Window Tint
in San Francisco.
ESM Motors installs XPEL PRIME window tint in San Francisco, in-house, using PRIME XR PLUS and PRIME XR BLACK films. Window tint blocks UV, keeps the cabin cooler, cuts glare, adds privacy and protects your interior from fading and sun damage. Every installation is completed in-house with precise film placement and careful finishing around the edges of each window.
Factory tint
Factory tint isn’t the same as window tint.
Factory tint, often called privacy glass, is color added to the glass when it’s made. It darkens the windows for privacy, but it isn’t designed to block heat: infrared light still passes through, so the cabin still heats up in the sun.
It’s one of the most common misconceptions we hear. Clients see dark rear glass and assume it’s already protecting them, but darker glass isn’t the same as UV or heat protection. In a 2016 study of 29 cars, side windows blocked only 71% of UVA on average, compared with 96% for windshields. Privacy glass is also usually only on the rear windows, so the front side windows next to you are often untreated.
Ceramic tint adds the protection factory glass doesn’t: XPEL PRIME blocks 99% of UV and rejects up to 96% of infrared heat, on clear or factory-tinted glass.
UVA blocked by car glass
71%
Side windows, average of 29 cars tested
96%
Windshields
99%
UV blocked with XPEL PRIME ceramic tint
Sources: JAMA Ophthalmology 2016, via Prevent Cancer Foundation · XPEL
Benefits
Benefits of window tint.
Window tint makes the car more comfortable to be in and helps preserve it: it blocks UV, cuts heat and glare, and protects your interior from sun damage. XPEL says its automotive tints can mean up to 60% less heat inside the cabin.
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UV protection
Quality film blocks the UV rays that come through your windows, protecting you and your passengers on every drive, not just on sunny days.
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Interior protection and preservation
UV and heat are what fade, dry out and crack leather, dashboards, trim and upholstery over time. Tint slows that down, so the interior stays closer to how it looked new.
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Heat rejection
A cooler cabin is more comfortable, cools down faster and puts less load on the air conditioning.
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Glare reduction
Less glare from the sun, wet roads and headlights makes driving easier on your eyes.
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Privacy and security
Darker rear glass keeps what’s inside your car out of view, which matters when you street-park.
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A finished look
Tint gives the car a cleaner, more cohesive appearance, from a subtle factory-style shade to something darker.
Heat
A parked car heats up fast.
On a 72°F day, the inside of a parked car reached 117°F within an hour, and 80% of that rise happened in the first 30 minutes. Ceramic tint rejects the infrared heat that drives it.
How fast a parked car heats up
72° →︎ 117°F
Inside a parked car within an hour, on a 72°F day
80%
Of that temperature rise happens in the first 30 minutes
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Darker doesn’t mean cooler. How much heat a film blocks depends mostly on how well it rejects infrared light, so a lighter, high-performance film can keep a car cooler than a darker, basic one.
The films we use.
We install two films from XPEL’s PRIME line: XR PLUS and XR BLACK. Both come in shades from very light to very dark so we can match the look you want.
XPEL PRIME XR PLUS
96% on most shades (XPEL spec sheet)
XPEL PRIME XR BLACK
78% on most shades (XPEL spec sheet)
Our film
How much heat each film rejects.
XR PLUS is the choice when heat rejection matters most. We’ll help you pick the film and shade in person, where you can see them on glass.
Infrared heat rejected · most shades
96%
XPEL PRIME XR PLUS (our main film)
78%
XPEL PRIME XR BLACK
Source: XPEL PRIME spec sheet
Our process.
Every tint installation is done in-house by our own team, with precise film placement and careful finishing around the edges of each window.
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Filed edges, at no extra cost
We file the film edges on every window for free, so the tint finishes cleanly at the edge of the glass for a seamless, factory-looking install.
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Lifetime installation warranty
Why ESM Motors
Woman-owned. Enthusiast-led. Built in San Francisco.
Every tint installation is done in-house by our own team with XPEL PRIME film, with free edge filing and a lifetime installation warranty. We give clear recommendations and clear pricing and we stay involved after the install.
ESM Motors was founded by a lifelong car enthusiast with a clear vision: create a shop where vehicles are treated with care, clients receive honest guidance, and every detail is held to a higher standard.