window tinting

may be in the wrong section here, so if it is, please move it.

im looking at doing window tinting on my challenge car to keep some of the heat out. were not talking spray painted black windows, just some 35% or so stuff.

whos done it? is it something i can do myself and get good results, or should i just pay a guy? i have an enclosed shop and time, so thats not a problem.

i guess im asking if there are any tips, tricks, steps, how-to's, etc. i DID google it, but the amount of contradictory info was staggering. i trust you guys, so im asking. my biggest fear is the back window, as i havent found any rolls wide enough to do it without sectioning two pieces together.

there is a guy here in town that will do the car for 125 cash, so price to do it right myself versus paying the man is a concern as well. its looking like i can get all the supplies from wal-mart for about 50 bucks.

michael

TBH tinting - unless you want the tinted with a ton of air bubbles look - is something that I'm happy to pay someone to do.

Pay someone. They will do a job at least 4 times your best effort in half the time and it will last 3 times as long.

Oh and the rear window... That is because you aren't buying the same stuff the pro's use. My buddy who tinted the back windows in my 250 has rolls 6' wide to tint house windows.

I've tinted a few cars in my day and here's my advise....pay a professional, don't get me wrong you can do a great job on your own but the last car i did took 8hrs and was a total PITA . IT's very easy to screw up the tint and have to start over so sometimes you'll end up spending the extra money anyway

I'd pay someone. BTW 35% is VERY light. Look at the new black tint on my 'rolla, that's 50%. It's still pretty light from the inside.

I'd also say pay someone else.

I got good results tinting my fiero a few years back, but it has to be one of the easiest cars on earth to tint with tiny flat windows. By the time I bought all the extra tint to replace the stuff I had stuck to itself, I'm not even sure I'd saved any money.

I paid someone to do the side windows on my truck. It looks factory. Pay someone.

ok. so i guess ill be paying the man.
ill use the guy i had do my longbed.

thanks y'all.

michael

What about on polycarbonate or lexan windows? I wilt in the heat, and my race car doesn't have A/C. Any little bit helps.

Ranger50 wrote: Pay someone. They will do a job at least 4 times your best effort in half the time and it will last 3 times as long.

This x 1 MEEEEELLLION

jg

I tried the pre-cut tint you can get off ebay for ~$25..... I should have payed a pro lol. The side windows were not bad, but the back window was a nightmare. the defroster grid made it nearly impossible to get the bubbles out. Now it looks like ass and will probably get pulled off and taken to a pro.

GameboyRMH wrote: I'd pay someone. BTW 35% is VERY light. Look at the new black tint on my 'rolla, that's 50%. It's still pretty light from the inside.

Tint is like a golf score... the lower the number the better(?)

the number signifies what percentage of light is allowed through, not how much is blocked... so 35% is actually a bit darker than 50%

WUSSES! I can't tell you how many car & home windows I've tinted with no issues.

It's easy, just follow the instructions.

You guys will transplant motors but shy away from something as easy as tinting?

Yes, some back glasses are a lot of work, but if you can stand on your head to get underneath the dash this is child's play.

I've asked the same thing "want my volvo wagon tinted" and basically got the same response... let a pro do it... and use high end quality tint... will cost more but won't look like crap (and purple) in a year or 2.

I've paid to have my ms3 and my MINI tinted. Total combined cost? about 400 bucks. Total time taken? About an hour and a half, and the tint dudes came to me! There was like 3-4 of em and damn they were fast.

Autolex wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: I'd pay someone. BTW 35% is VERY light. Look at the new black tint on my 'rolla, that's 50%. It's still pretty light from the inside.

Tint is like a golf score... the lower the number the better(?) the number signifies what percentage of light is allowed through, not how much is blocked... so 35% is actually a bit darker than 50%

D'oh I must have mixed up the two numbers...I remember I asked about one but went with the other (which was darker).

Blow out the car with compressed air then use a masking tape type lint roller. Clean the windows, lint roll again, then dry fit / cut film. then lint again and apply. Use good brand window tint like Madico or 3M

JG Pasterjak wrote:

Ranger50 wrote: Pay someone. They will do a job at least 4 times your best effort in half the time and it will last 3 times as long.

This x 1 MEEEEELLLION jg

Plus elebenty gazillion. I am just not capable of tinting, for whatever reason (gross stupidity leads the list of possibles).

I can do it in the parking lot of the motel for a 12 pak of mich ultra cans need yr make and model of vehicle

Try tintdude .com if doin it yourself

Karl La Follette wrote: I can do it in the parking lot of the motel for a 12 pak of mich ultra cans need yr make and model of vehicle

Hold out for a case.

sachilles wrote: What about on polycarbonate or lexan windows? I wilt in the heat, and my race car doesn't have A/C. Any little bit helps.

You can also perforate the windows on the outside like advertisement wraps

Tint is the same thing i tell people about auto transmission rebuilding.

Its not worth trying unless you plan to do it enough to get good at it. If you just want to do it once to save $80, dont bother, you wont save money unless your time is free.

Ive done probably less than 10 windows in my life. I dont think i ever liked any of them.

I paid a guy $75 to do my Insight with 5 windows. He charges 85 for sedans and up to 100 for something like a cherokee that has 10 damn windows.

I tried it myself on my challenge car front glass. Results: terrible. Wasted some pretty hard-to-acquire-for-free polarized tint trying to make it look good too. Should have paid a pro.

What I did learn tho - clean it, clean it, clean it, and then when you think you're just being anal and ridiculous, clean it one more time. Then use the a lot of the soapy solution (some people use J&J baby shampoo w/ water, but there is a pro solution I found at Autozoo) Use that stuff on BOTH sides of the tint way more than you think you ought to have to. If there's any curve to your window, set the tint on the outside and get it to take the shape of the window by moving over it with a heat gun. Then get to it, start from the middle, working your way out, do it deliberately, with a lint free rag in one hand and soft squeegee in the other. Don't doddle. You will cuss a lot. It is a pain in the butt. But I've seen it done on You Tube, so it can be done.

GameboyRMH wrote: I'd pay someone. BTW 35% is VERY light. Look at the new black tint on my 'rolla, that's 50%. It's still pretty light from the inside.

Tint is rated in the percentage of light it allows through. Therefore, 35% tint is darker than 50% tint.