Tinting windows. Trails and Error. Tutorial DIY Topic is solved

[Red-Arrow]

Well you don't need much in the way of tools. A Olfa snap off knife. A squeegee, some Baby Shampoo and a mountain of perseverance.

I had old tints on my glass which I painstakingly peeled off. That took two days. After that I had to knife and use a brake cleaner to make sure nothing remained. Everything was clean and ready to have a tint cut out. We start with this. I removed the trim in hopes of making the tint perfect. Waste of time but oh well.

( A cheap steam cleaner would have helped removed the old tint in a few minutes)

Rear clean window

Clear side

It got dark quickly so I just did the rear panel. First you cut out the film on the outside. Just go around the trim or solid black lines.
The peeling side or glue side must face out towards you. If you do this wrong throw it away. Start again.

Cut on the outside

close up

I got a whole pile of creases which we all get. Don't panic and continue on.

Peel film

Now find the edge and peel the clear film sheet back and spray with baby shampoo water. Ration 50 to 1.

continue to spray soapy water on film.

Peel 2

peel 3

peel 4

Now spray the inside window and squeegee to make sure its clean. then spray again and push film tint into place and soft squeegee the water out at first.

Inside spray

squegee 2

squeegee 3

once your happy with no large bubbles and no dirt behind the film. spray water on the rear of the film and push all the water out hard to the edges! use the soapy water to stop the squeegee from catching the film and marking it up.
You should end up with this.

outside view

squeegee 5

Not a great shot with only a tungsten bulb for light.

I also did the rear window but I kind of ruined it a little as you will see. Patience was sorely lacking on my end.

Rear film

Daylight film rear

rear 2

It looks ok in the daylight but under closer inspection I made a few mistakes on the edges and corners.

error 1

error 2

rear bubble

You can see its best to tint in good light. I also made the mistake of using a heat gun or blow lamp on the film. This film expanded. it did not shrink because its not automotive tint film. Its actual architectural film that I had spare from doing the house.

Film rear in Sun light

rear sunlight 2

This image illustrates the difference between the tint and non tinted area.

I cut the film inside on a glass table as the film roll was 3 ft wide.

film cutting

[Red-Arrow]

I think I have reached my limit on pictures I can upload?

I just used Image Shack to complete this thread. Sorry for it being so choppy.

I cleaned the front windows with comet as they had glue, hand prints and all sorts on them. I just wanted it done right.

You can see the difference the tint makes. It reduces sunlight by 70% and UV by 99% I think the infrared light is also stopped by 100%. Not to sure but its something like that.

The cabin temperature has been considerably lowered and the car is in Houston Texas with humidity in the 100% range! Using the AC constantly is horrible and today I heard the compressor switch off twice as the cabin temp leveled out. I wish I could do the front wind shield but that is not possible.

I hope this helps someone.

70% light reducing.

70%

Comet clean

comet

Cutting and shaping the film is the same as done on the rear.

filming cutting

solar film

Again using the heat gun on this film was a mistake because it metalized.

Mistake

I needed the light so I went outside. I didn't use the heat gun. I just waited and kept on pushing on the film that stood up. It sat down eventually.

end result

This is how it looks when its done.

side on view

passenger

rear end

And that is all she wrote.

[matthew1]

The limit is 99 attachments per post, so I can't say what went wrong. Can you add more in an additional post within this topic?

I'd leave the original post alone (i.e.: do not try to add more to it) because some have had attachments gone missing when trying to do that.

Nice topic, by the way, RA.

[voodoorobaz]

It looks great but I have advice for removing old tint. Steam is the answer and lots of it. I went to Wal-Mart and spent 30 bux on a steamer that has a good size water tank which i had to refill 4x but had all tint fron S70 removed in less than 1 hour, no other tools needed except for some elbow grease to get some adhesive off on a corner or rear window.

[Red-Arrow]

I agree with the steam as I saw people removing tints on Youtube with the steamer. I never thought to look at Youtube for help but there it was all along.

[matthew1]

This is a great topic, RA. It's going in the Volvo Repair Database tomorrow morning. Thank you.

[cn90]

I need to ask a question about tint removal.
The tint in my car is a bit too dark, I am afraid the cops may give me some trouble.

How hard is it to remove old tint film? I have added tint to my home window glass, so I am familiar with the tint install but have never done removal before.

Any tips?

[rspi]

It's not that bad. I usually use a razor to scrap it off with water. In most cases, the police will not bother you with an older car. Most tint laws changed in the early 2000's. Many states had 20% and 15% as legal.

I have installed tint on several cars but the last one (my 960) I paid to have it done because the cost was only about $70 difference. For $70, let someone else put up with that head ache. My wagon needs tint but I haven't had the $$$ to get it done yet nor have I had money for some good tint.

I would NEVER use household tint, my understanding is that it's not as scratch resistant as the car stuff in. Also, it gets hoter in a car than a house all day long. As for as tint, I was told by a guy that did it for a living said that Lumar and one other company has the best tint. Also, you can purchase PRE-CUT tint from several websites. I gut some pre-cut tint for my yellow, it was suppose to be 20% but a cop told me that it was 18% (in NC). I like taking the windows out so I don't get the window seal felt between the tint and glass, that is hard to avoid on the side windows.

Anyway, use some good quality auto tint, the cheap stuff turns purple in just a few years.

[firestarterpro]

How much tint do we need to buy to cover a wagon?