about to start my tinting

Even if it means not having it done right?

Originally Posted by C_EICK

Even if it means not having it done right?

That is where my problems come in. I would eff stuff up so bad. I'd rather pay 150 dollars for the tint, labor and a lifetime warranty on it.

Thats what i did. I just cant see why people would not just pay someone to do it right. If they have the money.

Originally Posted by C_EICK

Thats what i did. I just cant see why people would not just pay someone to do it right. If they have the money.

Exactly.

[Gr1m]

if you dont want to fork out the money to do something the correct way and you have no experience with it, its not going to come out correctly and your just going to waste your money.
you have 2 choices:
a. take the hit on your wallet and get it professionally done or
b. spend more money on rolls of tint and solution then you would pay to have it professionally done and teach yourself how to do it in your driveway and waste countless hours.

if you chose neither then have fun dealing with this on a daily basis

[dragon8807]

i tinted the back two windows on my car perfectly and then tried to do the fronts but gave up. my plan was to do all the windows except for the rear window because that one's a pita. i was going to pay a shop to do the rear window but now i have to pay a shop to do the fronts to

[natedawg9640]

i tinted my ho 3 years ago myslef and i have had no problems with it... in my defense i am quite handy and do graphics for a living... with is more than i can say for some of the tint shop employees i've seen.

also tinted a mazda 6, my rex, and the most difficult has been a 3kgt... those windows are like soup bowls. i suggest paying for someone to do the rear window though... it is a bitch and maybe not worth the hassle...

[Naich]

I will throw in my advise as well. Get it done by a good tint shop. Its not something that is expensive to do, and it will be done right, and should have a nice warranty.

[Justin081]

i tried doing mine myself twice. screwed up the first time trying to cut it myself. side ones were ok ... the back was like impossible. then tried the precut one and still couldn't get it right and got way too aggravated with it. finally took the hint and went and got it professionally done. the lady that did it has been tinting for 25 years and it came out great. payed 220 which seems like a lot but that's what every place around here charges. next time i will just skip trying to do it myself.

What % are you thinking about death?

[Beholder88]

I had a great time tinting the windows in my cutlass. I had to replace the window regulators in my front two doors, so while I had the windows out I tinted them out of the car. Easy as hell, so I had a few days that I didn't need the car and I took the rear ones out to tint them too. The back one never got done before I had to junk the car. If you've got the time, that would be the easiest way to do it. You don't have to be in all sorts of awkward positions to get it done. I helped a friend of mine do his in his Malibu, we took the windows out and had all four done in one day. Did the back window in two tries tho, sucked a big one. It all turned out pretty good. Funny thing is, he totaled it a week later. Boy was I pissed, all that work for nothing.

[Noseminer]

I did mine myself and it turned out pretty good, not perfect mind you. If you want it perfect take it to a shop, but if you want to do it yourself keep in mind you may have to do it a few times to get it to come out ok. With mine the sides were fairly easy but I had to take off the panels on the back doors because I have a 4 door. On the back window I used strips of tint and did it in sections. Also had to take out some of the panels in the back. Having a friend to help peel the tint make it easier.

[deathwish666]

okay guys...i got the whole "get it done by a pro" thing...but i dont want to...im not learning anything then...no offense to the people who got it done but when someone comes up to me and says "wow whered you get that tint done?" i want to be able to say i did it myself(or me and a friend did it)...this car is about me and what i can do...if that means spending $100 on tint until i get it right then so be it...but in the end it will be perfect

[AbHeLlRaZoR]

then ask them if you can watch them tint your windows and ask lots of questions.

[Noseminer]

This is how I did it: Took the door panels out, Don't know if you have a 4dr, but then cut the tint to approx. the same size as the window. Use some tape and put 2 pieces on the tint sticky side to sticky side on a corner. peel back to see which side is the sticky side on the tint and which is the clear plastic. then laid the piece over the window on the outside of the window, and trimmed it to the window with an exacto knife. be careful not to press to hard or you will scratch the window. you have to be sure that the sticky side of the tint is facing you or you will have to make a new piece. once it is trimmed to the window size, saturate the inside of window with solution( I used water and a few tsp. of baby soap). Once it is wet peel the clear off of tint sheet and lay on the window. It helps if you spray some solution on ur hands so u can handle tint easier. once it is on window lay it as flat as possible and try not to get creases. if it creases try to work it out by pulling away from crease with ur hands. the tint should move fairly easily if you saturated it enough. this will prob. create bubbles, these can be worked out with a squeegee or a bank card( card is what I used). once most of solution is worked out there will be some air bubbles that come back, use a hair dryer on the tint and work out bubbles while applying heat. For the back window I did the same process except I used strips of tint. this should be the just of it. By the way this is not gospel just the way I did it, so on that note good luck and happy tinting.

[clutch1]

If you're ever around the central WI area I'd do it for you :P

I managed to tint all the windows in my Alero (including back) and I've just gotten better since then.

Still don't have heat shrinking down, but side windows are a breeze now. I guess it's just practice makes perfect.. you find ways to do a rough squeegee on the tint to get it mostly down, then which ways to push fingers to make them go away and so forth. It all comes with practice.

As for rear windows... I did it on my Alero without heat or anything, but I'm not sure how, lol. I did 3 strips and just kept squeegeeing until they were each good. Remove the rear deck and speakers so you don't soak them or get carpet fuzz in your tint job.

For MOST rear windows you'll get really good tint film and know-how of heat shrinking. That comes with lots and lots of practice, lol. I've gotten better at it, but I still end up with issues. Basically the tint needs to lay flat on the outside of the window perfect before you remove the backing plastic and put it in the car, then it should go on without troubles. This is tricky because you really need to watch out for creases, it's easy.

Also, for other little tips.. Make sure your razor is really shard so you slice the tint and don't score it.
Make sure to use a very soapy solution, or just buy it. Use LOTS of it!
Use a lint free towel and REALLY clean your windows, nothign sucks more than fuzz in a tint job.
Get a good squeegee. Credit cards don't cut it, and even the squeegees that are like Bondo-blades don't work too good. I got one like this from Walmart and I love it:


Remember, patience is key. If it isn't working right don't force it and end up wrinkling it. Pull it off, resoak the window with spray, and put it back on. When you put your film on the window try and lay it pretty flat to begin with, without and huge air bubbles, those are a pain and can end up causing creases if you're not careful.

[deathwish666]

^^i wish you guys wouldve been on yesterday haha...but thanks much for the input that will be a lot of help in the future

noseminer, when you use a hairdryer how does that work exactly? do you just apply heat and work the bubbles out like normal? or do the bubbles just kind of shrink out?

[mrbucket]

patience and practice

[lonnie]

Originally Posted by Noseminer

This is how I did it: Took the door panels out, Don't know if you have a 4dr, but then cut the tint to approx. the same size as the window. Use some tape and put 2 pieces on the tint sticky side to sticky side on a corner. peel back to see which side is the sticky side on the tint and which is the clear plastic. then laid the piece over the window on the outside of the window, and trimmed it to the window with an exacto knife. be careful not to press to hard or you will scratch the window. you have to be sure that the sticky side of the tint is facing you or you will have to make a new piece. once it is trimmed to the window size, saturate the inside of window with solution( I used water and a few tsp. of baby soap). Once it is wet peel the clear off of tint sheet and lay on the window. It helps if you spray some solution on ur hands so u can handle tint easier. once it is on window lay it as flat as possible and try not to get creases. if it creases try to work it out by pulling away from crease with ur hands. the tint should move fairly easily if you saturated it enough. this will prob. create bubbles, these can be worked out with a squeegee or a bank card( card is what I used). once most of solution is worked out there will be some air bubbles that come back, use a hair dryer on the tint and work out bubbles while applying heat. For the back window I did the same process except I used strips of tint. this should be the just of it. By the way this is not gospel just the way I did it, so on that note good luck and happy tinting.

No offense but thats why the guys are telling him about a professional, cause he would have summed that up like 1.Clean window 2.Lay unsticky side of tint on window 3. Cut to size 4. Place adhesive side on inside of window working it smooth from the middle out 5. Use Hairdyer/Heat gun to finish shaping tint to window....just paraphrasing but you get he drift..there should be know need to take the door panels off at all, or put strips of tint on the back window it should be one piece.

[jayson_waltz]

get a car like ours done pro. the curved rear windows will kill you, even the precut stuff needs to be heat shrunk for the curves. It it was all flat windows like a pickup its no big deal, then its really easy to do with a guy to help u hold the big pieces.