DIY Auto Window Tinting

My neighbor and I decided it would make sense to go in together on a roll of window tinting since that's far cheaper than having it done or buying a single "kit" for one car.

Anyone out there familiar with types, brands or techniques? It seems simple enough but I'm sure there are a few gotcha's and a few good tips to be learned.

I tried it once - very difficult. I had a pre-cut kit, and you have to almost float the film onto the glass with the sticky water. Make sure you get the glass really clean and I mean really spotless, any dust or marks will look hideous. Take your time and get a good silicone squeegy to push out the air bubbles.

In the end my job looked OK but did not last very well - I ended up getting it done properly. Good luck!

This is a youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmuvGlPxqqo that follows the basic steps that I used when tinting my car. Tinting takes time and patience. Good luck and make sure to get out all of the bubbles. Also, avoid using any window cleaners that contain ammonia. It breaks down the window tint. Ps. Don't roll down your windows for a few days

It will eventually turn purple.

+1. The two big signs of self tint are bubbles and purpling. The non pro film just doesn't stand up.

The basic issue is that by the time you've got what you actually need, paying someone else takes just a bit more. If you feel compelled, buy a little of a good brand and do one window to see how it goes.

I hate to say it, but.............. pay a pro to do it. It's a couple hundred bucks for an average sized car, and greatly impacts your driving safety(and therefor everyone else's driving safety) and the look of your car if done wrong. There's lots of little tricks and techniques to it, and if you don't do it multiple times a day there's no way you'll get it in the same league as a pro. One of the very few things I would pay someone else to tackle on my vehicles.

I have done it to 2 of my cars and used cheap autozone brand tint on my current car 4 years ago and guess what, its flawless and still hasn't faded. I have no prior experience but learned alot teaching myself how.

Never, ever use amonia based window cleaners before tinting, this causes bubles that can form days and weeks later. It's a good idea to give your windows a few days after using amonia on them to air out.
Use Stoner brand "Invisible Glass" and you'll have no problem

You'll need some patience, razor blades, a window tint squeegee kit and enough tint to screw up once or twice.

I always make my own solution of distilled water and a little bit of baby shampoo to wet the tint, dont bother with the fluid in the kit it makes the tint want to stick too soon.

There are many websites with how to's for this good luck and don't get discouraged!

Be very careful if you are doing a rear window that has a built in heater/defroster. Some have the heating elements applied to the inside of the car. You won't be able to remove the window tint if it is done incorrectly.

I am wondering how to cut windshield and side glass, as I would like to chop the roof on my 1983 Cadillac coupe Deville, about 2 inches, I bought the book HOW TO CHOP TOPS, said something about sand blasting the inner glass of the windshield and glass cutter on the outside windshield, nothing on side glass, wondering anyone out there in hot rod land has done any this cutting before dare to be different.

smithbell81, please start your own thread regarding your subject, you are hijacking this thread. BTW, welcome to CPF. Please do some reading and enjoy.

Bill

Most shops in my nick of the woods charge around $35 a window. Best to pay to have it done...

In the UK , the car will fail the MOT if the tinted film encroaches on the swept area of the drivers windscreen wiper.
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I thought windshield tinting was only allowed on the top 6 or 7 inches .

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TooManyGizmos said:

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I thought windshield tinting was only allowed on the top 6 or 7 inches .

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Winshield tinting is not only allowed on the top 6 or 7 inches. IMO, you cannot do window tinting at your own because it need practice and skills to tint accordingly.

Car window tinting is not as easy as it seems I tried doing it once and had failed i just wasted my money on buying the film. It is much better to hire a professional service to do it,
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TooManyGizmos said:

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I thought windshield tinting was only allowed on the top 6 or 7 inches .

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It varies by state in their Vehicle Code and even more by selective enforcement. (Do you look like somebody they want to stop?)

The experts make it look easy, my friend has 20 years experience and has tried to teaching me but its always comes out looking bad, you also need to shrink the tint on many new cars.

I haven't done it but have watched pros several times.

Apparently the trick for something like a double-curved back window is to actually lay the tint film on the outside of the window, while it is still on its backing, floating on some soapy water, and use heat gun/squeegee to form it to the shape of the window. Only when it is laying on the outside of the window without wrinkles/bubbles will they try to install it for real on the inside.

It looked easy, but I am sure that there's a lot of practice and technique that goes into doing it well and consistently.

Agree with no ammonia.

I had my car tinted with 3M ceramic for the heat reduction - expensive, but I'm happy with it.

Be careful of how dark you get it. My brother Tried to do it himself and got a ticket for having it tented to dark!

Where I live it's perfectly legal if you drive a car that comes from the factory with dark tinted windows but it's illegal to apply aftermarket tint to your car. Kits in a range of qualities are widely available in nearby states like Massachusetts and New Hampshire and people are always buying and applying them not realizing they are illegal in Vermont until they get pulled over by some cop and get ticketed. I've noticed it usually pretty easy to tell if a tint job is not from the factory. Sometimes even a well applied job is obvious just because it's not on a car that would ever be available that way from a dealership but most of the time it's just obvious because it's hard to do a perfect DIY application job. I guess the lesson here is to find out if DIY auto tinting is even legal in your state before considering it.