Removing old tint

[Power Surge]

Anyone have any tips for removing old tint? My car was tinted long ago, and the tint has faded to purplish, and the rear window is all bubbled up.

I could live with the side windows as is, but the tint on the rear window has to go. Naturally, I don't want to damage the rear defrosters.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[MD Ever]

Taking it to a tint shop is probably your best bet. The back window is tuff. There is a trick of spraying with an amonia solution, cover it with a garbage bag and letting it "bake" in the sun but I've never tried that. If your gonna do it yourself just remember to take it slow and be careful.

 

[Bizzy]

Here's a couple of articles to read that might help. The general process seems to be about the same. Best of luck with it!

http://www.tintdude.com/remove.html

http://www.tintcenter.com/articles/bt_removal.html

 

[mikay]

Here's a couple of articles to read that might help. The general process seems to be about the same. Best of luck with it!

http://www.tintdude.com/remove.html

http://www.tintcenter.com/articles/bt_removal.html

The second link is the way i used to remove the tint on my civic and it worked great , just makesure you do it on a very hot day

 

[1993MTXSHO]

way I did it was buy the tint off spray and get the tint started by using a razor blade. Then spray the stuff down in there and kinda just peel it away. Then use a rag and tint off to get rid of the residue. I didn't really have to use the razor blade much. This was on my front windows though so be very careful with your rear window. Like stated above best thing would be to take it to a tint shop and have them take the rear off, but if yours is bubbling it probably wont be hard to get off as the glue seems to already be letting go.

 

[RStalveyARFF]

Off! bug spray. Don't laugh, just try it.

 

[Techpriest]

Any idea how old the tint is? I am the third owner of my 89. The second owner told me the windows were tinted when he bought the car in 92. That means I was trying to unglue something that was glued at least 15 years ago. I tried every trick mentioned above and nothing worked. It was bubbled in the back and it seems like the plastic bubbled but the glue just melted to the glass that much stronger.

I managed to damage several of the lines trying various tricks. Where the tint did not bubble the tint was stuck to the lines stronger then the lines were stuck to the window so pulling up that tint broke the lines. Where it did bubble the tint was easy to pull off but the window was coated with a layer of rock hard glue.

Finally I had half the lines broken, holes in the tint, and was much worse off then when I started. I figued I could not go back, so I took a razor to it. I got the tint off, but have no rear defroster now. Since it is mostly driven in the summer I was not terribly upset, but wish I had just left it alone.

If you decide to go for it I would recommend doing a side window first. I only wanted the back done and had planned to leave the side alone. I should have started on the sides to find the best way to do it, then done the back. I would have found out a razor was the only way the left the back alone.

 

[luigisho]

I would try a professional but as was stated above you might not be able to remove it without damaging the rear defroster lines. Isn't there an aftermarket setup that kind of glues on a defroster line grid? I thought I read about it once when looking for rear defroster repair kits.