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    Tinting My Own Windows

    well, my ambition to improve my car is there, and i've done window tinting before, i just could never get it to work right, i get bubbles forming, creases in the tint, from afar..looks good, up close.. like ****. i've gone to 4 shops in the area, one as cheap as $225 bucks for drivers and passenger's windows, the rear window and a 4 inch strip across the top.. thats the cheapest i can find anywhere. other places want 65 an hour for labor with a minimum of 4 booked hours for the tint installation, plus materials, plus some sort of legal fee they have... something i don't even want to get into. so most other places want to do the job for 300 or more is the bottom line. to me, it ain't even ****in worth it, i'm not going darker than 35% and for such a low yield in resulting sun blocking, i'd rather do it myself. the only problem is, i'm extremely inept when it comes to tinting windows. what tools do you guys recommend for a beginner? i have an idea of the process, just what do i need to do to ensure a better quality job? i figure, i can buy the good stuff at a cost, and do the job myself for under $75 bucks. what do you guys suggest?
    peace

    #2
    tiniting cars is not easy...trust me i know...I owned a tint shop for a few years. It took awhile to get the hang of tinting cars, but flat glass (homes, commercial buildings) is much easier.

    the rear window will give you the most trouble. Infact, i saw on ebay, somebody selling a pre-cut tint kit...didn't look at the auction, just saw the title, so i have no idea what brand or how good etc...but here's a few tips.

    tools:
    1. Water spray bottle, 2-4 DROPS of dish soap per fill up
    2. paper towels
    3. squegee
    4. hard card
    5. SHARP breakoff blade utility knife
    6. heatgun


    1. pattern your film on the outside of the glass. cut it about 1/4" larger. Make sure the clear liner is facing the right way. It should be facing you, so when you apply to the inside, it's facing the glass.

    2. Clean the inside of each window 3-4 times. Clean one window at a time (the one your about to tint) This is very important. Spray the window, squegee the window, towel the edges real good, repeat.

    3. Spray the window un sparingly, peel the clear liner from the film, and spray the films adhesive side (under the liner) and apply to window. The wetter the window the better.

    4. Start from the top and squegee from top to bottom and side to side, slowly getting all the water out. With more water, it hopefully carries any dirt out with it. You can peel it back and re-spray, but spray it well, don't be affraid to soak it. (watch for dirt getting trapped along the peeled line)

    5. Once the film is all squegeed, fold a paper towel in half and wrap it around the hard card and use it as a squegee to get all the edges. Run the card as deep into the corners and edges as possible. The paper towel will soak up the water you push out from the edges.

    Now comes the hard part, the rear window. IMHO, one peice is the only way to go. It's a little harder to do, but looks 100% better. This is where the heatgun comes into play, as you need to "shrink" the film to conform tot he curves. This can be done one of 2 ways. wet shrink or dry shrink.

    1. Wet shrink is done by spraying the film and then shrinking a small area at a time. Using the squegee to smooth it out and then moving to a new area. This is painstakingly difficult, as you can crease the film in a heartbeat. GO SLOW.

    2. Dry shrink is just a hard, but your now using baby powder instead of water. Same procedure.

    The other alternative is to use 2-3 peices. Each peice MUST be cut along a defroster line or it just looks like **** and you must use a butt splice. This is by overlapping the 2 peices and cutting along the inside of the defroster line once it's applied to the glass. This takes a VERY steady hand...While tyhis can make the shrinking part a little easier, the installation is much harder. When installing a one peice rear window, backroll the film (clear liner on the inside. So it's facing you as you roll it up. Then apply one side and roll it out applying it as you go. This helps big time with dirt, as the adhesive is protected from touching anything.

    It's been a long time since i tinted, so i hope i didn't forget something....although it gave me an idea for a small video how-to....I won't lie, it aint easy and you WILL get upset. Take your time and don't be afraid to get "real" with the film, most good brands are pretty forgiving, but crease it and your done, start over.

    Comment


      #3
      oh, i know how frustrating it is, i spent 2 hours doing the back windows, never attempted the rear window, and the front windows were done one at a time at a cost of 2 hours of work additionally. the shops around here don't carry any 50% tint, so i'm kinda limited... everyone tells me this brand and that brand.. but NO TWO PLACES offer the same tint around here, it's hard to find some of the brands people have recommended, and i'll be damned if i am going to fret about it. thanks for your help daryl, i will attack the back windows in the next few days, then the front windows, the rear window, however, i'm going to leave to an expert to **** up. i don't feel like spending the 12 bucks on a roll of tint, getting halfway done and getting undesireable creases and streaks, forget it. thanks again bro. oh, a little back story, i did it before without really having the patience, tore it off, now it's going back on
      peace

      Comment


        #4
        those place are ripping your ass off big time, i got mine all around LIMO tint (thats uuuber black) with vustom graphics cut into it for $110, and it took the guy 45 minutes to do it.

        p.s. lifetime warranty
        Serenity's Dead.

        Comment


          #5
          oh the shops around here do lifetime warranty's, but i think it's more area specific bro... i mean, how many days a year is the sun blinding you no matter what time of day? it's only once in a while during the winter around here, and especially at sunrise and sunsets.. and to top it off, there is no average yearly temperature. while you may enjoy a winter of say an average of 55 degrees, it's 40 or below solid from october to i'd say around at least late march or even into april sometimes. think about the need in southern california. i'd say tint would be cheaper in some respects, a more common modification than it is here, everybody and their brother wants to do your tint here, it's just that the average middle aged guy isn't going to get his windows tinted, where as in so cal and say florida, it wouldn't be uncommon to see a 45 year old man driving around a car with dark black windows. plus things cost different depending where you are in the country. i'm not getting raped here.. it's just that it's not as common a thing for people to do, and fewer people that know how to do it RIGHT.. and slap the lifetime warranty on! god damn it, i want to live in socal
          peace

          Comment


            #6
            il gonna take some pics of my car soon and ill take some of my winders just for u
            Serenity's Dead.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by demoninvictus
              where as in so cal and say florida, it wouldn't be uncommon to see a 45 year old man driving around a car with dark black windows
              Damn, that's old as dirt ... I'd be surprised if that dude can even see through all that tint!
              Scott
              '94 Protege LX - gone, but not forgotten
              '96 Volvo 854T Platinum Limited Edition
              '98 Volvo V70 T5
              '03 Mazda MPV GFX

              Comment


                #8
                eh, whatever pal :p heh, i'm picking up some tint from pepboys (don't intend it on lasting longer than 2 years ) and probably going with 35% tint to be safe. in pa, the recommend light transmittance of your glass to allow 70% of the light in.. which pretty much nullifies your capability of getting even 50% TINT on your windows. i avoided a fix it ticket before with 20% tint by tearing that **** off right infront of the cop.. this time, i'm hoping to avoid all need of having to do that. figure, with 35% tint, interior lights dimmed and head unit display dimmed, i should be able to see as clear as i need to.. and the back window will get 35% as well, as i need to see when i'm backing up during deliveries. i tackle this task impart tomrrow sometime.. probably only one window at a time so i can do it right the first time.. AND have the ventillation that i need in my car (considering i'm a smoker). eh well, thanks for the help once again...
                peace

                Comment


                  #9
                  if u wanna drive to north carolina, i can get u tinted for 125, lifetime warranty

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I paid $150 for mine....3M tint, lifetime warranty.

                    I would neve attempt to do tint myself...i'd **** it up so bad...leave it to the professionals, why bastardize your car b/c your a cheapass?
                    93' Noble Green MX-ZE (sold )
                    02' Graphite Grey WRX Stage 4, 286whp
                    05' Pontiac Vibe daily driver, lowered/tinted/rims

                    Comment


                      #11
                      my car deserves to be bastardized. i'm not being a cheap ass about it. i'm being frugal for one reason, pennsylvania has the STRICTIST laws on window tint. you can do your back window (being the back windshield) jet black, but there cannot be a SINGLE piece of tint on ANY other window. simply cut, if i pay 200 or 300 to have the tint put on, and then end up paying $100 to $200 for a tinting fine, what the **** was the point? i just want to give my car some more appeal and block the damn sun from blinding me when i drive as sunglasses give me headaches after 8 hour shifts of driving. the tint will be more function than form as far as i'm concerned, as i'm only doing 35% tint. bottom line is, if i spend 100 on getting the windows tinted fairly decently on my own, i think thats 100% better than doling out 300 and then another 200 for fines. and this way, doing it myself, i know that if i have an officer has a big problem with my tint, i can just pull the **** off and forget it. i'm not looking for trouble, and i think that i'm entitled to tint my windows . cops haven't said anything about my rear windows being tinted, but the fronts are going to be the bastard of the whole deal, i may in fact just skip trying that, i'm not sure yet. i spent 20 bucks on two rolls, which should be enough to re-tint my back two windows alone, and leave enough to re-tint the quarter windows as well. the back window i'm eyeballing getting a pre-cut stripped kit, allows you to do 3 or 4 horizontal strips along the back window. and like i said, there is no shop around here that can do it right for under 200. i can pay a buddy 60 to do it, plus materials... but he ain't to bright either .
                      peace

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Wow ... 70% VLT in PA? I never have understood why so many states are incredibly anal about window tinting. Sure, 5% limo tinting in dangerous and poses a serious safety risk, but 70%? That's hardly even worth your time. When I was getting my Pro tinted I looked at 35% film, but decided "why bother, get the 15% LT". 70%? I can't even imagine how weak and lame that must look. Our laws down here allow 15% LT film on the back window and back doors, 28% on the front doors. I went with 15% all around. If a cop pulls out a tint meter on me, I'll just have to re-tint the fronts, but they won't because they're only really looking for those people who do 5%. And you're right Demon ... window tinting is extremely common here and probably why it's so much cheaper. Even us middle-aged people have it ! Hell, even the blue-hairs in their 90's have it and on top of that they wear those crazy goggle sunglasses - they're the ones to look out for, haha! But with that many people getting tint and that many companies in the business, there's a lot of competition. I would hazard a guess and say that more than half of the vehicles here have tint of some sort. You can open the yellow pages here and find like ten pages of places that tint. I got lifetime Llumar metallic tint for $140 in my Pro. I agree with you though, if you can't find someone to do it for under $200 then just do it yourself ....
                        Last edited by beachnut; 10-03-2003, 10:04 AM.
                        Scott
                        '94 Protege LX - gone, but not forgotten
                        '96 Volvo 854T Platinum Limited Edition
                        '98 Volvo V70 T5
                        '03 Mazda MPV GFX

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by beachnut
                          Wow ... 70% VLT in PA? I never have understood why so many states are incredibly anal about window tinting. Sure, 5% limo tinting in dangerous and poses a serious safety risk, but 70%? That's hardly even worth your time. When I was getting my Pro tinted I looked at 35% film, but decided "why bother, get the 15% LT". 70%? I can't even imagine how weak and lame that must look. Our laws down here allow 15% LT film on the back window and back doors, 28% on the front doors. I went with 15% all around. If a cop pulls out a tint meter on me, I'll just have to re-tint the fronts, but they won't because they're only really looking for those people who do 5%. And you're right Demon ... window tinting is extremely common here and probably why it's so much cheaper. Even us middle-aged people have it ! Hell, even the blue-hairs in their 90's have it and on top of that they wear those crazy goggle sunglasses - they're the ones to look out for, haha! But with that many people getting tint and that many companies in the business, there's a lot of competition. I would hazard a guess and say that more than half of the vehicles here have tint of some sort. You can open the yellow pages here and find like ten pages of places that tint. I got lifetime Llumar metallic tint for $140 in my Pro. I agree with you though, if you can't find someone to do it for under $200 then just do it yourself ....
                          You might actually know this better than me, but I think when I was a kid in Florida, there were a lot of gangster cars with super-limo tint up front. It was so dark the police officer who pulled over the car couldn't see inside. Waiting behind the glass for him or her would be a firearm.

                          Then again, that might be an urban legend, but I thought my dad told me.

                          Of course limo tint is really annoying when you want to make a right turn and can't see through the car next to you -- then again, so are giant SUVs that just roll up past the line.
                          2006 Mazda 3 hatchback manual

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Charles, what you say is true. The cops around here sometimes go on a binge and start pulling lots of people over and checking their tint. You see news stories on local broadcast about it every couple of years. It is a problem. The cops say they are nervous to walk up to a car when they can't see beyond the window and you can't blame them. Usually tint that dark results in a fine and it's almost always the 5% limo tint. The funny thing is that most shops will sell it to if you want it, but there are a few who won't. My windows are really dark, as dark as I want to go. The car had 5% when I bought it. I ripped that crap out. One night I almost pegged some kid on his bike when I was turning left at an intersection. He made the mistake of thinking I could see him - I didn't and he was almost wearing a candle emblem on his head.
                            Scott
                            '94 Protege LX - gone, but not forgotten
                            '96 Volvo 854T Platinum Limited Edition
                            '98 Volvo V70 T5
                            '03 Mazda MPV GFX

                            Comment


                              #15
                              actually, if you notice when people sell their cars, it may say... tinted glass.. etc. and you look at the pictures and swear there is no tint what so ever!!! well, the reason why pa state law mandates the 70% light transmittance and not 100% light transmittance is because alot of cars (as far as i'm able to gather) only allow 70% of light in. enough not to be noticeable to the eye and safe at night, but supposedly safer as it blocks some harmful rays or some ****? i don't know, the lightest tint they sell is 50%, and thats a hard to find commoditty around here. i remember when i got pulled over for the first time i had my drivers window tinted, i had 20% tint, he metered it, i tore it off, he metered it again and got a reading of 73% light transmittance. i can't guarentee how accurate that is (as it was nearly 2 years ago), but the **** they do around here is stupid! i got pulled over for sitting in a parking lot 'suspiciously' looking through some cd's?? the cops around here are REAL anal sometimes. hell, my township is TOP DOG in the area for DUI arrests. i can't tell you how many late night alcohol checks i've gone through.. AND I DON'T EVEN DRINK if i have to sit behind the wheel! it's retarded, but hey, it's a small price to pay for the low crime we have, the lowered amount of traffic accidents, and virtually no traffic deaths in the past 10 years.. cept on the turnpike which is completely out of their control. i'm happy, somewhat pissed, but i'll live with the police.. in some senses, i actually like having them around.
                              peace

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