about to start my tinting

[deathwish666]

i was wondering if anybody has any tips/tricks that may be helpful in aiding me in the tinting process haha....it seems that nobody i know that knows how to put tint on has time to help me out so im just gonna go and try it myself....all i know is to spray up the window with solution...put it on and squegee it dry haha....one question though...where does all the solution go that i squegee? especially the back window :(....help plz and thank you :D

[deathwish666]

you guys suck :p

im headed out now to start it ill check back in here every once in a while

[[ion] C2]

Get it done professionally... it's only $125-150, and is guaranteed to last, not turn purple or bubble like 99% of DIY installs. Plus you don't have the hassle.

[Gr1m]

yep its gonna bubble and turn purple on you and your not gonna be too happy with it

[02AleroEco]

i did my sides myself, it creased in 2 spots on the Passenger Rear vent. (coupe).. this was a yr ago, it hasnt bubbled yet, or started to turn purple.. i just gotta get my rear windshield done

[mrbucket]

Buy the premium tint and you will avoid the bubbles and purple color change. Use a ton of the solution, A TON!! If you try to apply it to dry it will get crinkles and form bubbles that cant be squeeged out. use a low lint towel to catch the excess solution that comes out from under the tint. spray the window heavily and the tint also. the back window is a bitch hands down and on an alero you will have to cut the tint into strips to prevent bubbles and warps or buy the special made strips for windows with a lot of curve. dont be afraid to get it messy and wet cause if you go lean on the solution it is going to mess up. i recomend practice on something first if that is an option. the solution will usually not stain the interior of your car. after you get done with the doors dont roll down your windows for a week or so to let the tint settle properly or else you will peel it off when you roll your window down. the best bet is to go to auto zone or advance auto and get the kit that comes with the solution spray bottle, razor, squeege, and instructions. if you go cheap you will get crap results.

[Mori01]

I say get it professionally done, not too expensive and better results..

[[ion] C2]

Or if you're dead set on DIY, at least get the high quality PRE CUT kits available online... don't be hackin up film and trying to get it to lay right.

[Alerosaint]

I got mines done by a tinter...i suck at tinting BAD

[misslindseysue]

Pay someone. The back window is stupid hard to get at.

[FrankTheTank]

i'm gonna bet that this doesnt go well for the o.p.

[deathwish666]

okay..here are the details...i got the precut stuff off ebay and i got the kit from advanced auto all last week....i gave up for today and heres why....i did my drivers side back window first...came out okay for my first time except the tint ripped and now theres this really gay spot amongst a bunch of bubbles :(...next was the back pass side...turned out great...the next one i picked up was my drivers door....thats when things got bad, it creased from falling off the table which got me frustrated but i decided to give it a shot anyway...it went terrible...it didnt fit right bc it was like 2 inches to big so i got really pissed and crumpled it up and tossed it out haha....but since precision tint on ebay is awesome they give you discounts if you mess up and need to buy more so thats what im going to do....and im just going to wait to do the rear windsheild and pass door till i get my replacements and have my gf's brother do them(he is amazing with tint)....i just hope i can get a hold of him

/end long rant

[02AleroEco]

Pay someone. The back window is stupid hard to get at.

lol, i plan on it, im not no expert tinter, but for my first time i did pretty damn good, im just not ballsy enough to do the rear windshield, even if i had help. there is this place near me that will do the rear shield for like 75. so im gonna do that in a month or so

[FrankTheTank]

I saw that one coming.

[dragon8807]

the tint will turn purple only if you use household window cleaner to clean you windows because it contains ammonia. when you have to clean tinted windows you must use window cleaner that is safe for tint

[[ion] C2]

Inexpensive window film consists of polyester film dyed to achieve the desired color and darkness.

The purple appearance is caused when the ultraviolet rays from the sun break down the dyes in poor

quality film. Metalized film costs a little more but the metalized film process deposits aluminum, titanium

or other metals on the polyester to replace the dyes, created on extremely stable products

o rly

[cavaliers60]

okay..here are the details...i got the precut stuff off ebay and i got the kit from advanced auto all last week....i gave up for today and heres why....i did my drivers side back window first...came out okay for my first time except the tint ripped and now theres this really gay spot amongst a bunch of bubbles :(...next was the back pass side...turned out great...the next one i picked up was my drivers door....thats when things got bad, it creased from falling off the table which got me frustrated but i decided to give it a shot anyway...it went terrible...it didnt fit right bc it was like 2 inches to big so i got really pissed and crumpled it up and tossed it out haha....but since precision tint on ebay is awesome they give you discounts if you mess up and need to buy more so thats what im going to do....and im just going to wait to do the rear windsheild and pass door till i get my replacements and have my gf's brother do them(he is amazing with tint)....i just hope i can get a hold of him

/end long rant

Brings back memories of when I tried to tint my windows myself... :rolleyes2:

[itsbmw]

C2;394992']o rly

Where do you recommend going? I want to get mine done. Know If mickey shorr is any good?

[C_EICK]

I would reccomend shopping around town, and find out which shop in your town has been tinting the longest. I got mine tinted at a shop here in town, that has been tinting for 20+ years.:thumb:

[deathwish666]

i refuse to have someone pay to do it lol...i hate not doing things myself...

[C_EICK]

Even if it means not having it done right?

[itsbmw]

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.

[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.

[itsbmw]

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
http://www.samgreenspan.com/extras/badtintjob.jpg

[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.

[C_EICK]

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:
http://www.tintdude.com/images/filmsqueegee.jpg

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]

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.

[Noseminer]

I think you can do the sides pretty easy it's the back that is killer. The reason I took off the door panel is so that the tint can go beyond the felt that is on the panel at the bottom of the window. It's because when I first did my tint I didn't remove the panel and had a hell of a time with the tint at the bottom of the window. The next time I took off the panel and it was 10 times easier. The only reason I gave my explanation was because he was asking for help from members who have done it themselves and thier process. So no offence taken.