Re: Removing Tint

[TCame86712@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-03-31 09:41:55 EST, you write:

<< 
 My new daily driver has tint on the windows.  I was told that tint shops
 charge a fortune to remove tint.  This would lead me to believe that the
 process of removing tint is a hard one.  Is this true?  Can I get out there
 and do it myself, or are my windows gonna look like hell?
 
 Thanks,
 
 CT
 - >>

     Well, there's a reason they charge so much. It's a horrendous pain in
the ass to get tint off of some windows. I had my own business tinting glass
for 11 years. I hated removing the stuff, it took as long as installing it
and I charged accordingly.
      The rear glass is where the real problem lies. If you are not extremely
careful you will ruin the defroster. about the only way to get tint off
easily is by scraping the glass with a razor blade, and this cannot be done
on a rear defroster. if you even touch a line with the blade, that line will
be dead. They are very fragile. The best bet is to soak the glass repeatedly
with glass cleaner, along the seams of the tint, and try to get the material
to release from the glass. If it's too old, it will come off in tiny,
brittle, annoying pieces. If you're really lucky, you can get the tint to
peel off in large pieces, or even one piece. Once the tint is off, you'll
need to remove the adhesive. This, again, is easy with a razor blade, which
can't be used on the rear defroster. Dish soap and water, or glass cleaner,
and very careful use of a teflon pan scrubbing pad or fine brillo pad (the
brillo pad can scratch the glass, so be very careful if you use this), and a
lot of time and patience will eventually work. Do not scrub hard, especially
on the defroster lines. 
     Now, if you can take the rear glass out of the car, your job will be
much easier. You can use MEK (very poisonous and carcenogenic), lacquer
thinner, carb cleaner, adhesive remover, or whatever you want, to remove the
adhesive. If you go this route, you can soak the seams and edges of the tint
with your chemical of choice, and if you can get it to soak under the tint,
it should lift right off. Again, patience is required in vast quantities.
As for the doors and side glass, they're pretty easy. First try to peel the
tint off in as large a piece as possible. If that doesn't work, no problem.
Go to step 2, which is spray the window w/ the soapy water or glass cleaner,
and start scraping with the blade. This will be a cake walk, especially after
doing the rear glass.

Good luck!!

Todd
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