Ceramic Window Tinting Virginia

In Kepler’s range they are the same thing. Kepler IR and IR+ are both nano-ceramic films, and the (IR) in the name is the infrared heat the ceramic layer is there to stop. What separates the two ranges is how much of it they stop: 81% on IR, 98% on IR+, easing to 93% on IR+’s near-clear Photon shade. Both are 1.5 mil, bonded with Ultra Bond adhesive and finished with a Scratch Guard+ coating.

Kepler publishes a table for each range. Kepler IR is listed at 81% infrared rejection across all four of its shades; IR+ at 98% across four of its five, and 93% on the near-clear Photon. Ultraviolet transmittance is under 1% on every shade of both ranges. Total solar energy rejection runs from 72% down to 51% on IR+ and from 66% to 51% on IR, and glare reduction falls as the shade gets lighter.

What Kepler publishes for IR+

• Up to 98% infrared rejection
• Under 1% ultraviolet transmittance
• Glare reduction from 95% down to 20%

A dyed film takes its shade from colour in the film itself, and that colour is doing much of the work — so the lighter you go, the less you get. Kepler puts the heat rejection in a ceramic layer instead, which is why a light Kepler shade still performs. Kepler also lists ultraviolet transmittance under 1% on every shade of both ranges, and describes the ceramic films as resisting fading, haze and discolouration.

Kepler does not set it. The price depends on the range, the shade, how many windows you are doing and the car itself, and the dealer who fits the film quotes you directly. For a sense of the numbers, see the pricing guides page. What you are quoted still comes from the dealer, once they know the car, the range and the shade you want.

Give the film time to cure before you touch the glass. Kepler’s warranty terms ask for the windows to stay closed for the first week, and describe the water pockets and dot-matrix look you may see while the mounting solution dries as normal curing rather than defects — let them evaporate instead of pressing them out. Ask the dealer who fitted the film what to clean it with, since improper cleaning is excluded from the warranty. It is also worth checking your shade against the limits on our window tint laws page — Virginia inspects vehicles every year, and sunscreening that is scratched, wrinkled or distorted is grounds for rejection.

There is more on cleaning and long-term care here: window film care.

Not with any confidence at home. Virginia’s limits apply to the total light coming through the glass and the film together, not to the film on its own, and the annual safety inspection also rejects sunscreening that is scratched, wrinkled or distorted. What you can do beforehand is ask for the film’s published light transmittance and weigh it against the limits on our window tint laws page before you commit to a shade.

Virginia sets them window by window. Under § 46.2-1052, film cannot take total light transmittance below 50% on the front side windows, or below 35% on the rear side windows and rear glass, and no film on any window may exceed 20% reflectance or produce a holographic or prism effect. There is one substantial exception: the rear side and rear windows of a multipurpose passenger vehicle or pickup truck are not held to that 35%. The full detail is on our Virginia window tint laws page.

The windshield is separate. No darkening film goes on it beyond replacing the factory sunshield at the top, and the inspection rules reject sun-shading material with words or pictures on it that reaches below the AS-1 line. If you have a medical need, apply to the DMV on form MED-20 before any film is fitted — an approved authorisation allows 35% on the front side, rear side and rear windows.

What the heat-blocking layer is made of. A metallised film rejects heat with metal, which tends to look mirror-like and can sit between the electronics in your car and the signal outside. Kepler builds IR+ as metal-free ceramic — no dyes, no metals — and describes both ranges as non-reflective and signal-friendly. Virginia caps the reflectance of film on any window at 20%, so a mirrored finish is not only a matter of taste here.

No, and that is the best argument for ceramic film. The ceramic layer does the heat work, not the darkness, so IR+ rejects the same 98% of infrared at Equinox’s 33% shade as it does at Nebula’s 4%. In a state where your front side windows have to stay at 50% or above, that is the difference between choosing a light film and giving up on heat control altogether.

Send a quote request. Kepler makes the film and sells it through independent dealers, so there is no Kepler shop to visit: the enquiry goes to the dealer nearest you, and the film, the price and the appointment are agreed between you and them. Confirm availability and timing with that dealer before you plan around it.