I have a real nasty interior to do in a couple weeks.:woot: I love a challenege I have yet to see it but from the description it's bad, and when the owner tells you it's bad you know it really must be bad. I was also asked to remove the tint that is "bubbling and cracking"... I did some research and here's what I came up with, has anyone else tried this? PROCESS: Take a black garbage bag and cut it slightly larger then the window. Spray a soapy water on inside of window Stick bag to window Let it sit in the sun 15-20 minutes (yeah right, sun?? More like halogen for me - no sun :rant After it heats up peel a small amount of the bag back and then a little bit of the tint, then a little bit of bag, then a little bit of tint - repeat as needed Has anyone tried this? I was also thinking that since the windows are "bubbling and cracking" that it must be a pretty crappy job so I may just need some 3M adhesive remover and a single sided blade. Then follow up with a magic eraser where needed Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?
do you have a steamer? EDIT: I remember that you do... The hardest part is getting it started. It shouldn't be too hard if you have a steamer. It makes the glue soft, so use as much steam as you need. I think to some extent the more steam you use the better. I would get that 3m adhesive remover just in case. Might not be a bad idea to have some razor blades handy either. They would help a lot with getting it started.
Holy crap!!! You are right I do... man why didn't I think of that!!! Thanks Bro, it'll come right off with the steamer for sure!:dbanana:
Jason...I have removed tint using a hairdryer..warming and pulling at the same time...do not get it to hot or it stretches and breaks.....then after removing it..use the 3M adhesive remover and a blade....soak the remaining glue with the 3M and scrape it off....then clean window like normal..... The steamer may work as long as you do not dwell in a area to long..try this...heat a corner peel some back..then aim the steamer between the glass and tint and pull as the adhesive softens.... I had to take my son's off after he got a ticket for too dark of a tint....it was not a hard job...went very smooth in fact.... Al
WOW, that sounds a lot easier... less wiping. Thanks Al I like to have at least two options when I go into something (both of which have to be logical of course)..I am now armed to knock this thing out
oooh good topic here, I've never removed tint...but the mothods here make sense...so could you use the same method to remove stickers? On the exterior of a car? I've never removed any kind of sticker, decle, tint or anything like that...but would like to be ready just in case. MotorCity keep us posted and take lots of pictures if you can
I've actually used a steamer to remove decals, it works very well and after a little 3M adhesive remover if needed... Sometimes the adhesive will just roll off, other times 3M is needed. I'll keep you posted... (with pics of course)
Pirex had a thread on sticker removal. Some suggestions were goof off, WD-40, fishing line, dental floss, heat gun or blow dryer.
hairdryer or heatgun and start peeling. Lots of window cleaner and a razorblade should finish up the job.
Hey bro I actually did this with the tint on my Stealth. The previous job was pretty crappy and the tint had more of a purple look to it. Well I wanted them re-tinted and my buddy told me he would have to charge double to do the job because getting it off was worse than putting it on. He said I could save myself some $$ and do it myself. So I did. I started on passenger side window and started peeling it off. Well the clear film came right off and then getting the actual tinted piece off was a bear and took me, a glass scraper, lots of windex, a lot of time, a great deal of frustration, many a four lettered word :rant:, a gaggle of little tint pieces and I finally got all of it off. After that I came in and called my buddy and said I don't care how much it costs you can do the rest. I told him about my fiasco and he said my mistake was pulling the clear film off first. The most important thing about removing tint is to keep the two pieces of film coming off together. If they start to seperate you are in for a long process. Well I went back out and tried the drivers window. I started at the upper edge and started it with the glass scraper. I would pull a little bit and spray some windex behind it. PATIENCE IS THE KEY! You must go slow when pulling it off and don't get greedy and try to pull to much or you may get the seperation. At all costs pull the two pieces off together. I pulled and sprayed more windex and pulled some more and sprayed more windex and got the whole piece off in tact. I moved to both the smaller windows for the back seat and with the same process they came off in one whole piece as well. Now, for the back glass I had to use the trash bag method you described but I used Purple Power as my soap. The reason I had to use this method on the back glass is because I couldn't use a scraper because of the defroster lines on the back glass. If you put a razor on those and cut one them then the defroster won't work. Well that method didn't work great for me as the tint on the back seperated regardless how careful I was and it turned into a mess and needless to say the ol' Stealth doesn't have a back window defroster any more :shakehead:. You wont' need the trash bag method unless you are concerned with defrosting lines. I never had to use any type of heating method on the other windows. The key is slow and keeping those two pieces of film together at all costs. If you have any other questions about it you can call me.
Sticker removal is a bit different. Not really the removal part, but that part after that. There is a good chance that you will end up with a ghost effect afterwards. I have yet to find a way to get rid of it. I think it s UV fading of the base coat everywhere around the decal. Kind of like a putting on a band aid and going sun tanning.
Wolfpacker: Very interesting information about keeping the two layers together. Yeah I will have defrost lines that's the reason for the trash bag drama.... I'm thinking the heat idea really makes sense.. I can shine my halogens directly on them and warm it up real quick... A het gun sounds like the 1st thing I will try!!!
I did mine with the trash bag technique on a day that was about 100 degrees and left it for about an hour, sprayed more Purple power, reapplied the trash bag and waited another hour, and still had trouble.
just make sure you leave yourself alot of time. I have done two cars and you get frustrated quick so leave alot of time for this.
careful with a heat gun..they throw off some serious heat....enough to strip paint...that's why I recommended a hair dryer on hot..much safer.... I have seen damage to cars were people used a heat gun and dwelled just a bit to long on a area...blisters....a hair dryer works well....and safer.. the steamer should work fine...just pull it off slowly.... also...some rear defroster elements are between the glass and some are not....check and see..... Al Al
Thanks so much for the heads up bud!! I hear you, I've cleared my entire day next sat for this one just because I don;t know how long it will take...!!! SWEETTT, a hair dryer it is... thanks again Al!!!
