Window tinting has its origins thousands of years ago when ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians first used colored glass beads and items. The desire for shaded windows grew over time, with Romans using cloth and Venetians inventing sheet glass and glazing techniques in the 12th century. The modern practice of window tinting began in the 1960s with the invention of solar control film, an adhesive film with an aluminum coating that reflected sunlight. Today, window tinting through glass coating is commonly used to control heat, visibility, and light levels across many industries and in vehicles.
1. The History of Window Tint
The desire to get into your car on a hot day and not experience the effects of the sun beating down directly on the interior
has made tinting of car windows popular.
The desire to used tinted glass goes way back thousands of years to the time of the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians.
These civilizations are credited with being the first to use colored glass beads and other colored glass items to decorate
pots. The original colored glass was created by adding pigment and natural chemicals to the mixture as the glass was
being made. This resulted in colored glass that did let light through but this type of glass was not used for windows.
Romans developed the first clear glass that was used as windows for their architecture. These early windows were covered
with cloth for shade and to keep out the heat. This was considered by some to defeat the original purpose of clear glass.
In the 12th Century the Venetians invented and then refined the concept of sheet glass. They are also credited with
developing a method of coating class which was referred to as glazing. These types of windows were very expensive and
normally only used when building royal palace or church.
The development of glass making technology evolved over the years to include new glazing inventions such as mirrors.
The purpose of this type of glass was usually as a decoration and mirrored glass was often installed with windows.
The process of tinting windows and coating glass as a way to protect from the heat and light of the sun started in 1902.
This was the year that Irving W. Colburn patented something called the sheet glass drawing machine. This is what made
the mass production of glass for their common use as windows a reality.
In time people began to seek protection from the sun’s heat and light in all types of buildings, homes and especially
vehicles. It was understood how glass increased the sun’s temperature and UV rays.
Window tinting started in the 1960s as solar control film. It was a film that was attached to the glass by using a method of
pressing it on the window using some type of transparent adhesive. The solar control film consisted of a mist deposited
aluminum coat and was designed to reflect the sun’s solar radiation back away from the treated window’s surface.
There have been several developments in the world of the history of window tinting since the creation of solar control film.
Today glass coating and the tinting of windows are used to control heat, visibility and light for everything from public
buildings to food production facilities and even with car windows.