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Tinting help

P

Pole120

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Mar 15, 2004
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Waukesha, WI
I'm going to be tinting the Festiva and I need your helpful suggestions.

I'm doing the 4 side windows off of the car...I don't intend to tint the hatch window. I'm doing 35% on all four of them, I'm not doing this for aesthetics but for interior comfort and I'm not paying someone $100+ to tint a $500 car.

Now I'm getting mixed results in my research, the tint should be applied to the inside of the window correct?

Any helpful suggestions for a smooth install...this will be my first tint attempt.

~Josh
 
dont use cheap tint from autoparts
tint on the inside
thats all the tips i got man tried it once and used crappy tint. it was not pretty
side windows shoudnt be to bad though
 
there are a few different ways to attack tinting, here's what i do. Spray the outside of the window with windex, DO NOT PEEL BACKING. the windex is being used to just cling the tint to the outside. then you take a razor and cut around the border of the window as you see fit. then after cleaning the inside of the window spray with a generous amount of windex and remove the backing from the tint and place it on the window, you can then move it as you see fit, once everything is lined up use a squeegee of some sort to push out the windex so the adhesive will now stick to the window. if there are curves and the tint wrinkles heat will help, such as a hair dryer, or heat gun, heat from the outside or be very careful if heating the inside (tint will shrink, melt, deform, etc.) if all things go well you will have successfully tinted a window. Keep in mind that you do not want to roll the window down for a couple days to make sure all of the windex has evaporated. If there are tiny bubbles in the tint after squeegee-ing over that two day period or so most of them will go away.


hope that wasn't too confusing.
 
i agree with most of that. One thing that seems to help eliminate the wrinkles is to use your heat when you still have it on the outside of the window (when you were trimming it), that way it "takes the shape" of the window better. When you actually peel the backing off and put in on the inside it will have less wrinkles because you already had it heated to the correct contour. remember when you put it on the outside to line it up you do it sticky side out.

also, when I did my GTI I used cheapo walmart tint, and it worked just fine. I made my life simple by taking the glass out of the door. If you are comfortable doing that I suggest it, it makes life so much easier to be able to lay the glass down on a work bench and go to town.
 
the instructions may tell you not to use windex or anything w/ ammonia...just ignore it
 
yeah amonia will turn it Purple. I always used a drop of mild soap and water in a spay bottle. It moves easier. Always have a sharp xacto, so you dont get jaggies. For tucking the tint into tight corners and under trim use a credit card (old).
 
Chap I knew years ago asked me to help him tint an '88 Sentra. What gave him the idea I knew what the hell I was doing with window tint, I have no idea. I recall it being quite a sh*t show. :cool:

All the best to you -- may your windows be free of bubbles and wrinkles.
 
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