Window Tinting. Got the supplies and installing soon. Tips?

JohnnyC · Post by **JohnnyC** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:49 pm

So I picked up some 5% high quality window tint film and all the nessicary tools to do it. I've done vinal application before (worked in a sign shop for a while), so I'm fairly confident that I shouldn't run into too many problems... That being said.

Got any suggestions or tips for me that might help the installation go smoother?

lanos2001 · Post by **lanos2001** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:12 am

well i've never worked with tint before but i'm sure you know to have a heat gun for it to go on easier. uummm.... i've heard before that to get the shape of the glass before installing is to hold it up to the outside part of the glass and use the heat gun to shape it, of course with the sticky side not on the glass. then just install it and cut excess tint away.

nick

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:14 am

i once tried to tint my windows... notice they arent tinted? its really hard to do good and right

Audacity Racing · Post by **Audacity Racing** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:28 am

use a credit card and TONS of windex

JohnnyC · Post by **JohnnyC** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:35 am

Interesting idea on the heat gun to shape the film before applying it. I knew about having excess and then carefully cutting away the excess after you're applied it though.

On a related note... anyone know of a good way to dissolve/remove a sticker that is over your rear window defrost lines?

Whoever owned my Woo before me saw fit to put a humane society member sticker on the INSIDE of the window. And of course the Humane Society did NOT see fit to use a plastic for their sticker that is worth a damn so it's very brittle... they did however see fit to use some extremely strong glue on the back side of it.

I've been putting off trying to get the sticker off the window until I was going to do the tint. I was just out there working on it and decided to stop and see if you guys knew of anything that will dissolve a sticker without damaging the lines for the defrost?

I have some special window tinting fluid that I'll be mixing with some distilled water. I also have some nice squeegees for applying the tint and I'm not worried about getting the bubbles out of it... I have loads of experience with that from doing vinyl. Right now my biggest concern is getting that bloody sticker off the window.

DomWoo · Post by **DomWoo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:47 am

tinting is simple

remember that you can always cut more off if its still to big

first thing... make sure everything is clean. use lintless cloth or news paper to clean surfaces

second, roll the window down about a 1/2" so its lower then the top seal.

pull out the spray bottle and spray the out side of the window

take the tint and cut a section big enough and easier to work with and place it on out side of the window sticky side facing out so that when you flip it around to the inside it will stick to the window you are working on

take your razor blade and cut along the top curve of the window allowing the blade to rest along the glass giving you a smooth cut on the top edge

rull the window up and finish cutting out the shape of the window leaving a 1/2"- 1" on the bottom to side under the pannel seal

spray the inside window down

flip it around to the inside of the window and check the fit and make any ajustments needed

remove clear film and stick it ot the window and slide it around to the perfect fit leaving 1/4' to 3/8" at the top so that when it rolls up it doesnt crinkle in the seal

use rubber tool or credit card covered in cloth to smoth out any bubbles, work from one side to the other and carefull not to crinkle the tint because they wont go away

let dry, i usually dont rull the window all the way up for the first few days just ot be safe

the cleaner the work area the better it will turn out

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:02 am

mo naked hoes

JohnnyC · Post by **JohnnyC** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:56 am

HA! No stupid humane society sticker could defeat ME!!!

Started thinking about physics a bit. So I grabbed my wife's blow-drier, an extension cord, a rag, a razor blade, and a trusty can of WD-40.

I used the blow-drier to get those molecules moving and give the plastic a little elasticity. I then scraped very carefully between the lines with my razor blade, getting the bulk of this annoying sticker off. Then I sprayed some WD-40 on the rag and rubbed off the majority of the glue. I switched back to the blow drier to get it warm again. I then scraped vigorously with my thumbnail until I got all the sticker bits off the lines. Then of course more WD-40! Finally got that thing off there!

SO! Step one is complete... All the stickers are gone from my windows (there was two of those 'child safety something' stickers on the rear windows too... which oddly looked like they were rusting!) But those came off really easy with just a razor blade.

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:05 am

my stickers "rusted" also. thats strange

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:45 pm

it is rather burned by the sun than rusted.

MMamdouh

JohnnyC · Post by **JohnnyC** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:56 pm

I guess... it really looked like they rusted. Hehe

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:12 pm

yeah it was burned, but it did look rusted

JohnnyC · Post by **JohnnyC** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:40 pm

Looks like sunday is going to be the day for my install of the tint.

Maybe tomorrow afternoon. I'll post the results and some pictures after the fact.