window tinting
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window tinting
honestly i am just trying to save some money here. i live in washington and i know that the legal limit to window tinting is like 25% or something. what i was wondering though is if you guys think it will be cheaper to buy a kit and then pay a professional to do it (any web pages where they sell the tint kits for cheap would be nice to know about.), or go to a shop and pay for the labor and the tint kit all at once. honestly i do not want to do it myself, i dont want air bubbles in my tint and i dont want the edges to start to peel like i have seen on some peoples cars when they did it themselves. i am tryin to save some money. any advice would be helpful thanx.
Record Breaker
Joined: Mar 2005
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RE: window tinting
It's not terribly difficult to do, but if you're not comfortable, then just have it done. Should run $100-150 or so for the entire car to get done at a shop. You could buy your own tint, spray bottle, soap, razor and squeegie for maybe $50. The rear window is the toughest. The fronts are pretty easy...
Roll the window up all the way and open the door. Spray to crap out of the outside of the window with soapy water (plain old dish soap, or you can get "special" window-installer stuff at Wal-Mart). Take your sheet of film (don't peel anything off yet) and fit it on the outside of the window, non-sticky (tint) side down (I'll say it again, don't take off the backing yet). Leave about a 1/4" gap from the bottom where the door/window seal is. Keep the film in place with one hand (or a buddy), and use the razor to trim all along the edge of the window, then down where the mirror is (if you do it right, the edge will already be there, preferably with a very tiny gap...). Then, spray the crap out of your front windshield. Put your newly cut out piece on the front windshield, sticky side up, and remove the backing, making sure the tint stays on the front windshield (remember, sticky side up). Spray the crap out of the inside of the door window. Carefully take the cut out piece off the windshield (grab from the outside edges near the top) and transfer it onto the inside of the door window. Start removing the bubbles with your hand at first, keeping the tint steady with the other hand, and start from the center. The goal is to just get most of the tint sticking to the window, spend as little time as possible. Then take the squeegie and do the same thing (keep the tint steady with one hand). Finally, take a hair dryer and spend a minute or two going over the entire window. You aren't trying to dry it out completely, that's impossible... Just get it to the point where it isn't going to move if you bump it.
Repeat for the other windows. If you have a 2-door, you might be better off completely removing the glass.
Do not roll down your windows for at least 3 days, a week if you can. Don't touch any bubbles that show up. Don't touch it at all if you can help it. It will probably look foggy for a while, don't touch it. If it looks like crap after a month, get some tint remover and do it again, or just go to a professional.
The bigggest reason DIY jobs tend to peel and bubble is becuase they didn't use enough soapy water when applying the tint, they didn't leave a small (1/8" all around) gap, they rolled their windows down too soon, and/or they poked at the bubbles that formed.
The rear window is a little tougher because you have to cut 12-18" strips and overlap them by 1/4" or so, all on a curved surface... That window alone would probably run you $50 at a shop...
Best of luck!
Roll the window up all the way and open the door. Spray to crap out of the outside of the window with soapy water (plain old dish soap, or you can get "special" window-installer stuff at Wal-Mart). Take your sheet of film (don't peel anything off yet) and fit it on the outside of the window, non-sticky (tint) side down (I'll say it again, don't take off the backing yet). Leave about a 1/4" gap from the bottom where the door/window seal is. Keep the film in place with one hand (or a buddy), and use the razor to trim all along the edge of the window, then down where the mirror is (if you do it right, the edge will already be there, preferably with a very tiny gap...). Then, spray the crap out of your front windshield. Put your newly cut out piece on the front windshield, sticky side up, and remove the backing, making sure the tint stays on the front windshield (remember, sticky side up). Spray the crap out of the inside of the door window. Carefully take the cut out piece off the windshield (grab from the outside edges near the top) and transfer it onto the inside of the door window. Start removing the bubbles with your hand at first, keeping the tint steady with the other hand, and start from the center. The goal is to just get most of the tint sticking to the window, spend as little time as possible. Then take the squeegie and do the same thing (keep the tint steady with one hand). Finally, take a hair dryer and spend a minute or two going over the entire window. You aren't trying to dry it out completely, that's impossible... Just get it to the point where it isn't going to move if you bump it.
Repeat for the other windows. If you have a 2-door, you might be better off completely removing the glass.
Do not roll down your windows for at least 3 days, a week if you can. Don't touch any bubbles that show up. Don't touch it at all if you can help it. It will probably look foggy for a while, don't touch it. If it looks like crap after a month, get some tint remover and do it again, or just go to a professional.
The bigggest reason DIY jobs tend to peel and bubble is becuase they didn't use enough soapy water when applying the tint, they didn't leave a small (1/8" all around) gap, they rolled their windows down too soon, and/or they poked at the bubbles that formed.
The rear window is a little tougher because you have to cut 12-18" strips and overlap them by 1/4" or so, all on a curved surface... That window alone would probably run you $50 at a shop...
Best of luck!
Legend
Joined: Jul 2004
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RE: window tinting
I used to do vinyl work for a sign shop which is pretty much the same as window tinting. Its not that hard to do, but as Radar said, the back window is gonna be a bitch. I had my 2 door 98 done at a shop for $150 out the door with lifetime warenty tint.
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RE: window tinting
alrite well thanks guys for all of the advice. would you recommend just buying the tint at the same shop i am going to get it installed at or would it be cheaper to find it somewhere else and just pay for the labor? let me know thanks