Window Tint Opinions

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Originally Posted By: The Critic


The back windows on the TL are only 35%.

The fronts are 50%. So you guys think that I should tint all the windows 50%?


50% tint is like zero tint...I put 25% on the front 2 windows and 15% in the rear like the law wants you to at first...The 25% was way to light [IMHO] so took it out and put 15% all around.

I would put the darkest tint I can in the entire rear and whatever the law is in California in the front if the cops are a PITA about tint...Mostly everyone down here in the jungle where I am has illegal tint.


My wife bought her integra in Miami, and it was tinted like that. Very unsafe, IMO. Rear visibility, especially in poorly lighted areas is very bad. There is a reason why they do not allow this in many places.

 

[dishdude]

My truck came with privacy glass on the rear windows. The tint dealer said that they were around 18%, so I had the fronts done to 15% and you can't tell the difference. In Nevada, you can do anything to your car, and not have an issue...until you drive it across the state line to CA!

 

[Cogito]

I had film put on my windows in 89 when my car was new. The film on the rear window has degraded somehow and makes things look fuzzy or out of focus in certain spots. I would like to get it replaced but someone told me that the stuff is very hard to remove, and usually wrecks the rear window defroster/defogger elements that run across the glass, so you end up with no defroster afterwards. Does anyone know if this is true or if the stuff can be easily/safely removed?

 

[JHZR2]

That is a real consideration for anyone who wants to actually keep their cars!

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Cogito
Does anyone know if this is true or if the stuff can be easily/safely removed?
Having just moved from the great state of Illinois to the bend-over Republic of Mary's Land, I had to strip the tint off the NB for it to pass 'safety' inspection.

Never mind that the tint was much lighter than many cars on the road, I even had the state police check it out and they measured it at 26% LTV. Maximum here is 35% all around, so off it had to come.

I had read horror stories about doing the rear window because of the defrost wires as well, but also plenty of success stories. Here's what I did:

Get a couple big black plastic bags and open them up flat.
Buy ammonia-based window cleaner & supplement with extra ammonia.
Find a sunny spot to park the car in.
A bit of rubbing alcohol & Goof-off type cleaner.
Rags. Lots and lots of rags.
Some sort of non-scratching stick - a flathead screwdriver wrapped in tape perhaps.

Park the car with the rear window facing the sun. Spray down the inside of the back window with the ammonia-enhanced window cleaner and stick the opened-up black plastic bags to the rear window. Smooth it out as best you can to trap the window cleaner. Let this bake in the sun for a long, long time. Turn on the heat & rear defroster full blast as well - you want this window as hot as you can get it.

Go ahead and do the side windows while this bakes. Those are pretty easy in comparison, just cut a notch through the film to expose a corner, then grab and pull. If you're lucky, both layers come off in big pieces. If not, get out a scraper and have a ton of extra blades on hand. Spray, scrape, spray, scrape, repeat ad nauseum.

Now that you reek of ammonia and tint glue boogers are all over your carpet, try the back. Pull a corner of a bag away and start poking around in a corner of the glass with your stick to see if you can get it started. Focus on the areas with frit - that's the matrix of black dots around the edges of the fixed glass - to find a spot to pull up. Once you're started, be firm but slow and don't be afraid about spraying on some more cleaner or letting it heat up again. Mine came off in a couple big pieces and left all the defroster lines intact.

Afterwards try cleaning the remaining adhesive with the goof-off, alcohol & more window cleaner.

 

[Cogito]

Scurvy, how long did this process take you to complete?

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Cogito
Scurvy, how long did this process take you to complete?
An hour and change, including gathering materials and cleanup. Actually getting the film off the rear window took maybe 10 minutes.

If anything, it's quicker to actually remove the film this way than using razor blades, but the prep is much longer.

 

[Mr Nice]

yep, in south FL the cop are too lazy to give you a ticket for a very dark tint.

 

[The Critic]

All done. I started a new thread with the pictures:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1870098

We ended up going with the Llumar AIR Blue 80% in the front and the Formula One Pinnacle Ceramic 35% in the back. The front windows had far more factory tint that I had expected and installing a 50% film on there would make the car too much of a cop magnet.