Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

Well I have noticed a ton of threads on people wondering whether they should try to tint their windows themselves, so I decided to do a writeup on it. I wonk at a professional car audio/tinting place and I just want to spread the knowledge to my fellow LS1'ers so ehre goes.

Tools Needed:
-Heat gun
-Squeegee's(Plastic and rubber ones)
-Razor blade
-Dryer sheets
-Soapy water in spray bottle
-Good Glass Cleaner
-Tint(large tint that can do the rear window in one piece can be found at walmart)

The first step to this is to remove the door panels. Once the are removed proceed to clean all the windows with very good glass cleaner such as Invisible Glass.

Once glass is clean, cut a square that will cover the rear glass. I like to do the rear first because it is the hardest. Remember the dryer sheets? Wet one and wipe it on the outside of all the windows and let it dry. This keeps the tint from melting to the glass and sticking to the outside. Soak the glass with soapy water and place the sheet of tint, tint side down, on the outside of the rear glass and cut it to shape(edge of the black). Now soak the outside of the tint wqith soapy water.

Now comes the hard part. Set the heat gun on LOW heat and, starting in the middle, heat the tint and squeegee the water out from it with a plastic squeegee so it forms itself to the glass. Make sure the tint is flat against the glass with no bubbles(little tind lumps will be seen cause of dirt on the glass). Once the tint is formed to the glass, you can peel the clear backing off the tint.

This next step will most likely take two people. open the hatch, and soak the inside of the glass and the sticky side of the tint with soapy water. Take the tint off the outside of the glass and place it on the inside of the glass, and move it around til the edges line up. Take a squeege and squeegee all of the water out and you are donw with the rear glass! If the tint bunches up and causes large bubbles toward an edge, you can heat it up FROM THE OUTSIDE with the heat gun while you squeegee the inside.

For the side windows, follow this same process. To make the edges perfect, I find the best way is to cut the tint right to the edge of the window, then slide it up about 3 millimeters and trim it again to the edge of the window. Then slide it back down to position and slide it over and do the same on the side. MAKE SURE TO LEAVE EXTRA TINT TO TUCK IN AT THE SIDE MIRRORS AND PAST THE DOOR PANEL EDGE.

Once you have finished, clean the windows inside and out and dont put them down for 3 or 4 days, and park in direct sunlight when possible.

Hope this helps and saves people some money!

-Scott

transambandit

iTrader: (6)

wow, thats awesome, too me it doesnt look hard after watching the guys tint my old car, just takes time. Now is the tint at wal mart any good? or will it turn purple after a few months? Thats what ive heard.

Robb01

i bought some pre-cut tint on ebay for the front doors, everything turned out nicely, but i still have some bubbles where it looks like the soapy solution hasnt dried yet. I havent been able to drive the car much because of rain and we just got 14 inches of snow. My question is, is it possible to get the bubbles out using a heat gun? I used a heat gun to apply it and get a few fingers out, it looks greay except for these few bubbles, i know i could take a needle to them, but want to give it a chance to dry out first.

Robb01

the gila tint at walmart is no good, id recomend gettint the precut stuff on ebay, its good and not too much $, my front windows was 22

shudog

iTrader: (3)

The shop that did the tint on my car took the entire back hatch off the car and set it on a stand, upright so it was easier to work on. Not sure if anyone else has done that/seen it done before.

One other detail I didn't see mentioned is trimming out the defroster lines in the rear glass. The shop did that for my install - they said the tint job won't last if you don't trim that out.

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

GOOD writeup but get it done proffessionally...not that much..better in the long run....the shop that did mine does the local BMW,FERRARI.LAMBO,LEXUS,MERCEDES,PORSCHE...ETC.... PERFECT...[I live 2 blocks from all these dealers.]

Red99TA

iTrader: (11)

I say why bother when you're only saving like $100 plus the pros will do a much better job than you ever can (in most cases). I did my T/A a couple years ago for around $150 IIRC.

2001chevroletz28

iTrader: (2)

walmart tint sux get 3m tint only and You dont need to pull off the door panels at all

shudog

iTrader: (3)

I've heard the same from several tinters...

Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

its more of self satisfaction than saving money.

Think about it... You could tint your own car like 4 times for the price it costs professionally, and by the 4th you'd be damn good i would bet.

Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

oh and Robb01 DO NOT USE A NEEDLE!

Either just let it go away or push it in all the time and it will eventually stick. Thing is, if you hit it with a heat gun the water inside has nowhere to evaporate to if there is water in there, so u can try but it may or may not work.

JumpInTheFire.com

old thread. but i thought i would share.. that it be alot easier to just unscrew the 4 nuts holding the rear hatch on..and just lay it down flat to put the tint on it.