Tint Removal
03-10-2004, 03:10 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Stuart, FL
Posts: 544
I want to get my car re-tinted this weekend, but I want to remove the tint myself. I don't want some tint place messing up my rear window defroster. My neighbor had his old tint removed off his TII and they tore some of the defrosting strands making it not work correctly. I would rather try it myself, and if I mess it up, hey, its my fault. So if anyone had any advise/tips/tricks into taking it off safely it would be appreciated.
Thanks...
Brent
Thanks...
Brent
03-10-2004, 03:35 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Fort Lewis Washington
Posts: 705
Use ammonia and plastic bags to keep the area saturated. Do this in the shade.
cut plastic bag on the outside of the window to get the size.
spray ammonia on over the area you want to remove (lift the edges of the tint from the window)
place the bag on over the ammonia and make an ammonia sandwich
protect the edges from overspray with paper towels
leave it on for 30 min and the tint should be soft
peel it off carefully and stop periodically and allow more to soak between the glass and the tint
This takes a while, stinks and works.
hope it helps.
cut plastic bag on the outside of the window to get the size.
spray ammonia on over the area you want to remove (lift the edges of the tint from the window)
place the bag on over the ammonia and make an ammonia sandwich
protect the edges from overspray with paper towels
leave it on for 30 min and the tint should be soft
peel it off carefully and stop periodically and allow more to soak between the glass and the tint
This takes a while, stinks and works.
hope it helps.
03-10-2004, 08:09 PM
#3
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Amityville, New York
Posts: 12,288
try to peel the tint off using a heat gun or by just grabbing
the edges and pulling it off.
then take window cleaner and wet down the window good, saturate it,
use some 000 fine steel wool and the glue should come right off
put some paper down to catch the drippings.
You can get the steel wool from home depot or a hardware store, its
cheap.
I never did the amonia sandwhich like army is describing, but I have
done the steel wool thing quite a number of time with great success.
the edges and pulling it off.
then take window cleaner and wet down the window good, saturate it,
use some 000 fine steel wool and the glue should come right off
put some paper down to catch the drippings.
You can get the steel wool from home depot or a hardware store, its
cheap.
I never did the amonia sandwhich like army is describing, but I have
done the steel wool thing quite a number of time with great success.
03-10-2004, 09:39 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,985
My tinter also told me to use the ammonia method, but it sounds like Rob's idea is much less to worry about - just a little elbow grease! Take your pick of methods!
But I would stay away from the steel wool if you have factory tint/coated windows underneath, like the back half of most SUV's.
But I would stay away from the steel wool if you have factory tint/coated windows underneath, like the back half of most SUV's.
03-10-2004, 09:44 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 2,467
The ammonia method sucks major ***, waste of time and a huge mess.
Like rob said, heat always works, and believe it or not WD-40 will loosen a number of adhesives, some on a soft rag w/ a little elbow grease will get the job done without incident, just don't use it in conjunction w/ the heat gun...duh!
Like rob said, heat always works, and believe it or not WD-40 will loosen a number of adhesives, some on a soft rag w/ a little elbow grease will get the job done without incident, just don't use it in conjunction w/ the heat gun...duh!
03-10-2004, 09:54 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Elizabethtown, PA
Posts: 480
Just be very careful of the defrost strips, they tend to get brittle over time and if you accidentally cut even a hairline crack in one of them then they're done. Don't let anyone tell you that you can easily fix it with the cheapo filler gel stuff, that crap definitely doesn't work. Just some experience info- At the dealership I work at we had a 99 Corvette come in as a trade in and it needed reconned. During the recon a few of the defrost strips were cut while someone was trying to scrape a parking pass sticker off the back window with a razor blade. We couldn't fix it, and an entire rear window assembly had to be purchased, which was insanely expensive. Then again, I guess it depends how important rear defrost is to you. That "ammonia sandwhich" idea sounds like it would work fine, just be very careful about those strips, they're more fragile than you think.
03-10-2004, 10:22 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Delaware
Posts: 682
Originally Posted by Rob x-7' date='Mar 10 2004, 06:09 PM
try to peel the tint off using a heat gun or by just grabbing
the edges and pulling it off.
then take window cleaner and wet down the window good, saturate it,
use some 000 fine steel wool and the glue should come right off
put some paper down to catch the drippings.
You can get the steel wool from home depot or a hardware store, its
cheap.
I never did the amonia sandwhich like army is describing, but I have
done the steel wool thing quite a number of time with great success.
the edges and pulling it off.
then take window cleaner and wet down the window good, saturate it,
use some 000 fine steel wool and the glue should come right off
put some paper down to catch the drippings.
You can get the steel wool from home depot or a hardware store, its
cheap.
I never did the amonia sandwhich like army is describing, but I have
done the steel wool thing quite a number of time with great success.
03-10-2004, 11:34 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 2,467
Originally Posted by rxtasy3' date='Mar 10 2004, 09:30 PM
i used single edge razor blades, like the scrapers that's used to remove inspection stickers.