Diy Window tint, If your like me and have purple tint or just want to tint your windows yet feel 200$+ is to much here is a easy simple way to tint and for a fraction of the cost Materials 1. tint (autozone sells rolls of tint 9.99$ up, each roll should be enough to do two windows. 2. Tint Kit, (one with out DvD) this kit comes with the next two needed items and costs about 5-9 bucks at auto zone, 3. Perferated craft knife, (a normal razor is not sharp enough to cut the tint in strait lines and with little effort) 4. Hard card, when purchased with the tint kit is a thick plastic tool a little bigger than a credit card 5. Spray Bottle, 6. Paper towles or soft cloth 7. Heat gun (necessary only when heat shrinking yet I recommend it to be handy for all tasks) 8. rasor blade ( to scrape windows) Process 1. Mix up a mixture of Dish washing soap and clean tap water, good solution is about 5-6 drops per container. 2. Remove tint and find the clear plastic side. The tint comes with a plastic sheild over the ahesive this is the side you want to face you when placing on the out side of the window. (if unsure run a fingernail down the side, if it scrateches easly its the clear plastic if it does not its the tint side) 3. Spray the outside of the window with solution and lay the tint on the window clear plastic side facing you, and the tint side facing away. (make sure window is clean before placing the tint for trimming on the outside) 4. squeeze as much water as you can out from under the tint so it sticks to the window temp. 5. remove craft knife and slide out a very libral blade, 6. Cut a rough out line of the window to start, as you cut some bubbles that look like fingers should disaper/ more may appear, 7. Taking your time use the window edges as a guide cut the tint to fit the window, rounding the edges slightly using your finger as a guide Heat Shrinking 1. Set the heat gun on intermediate to hot, the hotter you go the faster the shrinking yet the greater risk at burning the tint 2. am the heat gun about 6inches from the tint fingerbubble, it should start to look like a snake, in a wave like pattern, (quickly) 3. quickly hit and move the heat the tint finger bubble, then slide your hard card down the bubble shrinking it to the window, hit every bubble untill the tint is confromed to the curvature of the window, 4. this takes some practice so take your time, if you mess up the tint is only 9.99 a roll and would take 20 rolls to equal the cost of a tint shop. Inside window prep and Application 1. spray some soloution on the inside of the window 2. using the raisor scrape the window down to the weather striping slowly.(do this at a angle) 3. then take the hard card wrap a towel or the cloth around it 4. wedge that under the weather striping and pull out the grime. 5. spray the window very liberally with solution, 6. carefully sperate the tint backing (clear plastic) from the tint, while soaking with solution, (remomendation is to place 2peices of scotch tape on the tint sides, this alows them to sperate easly) 7. keep spraying the window and tint as you move the tint from the outside of the window to the inside 8. the soap water soloution alows the tint to be adjusted and moved, 9. once in position anther by squeegeeing out the water from the middle out, using the hard card wrapped in a towel or soft cloth. 10. this takes time and a bit of persison, work out all the water bubbles and air bubbles, 11. let the window sit in direct sun for about a hour, and do not roll down window for 24 hours. Enjoy your new tint! It takes a bit of practice to get it right but its not as hard as it looks
I will most def, when i get a chance to do it, my rents are a bit unhappy with the money ive spent so far on the car so im gona try not to spend much on it as of currently,
Good article, however I disagree slightly on a few points 1) First check your local Transport Authorty website for rules and regulations (get ready for a shock) ie: http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/factsheets/39.html - applies to most countries 2) Don't use the max allowed tint!, why?, because the windows already have a tint in them 3) After scraping the windows, clean with ISO Alcohol to remove grease, glue, snot, silicone & oil 4) Make patterns for your windows 1st with paper or cardboard, makes it far easier to apply correctly, esp the rears! - and saves heaps of film while cutting them out accurately with sharp scissors. I have patterns available for those interested. 5) Don't use a hard squeegee, it scratches the film. Cover the sqeegee with some cloth 1st and wet the outside of the film as well to prevent scratches. There is a more expensive version which has 1 side covered in felt for this purpose, use it for stickers & vinyl as well. 6) Heat gun is a no-no, the film is too thin and tries to curl easily, the glue can boil and leave marks as well. Hairdryer to dry the excess water maybe, just give it time to dry and the "fingers" will sqeegee out naturally 7) Cheap film is inferior quality, usually they turn purple after a while and don't stop UV rays as well as the "pro" quality. Often they come unstuck after a year or two as well. Cheap on left after 3yrs, choice is yours, note the tint in the glass already 7+1) Remove the door cards 1st and make sure the film goes beyond your rubbers, if not the rubbers will damage the film edge. Trying to push the film past the rubbers will lead to creases and dirt in the film 9) Let the film dry for an hour, trim the film 3-5mm back from the edges of the window to prevent the film edges from damage, if the film is not sticking yet - wait!. Cutting wet film will cause jagged edges and creases you will never get out! If your pattern was correct , you don't need to trim anything! 10) Do not expose to sunlight immediately, can cause the film to dry unevenly and also stick fast in places while applying it. The sun is much stronger in some countries! 11) You need a clean flat surface to handle/strip your films properly. Wet it 1st and the film won't lift and fold while you're trying to strip it (use your bonnet if neccessary!) Doing it on a curved window will cause creases and much grief 12) Wet your hands as well and you won't leave prints/marks, esp if you touch it accidentally Pro film is not expensive when bought on a roll, if it's a legal film you should get legallity stickers for your screen as well If you don't mind I'd like to combine atricles and make a tutorial using the pics I have
i like what you have added i tend to do it a bit different i use the heat gun to help shrink the bubbles out on the window before i remove the backing and attach it to the window, it takes a fine touch but it works once you get the hang of it, i like the idea of the cardboard pattern idea i may use that next time i do one of my windows, also if i could add the top of the window on our windows should be trimmed at a angle so the tint is about 2 mm - 5 mm of the lip of the window or else it will start to peel at the top, this is usually done to all windows that roll up. and yeah I use the Metalized tint so that the tint wont turn purple. Just wish the guy who had done the tint before me had used it...
