Mobile tint · Columbus, Ohio
Yes, we come to you.
No, it’s not always
the better job.
Dust is what ruins tint. One speck under the film is a silver dot you can see forever, and the only fix is to peel the piece and cut a new one. Our bay is indoors with the door shut. Your driveway is not. Here’s the honest version of that trade.
Which one is your car
Read the left column. If nothing there is you, read the right one and drive it in.
Mobile is the right call
- A fleet that can't leave the lot.
Six vans off the road one at a time costs you more than the tint does. We come to the yard and work through them.
- A car that doesn't drive.
Dead battery, project car on stands, something sitting at another shop. It isn't making it to Trabue Road.
- You have a real garage.
Door down, hard floor, an outlet. That's most of what our bay is. In that space mobile is genuinely close.
- Dealer and lease inventory.
Rows of the same car, same cut, same film. Nobody wants to shuttle them here twice.
Bring it to the bay
- The rear window.
Biggest single piece, curved, heat-shrunk onto the glass — and the piece where one speck shows worst. Do this one inside.
- Any car you're going to stare at.
Black paint, clean interior, an owner who notices things. You will find the dot. Then we're peeling a good piece of film.
- Cold, wind, or rain.
Film shrinks with heat and the adhesive sets with warmth. An Ohio driveway in January is not a tint bay, and no van fixes that.
- Pollen and cottonwood.
Columbus in spring, cottonwood in June. Anyone who has tried to work outside in it already knows how this ends.
The part nobody says out loud
Every shop in this town will say yes to mobile. Almost none of them will tell you what it costs you.
It isn’t skill. Same hands, same film, same blades. It’s what’s in the air. In a sealed bay we decide what lands on wet glass. In your driveway the wind decides. If your spot is bad, we’ll say so before we load the van — not after you’re staring at a bump under your rear glass and we’re arguing about whose fault it is.
“Would you do my car mobile if it was yours?”
Ask Ameer that on the phone. He answers it straight. Most of the time the answer is: drive it in. The west side is a short run down Trabue, and you’ll be happier with the glass. Also ask what the warranty looks like on a mobile job versus a bay job — it’s not the same conversation, and a shop that says it is hasn’t thought about it.
What we need at your location
This is the list. Check all of it and mobile is a good job. Miss two or three and we’re going to tell you to bring it in.
- 01An enclosed space with the door shut. A carport is not enclosed. A garage with the door up is not enclosed.
- 02A standard outlet within reach. A heat gun pulls real current, and a generator running by an open door is its own dust problem.
- 03Room to open every door all the way — call it two feet on each side.
- 04Concrete or asphalt. Gravel throws dust every time somebody moves.
- 05Above about 50 degrees, or heated. Cold film fights back.
- 06Nobody mowing, blowing, or sanding nearby. Not while we work, not the hour before.
- 07A washed car with the door panels wiped down. Whatever is on the car ends up under the film.
What it costs
In the bay, these are the numbers. All around means every window except the windshield.
- CarbonNo purple, no bubbles. Cuts glare and holds its colour.$200Est. — confirm w/ shop
- Ceramic Grade AThe one most people leave with. Real heat rejection, no signal interference.$300Confirmed
- Ceramic Grade A+The most heat we can block. Worth it if you park outside all summer.$400Est. — confirm w/ shop
Mobile isn’t on that list, and we’re not going to make a number up to fill the gap. It moves with where you are, how many vehicles, and what your space looks like. Call for a number on this one — Ameer will price it on the phone.
Mobile work around Columbus, Hilliard, Dublin, Powell, Plain City, Upper Arlington, Worthington. Farther out, ask. On a fleet the drive is usually worth it. On one car it usually isn’t.
The law doesn’t change in your driveway
Front side windows have to let at least 50% of the light through, plus or minus 3. The windshield has to let at least 70% through, plus or minus 3 — except for a strip along the top, which Ohio does not regulate at all as long as it stops at the AS-1 line or five inches down, whichever is closer to the top. Rear window and rear side windows can be any darkness you like, as long as the car has both outside mirrors. The label with the maker’s name and the light-transmission percentage goes in the lower left corner of the window, read from outside. We fit it on a driveway job exactly like we fit it in the bay.
Never legal, anywhere: red or yellow film. Reflective or mirrored film, any window.
Pick the shade before we load the van
This matters more on a mobile job than it does here. We cut and load film for your car before we leave the shop. Changing your mind in the driveway means a second trip. Drag it, pick it, tell Ameer the number.
Straight answers
- Do you do mobile window tint in Columbus?
- Yes. Mostly fleet vehicles and cars that can't be driven in. If your car can make it to the shop, we will usually tell you to bring it, because the bay is a better place to tint than a driveway.
- Is mobile tint as good as tint done in a shop?
- Not automatically. Same hands, same film, same blades — the difference is what is floating in the air. In a closed clean garage with power, mobile is very close. In an open driveway on a windy day it is not, and we won't pretend otherwise.
- How much does mobile window tint cost in Columbus?
- In the bay, Ceramic Grade A is $300 all around, windshield excluded. Mobile is not a fixed number — it depends on where you are, how many vehicles, and what your space looks like. Call the shop for a number on that one.
- What do you need at my location to tint a car?
- An enclosed space with the door shut, a standard outlet within reach, room to open every door fully, a hard floor rather than gravel, temperature above about 50 degrees, nobody mowing or blowing nearby, and a car that has been washed.
- Can you do mobile tint in winter in Ohio?
- Not in an open driveway. Film needs heat to shrink to the glass and the adhesive needs warmth to set. In a heated garage, yes.
- Does mobile tint still have to follow Ohio tint law?
- Yes. Front side windows still have to let at least 50% of light through, plus or minus 3. The windshield is 70%, plus or minus 3. No red, yellow, reflective or mirrored film. The VLT label goes in the lower left corner of the window either way. A van does not change the statute.
Tell us where the car is.
One car or twelve. If mobile is wrong for your job, we’ll say so on the phone and save you the redo.
5220 Trabue Road, Suite D, Columbus, OH 43228