Why:
As tint gets old it turns purple and start to bubble reducing visibility. It also looks retarted.
The S14 I picked up recently had this very problem, hence this write up.
Sides are purple and starting to bubble:
the rear was in pretty bad shape and one of the previous owners attempted to remove it but did a half-assed job and imo only made things worse. This was the main reason for doing this - visibility from the rear window was pretty bad - specially in the mornings when the window was foggy.
Tools:
- Ammonia
- Large dark trash bags
- Cutting blades or stencil knife
- Heat gun or hair dryer
- Mother's or Meguiar's vinyl/plastic protectant
- Face breather mask
- Window cleaner
- Soapy water
- Rags
You'll notice in the picture above that there are some items not mentioned in my list - i.e. Goo Gone and metal scrubbers. I got those since they were recommended but in the end I didn't end up making use of them.
Process:
- Dampened the window with soapy water and cover it with a trash bag.
I started out with the sides to get used to process since they are smaller.
At first I didn't see why this step was necessary at all but later I found out it makes 'seeing' the tint from inside the car much easier. Especially when it's time locate the little bits of tint left over.
- Soak the inside of the window with Ammonia. I used an empty spray bottle to do this. At first I tried taping around the window in an attempt to protect the trim but found out it's impossible to keep the tape on. So I just kept wiping off the dripping ammonia with a rag. Don't forget to open your windows/door/sunroof and wear a face mask.
- Use the heat gun to warm up glass from the outside. A second person comes in pretty handy (I bribed my brother with beer) at this point. It usually takes only a few minutes to have the ammonia loosen the glue. Make sure to keep the window soaked from inside at the same time.
*** Some places suggested leaving the soaking windows in the sun for about an hour to loosen the tint's glue or to try using a hairdryer. Personally, I feel anyone that works on cars often should have a heat gun in their arsenal as they come in pretty handy for many things and are relatively cheap.
- Once the window's been soaked and heated the tint is ready to come off. Peel the tint from a corner - you may need to use a blade or stencil knife to lift the edge - and try to remove the tint in one big chunk if possible. Keeping it soaked and heating the area been worked on simultaneously is the key. Don't rush.
- Go back for the small pieces of tint that you may have missed.
- Spray some more ammonia on the window and rub the area with a clean rag to remove the glue left behind by the tint. Put your elbows into it and make sure to do a thorough job.
- Finish off the window with glass cleaner for that extra sparkle.
- Dry the left over ammonia from the surrounding trim and apply a liberal amount of vinyl protectant.
- The rear window tint is removed in the same manner but because of the defroster it will be in much worse shape - pieces will be really stubborn and torn - and will come out in small pieces. Keep the blade or stencil knife handy and be careful not to scratch and damage the defroster. I removed the rear speaker cover and went to work. This was the most tedious part of the whole ordeal due the cramped working area.
Your can see the finished rear passenger side window.
Gives you a better idea of just how bad the rear tint was.
Results:
All done!
There were still a few small pieces of tint left that were noticeable from the outside so I had to go back and take care of them. Overall I spent about 2 hours doing this and I'm pretty happy with the results.
Notes:
***Most of this stuff - trash bags, ammonia, etc. - can be found at the 99 cent store. All in all I spent less than $5 on all this.
***Have a damp rag handy for your hands since the windows can get pretty hot.
Hope you found this usefull,
-Juan
***Edit****
- fixed images.