Window Tinitng Tricks Needed

[94-302-vert]

OK, I got some tint to tint the Stang and the back half of the wife's 500... Problem is that I have always strugggled to get all the air out and I recall reading something about heating the tint to get it to the proper contour before even peeling the backing...

Anyone have any good tips to get good results?

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

I've never personally been successful with tinting, so take this with a grain of salt. A guy I used to know that did tint told me to lay the film out on the outside of the window and cut it to size there, before tinting. He told me to use heat and get it shaped, which I did, but I was never able to get all of the air out myself. I tried to tint my windows once and got all of the air out except one bubble. I tried to pull it out with the squeege, but ended up creasing the film. Once you get a crease, the film is wasted and it's time to start over. Out of frustration, I ripped it out and never tried again. There's definitely an art to doing tint and I'm not that artistic I suppose?

 

[The Green GT]

I used soapy water and a squeege. And you cant use normal soap, use like Joy I think it is.

Keep BOTH surfaces WET WET WET WET.

 

[bill302]

there is an e-bay seller that sells pre-cut tint any shade for just about any make and model. my son bought a pre-cut kit for his car and he installed it by himself using the instructions sent in a couple hours with no problems for about $30.00.it looks great..i could not believe it.

 

[spacemonkey]

When you put it on the out side to cut it to shape make sure the liner you peel off faces you.That way when you peel it and stick it ,it is cut to the shape and curve of that window.Use baby shampoo and water.Wet the **** out of the window so you can slide the tint around.The best thing to use is a pump sprayer from a lawn and garden dept. so you will have plenty of fluid.Always spray away from seals and felt.Now mater how clean you think you have it.It will pull dirt.Before you go shrinking the film, try to get it to lay down with a "hard card".Bondo or putty spreader wraped in a couple layers of paper towels.They keep from scratching the film.work your way from the middle out using more spray to help glide the card.I would pull your door panels since you don't do it often.Make sure you cut the tint long enough to go past the rubber on the inside.If you still need to shrink the film use a heat gun on low.Work the tint down with one hand and sweep the heat gun back and forth on the finger or bubble what ever you call it on the glass side.Watch it close because it will happen fast.If you get it to hot hose the **** out of the glass in a hurry or you will melt the tint.
If you never have shrunk film I would try to do it with out.You have to do several to get the hang of knowing when it has had enough heat.You will turn it in to a shrinkey dink in a hurry.
I hope this helps.If you need any help let me know.I can try and tell you what to do.I use to do auto,resi,and comm. tint for a living.

The pre cut is handy but you don't know what quality film you are getting.And leaves no room for error. I still waste tint and I have done it for 10yrs.Most low quality film will turn purple or blue in a year or less if the car is outside most of the time.

 

[mo_dingo]

What we do at my work for laying vinyl stickers/decals/etc, as well as tint, is to use water only. No soap. As said before, both surfaces need to be wet.

First, cut all of your pieces out.

Then get your car inside a garage, then close the garage door. Wind brings dust and no matter how many times you clean the glass, it will never stay clean.

Get a stand of some sort, and hang a drop light from it, such that it will shine from the outside of the glass inwards. This helps make bubbles more visible.

Clean the first glass with a solvent that leaves no residue; something that evaporates quickly. Windex works well enough. You cannot use paper towels or rags to clean. You need something that doesn't leave fibers behind.

Once the glass is clean, attach multiple pieces of masking tape to the tint on the edges. That way you have something to grab onto that prevents you from touching the tint.


Wet the glass, peel a portion of the backing off of the tint and wet it with the spray bottle too. Then start in one corner (lets say left corner for example), with a squeegee and apply the tint. Start with a 2" wide section, and squeegee the tint until all of the bubbles are out. Move on to another 2" section to the right, remove the bubbles as you apply the tint, moving the bubbles to the right. Do not go back to the left, as that side is already devoid of bubbles. Always move right, as you apply the tint, remove the bubbles. As you move to your right, remove the backing. Don't peel too much off. The longer you have the tint exposed, the more likely you will get dirt. Remove as little as necessary.

Now you may get part way, and more bubbles may form or become visible. You can take some long pieces of masking tape, and temporarily secure the tint away from the glass. Then work the bubbles out.

Once you are done, you should be bubble free. Once you are completely stuck down, slide the tint to the correct position if necessary, wetting any dry surface if necessary.

It is tedious. Having someone shining the light from behind will really help, so you get the bubbles out before you get too far. But I cannot stress enough how important it is to get in a dust free environment. Doing it on the street will never net you good results.

Buy extra tint, because you will not get it right the first time.

Hope this helps. I have had to redo a few vinyl stickers, and since they are custom ordered/made, the bosses do not like it. Luckily you don't have to worry about that.
Scott

 

[scolon]

I tint cars all the time.. I used to use just soapy water, but swicthed to automotive windex (non anmonia) I trace the tint on the outside of each window.
Then peel the wrapper off whilt tint is still on the outside, Spray the tint down thoroughly as well as the inside of the window. Then just slide the tint off the outside, lay it on the inside spread the tint out with your hands to line everything up.... wet the tint, squeegy away from the center working to the left and rite sides... I use a rubber squeezy and put a piece of paper towel toward the top of the windo so that the leftover liquid is caught and dosnt seep back down into the tint.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Keeping it wet is the key. Looks like everbody covered that well. The Mustang back window has those dots on the top. You can sand them down so the tint looks better, but I didn't do that. I cut the tint right there and layed down some black vinal. Looks just like tint, and no more white tint where the dots are.

 

[Adam95GT]

get a shop light... lay the tint sheet on the outside of the car... sit the light on the inside... Soak the sheet with soapp and water then heat it up with a cheap heat gun... streach it out with a tint squgiethingy... Then since the light is on the inside of the car use it to see the window out line better... spray down the window on the inside with soap and water then peel the tint and stick it to the window and position as needed... i took my car to get tinted a few years back and had no ride home so the guy tought me how to tint...

 

[gcomfx.com]

Trick for the rear Dot Matrix:

How do I avoid getting white splotches where the dot matrix is?

Elmer's School Glue Gel. It comes blue, but dries clear. When installing your rear window film, first heat shrink as you normally would to form it, the install it as you normally would EXCEPT don't squeegee hard over the dot matrix pattern. Once the film is in place and the rest of the water is squeegeed out, pull back the film that is over the dot matrix pattern, and put a thin bead of Elmer's School Glue Gel at the bottom of the matrix pattern, then lightly lay the film back down. With your hard card 'push' the glue in an even pattern to the top of the matrix pattern. Be careful when you get to the top of the pattern and the edge of the film, as the glue will make a mess, so have a paper towel handy to catch the access. Don't push too hard and remove all the glue, you want to leave enough under the film to fill in the air pockets between the dots on the matrix pattern.