Cody and Brooke West provide quick, affordable service close to Jacksonville
By Julie Gerke
Cody West has been tinting windows for years as a longtime mechanic, but it wasn’t until late summer when he and wife Brooke decided to bring the shade to their first business.
The Murrayville couple opened West Window Tinting, 116 Main St., Murrayville, in August. They’ve gained a following for quick, accurate and affordable work, drawing customers not only from their hometown but from Jacksonville and even Springfield.
“I did [tinting] for years when I was in high school,” Cody West said. “When the guy in town quit doing it, we thought it would be a good idea to start doing it. It’s making our own business for our future, too.”
West Window Tinting fills a building that is part garage, part waiting room. Work is done by appointment, and customers have a choice of carbon or ceramic tinting that can fill entire windows, upper windshield strips or a border.
The couple, married since 2019, splits the work: Cody West does the installing, and Brooke West is office manager/scheduler. Their beloved English bulldog, Otis, is shop mascot.
A machine cuts the tinting film to provide a perfect fit, simply by typing a vehicle’s year, make and model into a computer program. Once the machine cuts the film, Cody West sprays a solution on a window and heats the glass before positioning the film. After using a squeegee to push away moisture and any bubbles, a heat gun provides the final “stick.”
Pricing depends on material and the amount of tinting requested; West said a windshield strip is a 20-minute job that might run $30; an entire four-door sedan might start at $275.
Tinting keeps a car’s interior cooler and provides more privacy, West said. “I feel like we’re getting a lot of good feedback,” he said. “People have loved having darker windows. Once they have it, they have to have it in the next vehicle. It’s like looking through sunglasses.”
West Window Tinting is located at 116 Main St. in Murrayville. They are open by appointment and can be reached by calling or texting 217-883-3853. Also, follow them on facebook at Westwindowtinting.
