removing bubbly crap tint

Hey peoples i was wondering how you get off f-ed tint other than putting bricks through all the windows and replacing them all :laugh: My friend bought his '84 gazelle and it had the worst tint job i have ever seen on it amongst other things. (including 2 progressive kings on the back that were different ways around and 2 sets of wheels that have ****ed up offsets 38 mm, two fuses that were wrong and thus there were no dash or dome lights, stupid bogans)

This tint job is so bad it is a safety issue when driving!!

ps. this is awesome board :-P and it has helped us a great deal in repairing the gayness that the previous idiot, i mean owner left the car with.

Peel the tint off then there will be the glue left behind. Use rubbing alcohol and a razor blade to remove that. then clean the window with window cleaner and your done.

make sure if it has a rear defroster not to cut the lines on the back window with the razor blade. If they get cut, it won't work completely, only sections

Oh boy, window tint removal, you're in for a treat. Well, first of all, do it in the sun if you can, the warmer the tint the better. I basically ended up carefully peeling the driver/passenger side window tint off in one or two pieces, starting at one end or the other and using a razor blade to get started. I also used a blow drier as I peeled. It will pretty much leave the glue on the glass and that's the hard stuff to remove. I tried an adhesive remover (very strong odor, didn't work real well), I also tried Simple Green, again smelly and not great results. Windex worked the best, I think the stronger the ammonia product the better. Basically, just spray the glue down with Windex and use a razor blade and rags to scrape and clean as you go. Be patient, it takes some time.

With the back window I started the car, turned up the heat all the way and turned on the rear defrost and carefully peeled small strips at a time. I cut lengthwise between defroster strips and peeled it in sections. Also, use the blow drier on the back window. Once you get the tint off the back it's a matter of spraying Windex and using a rag to carefully remove the goo. Like Keith said, be careful not to cut the defroster lines with the razor blade.

Yah the most important part is to use a NEW sharp razor blade. You will probably go through a few of the things because they are meant to be really sharp, and not last a long time. Also be patient, and take your time, especially with the back window. There is nothing like cutting a defroster line. If you plan to re-tint your windows, make sure to have somebody do this for you. Not so critical in the sides, but the back is a very large piece of glass, and can be extremely challenging. It took Ziebart almost three hours just to do the back one on my car. 8)

Here's how i did in on a 1983 Celica. You need one IMPORTANT tool and its a lot cheaper than buying a new rear demister or replacing all the windows.

We get this thing advertised on "TV home shopping" in Australia (about $30 australian dollars), no doubt you guys in america can buy one, its a STEAM GUN. They advertise it for hygenically cleaning stuff like bathrooms and so on, u want the small handheld version. And fit the long pointy fitting. Put water in, let it heat up (makes steam).

Find the BIGGEST bubble you can, (prefferably on the edge) or no cut one open carefully with razor blade/paint scraper. Stick the end of the steam gun in, and just pull the trigger, the tint just comes away so easily, once you've sort of started on a section start pulling slowly while still steaming the "line" thats still stuck to the window. Back window i used the same treatment, but over the demister wires the tint came free easier than from the glass.

10 minutes with the WINDEX and it was all done. (as it barely left any glue at all)
Fairly painless process, but it didn't take any hard scrubbing, still took about 3 hours tho.

Thanks for listening...

*****sorry mate, missed the part that u were in Australia, you can buy this thing from Red Dot, it was on DANOZ home shopping adverts, its yellow, catcha**************