Removing Rear Window Tint

MSG419

Registered User
After much searching on this topic, I buckled down and removed the tint from the rear window and side 1/4's.

Tools used: towels to cover rear panels, alot of patience and the secret weapon - a cheap travel steamer!!!

You read correctly - a cheap steamer. I bought one at work for $10.

Start by turning on your defogger and let the window warm up. I let it go through one cycle. start in a corner and steam it until both layers of tint can be lifted. Proceed slowly pointing the steamer at the line between the window and the lifting tint. Pull the tint gently away from the window. If it starts to seperate, stop pulling and hit the area with a little more steam. You can use an old credit card or plastic scraper to lift the stubborn ends.

There will be some glue residue to deal with, but your defogger will still be in working condition.

It took me most of the afternoon to do the back and sides, and I did it on a rainy day - didn't have to wait for a sunny day to "bake" the window under a tarp.

Now to find a decent tinter that can do the rear glass in one piece.

Good Luck.

Mark
'95 5spd
 
Good to know. So you were able to get the glue and the tint to come off together? I've got some cheap shady tint on my driver that the previous owner put on. I've been dreading doing the back window for some time now.
 
Window Tint Application Procedures

All of the window tint installers I've heard about, use soapy water to get the tint into place, then squeege the water out. When it's all said & done, you can always still see the soap under the tint. It has a mottled appearance. Maybe that's why tint usually developes bubbles. I wonder if the tint manufacturer (3M?) recommends the soap & water trick, or that's just the "down & dirty" way to apply it?

I know that there are different opaquenesses of tint, but are there different qualitys of film & glue also? Why is it that limo's never have tint bubbles?

68COUGAR
 
If there are bubbles after tint is installed, they did it wrong and don't know what they are doing. Or there were impurities on the surface of the glass. Old Tint glue, metal flecks, or dust.

All tinters use a soap and water mixture when applying tint. That gives you time to move the tint around before it's permanent. The adhesives in the tint support this, as well as the adhesives need to cure over time to stay firmly attached.

The steamer idea is a good one. Just be careful not to get too much heat in a localized area on the glass. It can crack.
 
Hot sun, deluded ammonia / water and plastic scrapper will do it in the same amount of time as the "steamer" will. When you got all of it off, spray and clean with 0000 steal wool. Will not scratch the glass. If you don't remove the entire tint & glue, you'll have a hard time finding a "tinter" to install the new stuff.
 
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