the presence of UV. Leather shrinks over time and heating the leather seems to produce that effect and a weakening of the associated adhesives used in upholstery.

Darkening the windows does little to reduce the interior heating of a vehicle. Putting a windshield screen on a car does block the direct heating of the dash by visible light through the window but over time does not keep the interior substantially cooler. I put a bluetooth wireless temperature gauge inside one of my cars and measured the temperature over the day in two conditions, with and without a car cover. For days with the same weather conditions, the time-dependent daily temperature profiles for the two conditions were similar in interior temperature rise, with the covered car taking a bit longer to rise during the day, but similar peak temperatures inside were reached. Thermal conduction and infrared heat the interior of a car through the car cover or the car body in either case.

For my use then, I don't tint windows or use a car cover outside. I just live with the leather degradation and enjoy the cars.

And, by the way, I have a black 2016 Cali T with black leather interior at about 5,000 miles driven per year.

 

I went with 18% ceramic tint not only for aesthetics, privacy, and uv protection, but also to keep the interior cooler when parked at office when it's good weather. The interior adhesives release more in hot temperatures causing the leather trim to look bad over time. I recall I went with solar gard tint. I highly recommend. Image Unavailable, Please Login

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I tinted the side windows max legal tint in ceramic film. For my car, the key to getting that menacing opaque look was tinting the windshield and the rear window. Windshield is very light, rear window is one shade lighter than limo tint. I'll take any amount of UV protection I can get, I see the effects of UV rays on human skin daily in the office, leather is a just a more robust version.