Removing Window Tint

[MMiller]

What have you had the best results with? Heat, what kind? Sun, hair dryer, steam, other?

I need to remove and looking for advice from the PPOT brain trust.

[Mike80911]

A good friend has been tinting professionally for years I spend a lot of time at his shop. He always uses a steamer to remove the tint. Then cleans the remaining glue with a high end razor blade he always tells me cheap blades scratch the glass.

[Eric Coffey]

Put some ammonia in a spray bottle.
Spray liberally on tint film, and cover with black trash bag (pressing bag against window/film).
Let sit in sun for a while, or use heat gun/hair dryer from the opposite (non-tint) side.
Then use a razor blade in one corner to get started. Once you have enough film released to grab with your fingers, it should peel off cleanly in one sheet.
If not, repeat above ammonia/trash bag step.
YMMV...

[masraum]

Ammonia. Exactly what Eric said. I’d heard that exact method several times before and did use it once and it worked well.

[Tobra]

goes without saying you want to have plenty of ventilation

[Cooper911SC]

Another + for ammonia and trash bag in the sun.

If there is left over adhesive on a window
with defogger lines you can use more ammonia and the blue no scratch scotchbrite pads. Have a few on hand as they get loaded with the glue.

[macssc911]

Cheap cloths steamer

[slow&rusty]

I bought a cheap clothes steamer at Walmart ($25) and removed 25 year old tint, worked like a charm.

[MMiller]

Thanks for all the input. I have a cloths steamer so probably give that a go. The sun is not very warm in NM right now.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Mike80911

A good friend has been tinting professionally for years I spend a lot of time at his shop. He always uses a steamer to remove the tint. Then cleans the remaining glue with a high end razor blade he always tells me cheap blades scratch the glass.

Originally Posted by macssc911

Cheap cloths steamer

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

I bought a cheap clothes steamer at Walmart ($25) and removed 25 year old tint, worked like a charm.

This is your answer. Professional tinters who do this everyday for a living do not use ammonia and trash bags taped to the inside of windows. A small steamer, once you get the technique down, is the only intelligent was to remove tint film. If you do it right, there will not even be any residue left on the glass to deal with, or very little. You need to be patient w the steamer and really let it do its job before peeling the old stuff off.

Super-fine steel wool, (like 000 or 0000), is the only safe way to clean residue off of rear windows w defrost lines. Use lots of soapy water, mix DW liquid w water in a spray bottle.

[porsche4life]

Let us know how it goes. The tint on my DD is going bad. I have a buddy that does tint and when I asked him about pulling it off and redoing he informed me that he would gladly do new tint, but I wanted it removed I better bust out the steamer. 🤣🤣🤣

[William930t]

Just removed the (too dark) window tint on my 930 with a Shark portable steamer. The tint was perfect for South Florida, still in great shape, but in GA very illegal.

Using the steamer, concentrated output on a window corner first and lifted the tint with fingernail. The absolute key is to work slowly, pre-steam the area you are peeling back and make sure you are removing the tint and separate adhesive layer as well. Put a towel on the sills to catch drips, most portable steamers only put out pressurized hot water so there will be some runoff. Once I mastered this, each window removal took less than 10 minutes and little to no adhesive left. Ammonia on a cloth rag will clean up any leftover adhesive. It was actually a fun job, though still have rear window to tackle.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by speeder

This is your answer. Professional tinters who do this everyday for a living do not use ammonia and trash bags taped to the inside of windows.

Actually, many do (and no tape is required, lol). Probably depends at on your locale, but not many pros here in AZ are going to break out a steamer in the summer when it's 100+ degrees outside. A lot of pros simply use a heat gun to remove the film, then soapy water and a 6" scraper and muscle to make quick work of the glue residue. No doubt tons of pro shops have/use steamers as well, as they are great for many tasks. However, you will have to spend well over $100 to get one that is actually worthwhile/capable. If you already own a decent one, great. If not, then you probably aren't keen on spending that kind of money for a one-time DIY job.

Originally Posted by speeder

A small steamer, once you get the technique down, is the only intelligent was to remove tint film.

No. It's certainly one method, but it's not without drawbacks. With a steamer:
1. More time/patience is required.
2. They can/will saturate everything in sight, and turn then inside of a car into a sauna (especially when working the back glass).
3. They can/will burn you easily.
4. It's the most expensive option, if you don't have one already.

Originally Posted by speeder

Super-fine steel wool, (like 000 or 0000), is the only safe way to clean residue off of rear windows w defrost lines. Use lots of soapy water, mix DW liquid w water in a spray bottle.

Steel wool is messy, sheds particles everywhere, contains oil, and is a heath/fire hazard. No thanks.
As Cooper911SC mentioned above (and IIRC, hes a pro detailer), the blue (no-scratch) Scotch-Brite pads are a much better option for that task.

Again, YMMV...

[Brian 162]

I rented a wall paper steamer at Home Depot to remove the tinted windows and marker lights on my Z06. It took 30 minutes to remove everything.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Actually, many do (and no tape is required, lol). Probably depends at on your locale, but not many pros here in AZ are going to break out a steamer in the summer when it's 100+ degrees outside. A lot of pros simply use a heat gun to remove the film, then soapy water and a 6" scraper and muscle to make quick work of the glue residue. No doubt tons of pro shops have/use steamers as well, as they are great for many tasks. However, you will have to spend well over $100 to get one that is actually worthwhile/capable. If you already own a decent one, great. If not, then you probably aren't keen on spending that kind of money for a one-time DIY job.

No. It's certainly one method, but it's not without drawbacks. With a steamer:
1. More time/patience is required.
2. They can/will saturate everything in sight, and turn then inside of a car into a sauna (especially when working the back glass).
3. They can/will burn you easily.
4. It's the most expensive option, if you don't have one already.

Steel wool is messy, sheds particles everywhere, contains oil, and is a heath/fire hazard. No thanks.
As Cooper911SC mentioned above (and IIRC, hes a pro detailer), the blue (no-scratch) Scotch-Brite pads are a much better option for that task.

Again, YMMV...

I hadn't thought of AZ. climate and you are right that it would not be fun to use a steamer in that heat. Then again, I don't think it would be enjoyable at all the be in it, YMMV.

Fine steel wool when wet stays together pretty well. I wasn't aware of a non-scratching Scotch Brite material, that sounds great for the job. As long as it's gentle enough, the defroster lines have their own coating that is fairly easy to damage and then you lose their insulation.

Brian, the fact that the rear window tilts up in that 'vette makes the job 100 times easier and less unpleasant. Laying in the back of a sports car doing a raked rear window like that would not be fun. I don't like very dark tint on cars but it's awesome if it comes on a used car that was in a sunny area. It protects the heck out of the interior and you can just remove it, like you did, and either put lighter tint in or go without.

[speeder]

Oh yeah, the steamer I bought was only about $30 online and I found that it was great for cleaning the interior in general. I also have a small extractor for carpet and upholstery but the steamer really loosens up stubborn dirt on door cards and handles, etc.

[porsche930dude]

well to remove mine i just used heat and peeled it off. For the remaining glue my brother brought home a little bottle of special remover for it and it worked great. I have no idea what it was called but im sure its available from most auto parts stores. Atleast the ones that supply shops

[Brian 162]

Originally Posted by speeder

I hadn't thought of AZ. climate and you are right that it would not be fun to use a steamer in that heat. Then again, I don't think it would be enjoyable at all the be in it, YMMV.

Fine steel wool when wet stays together pretty well. I wasn't aware of a non-scratching Scotch Brite material, that sounds great for the job. As long as it's gentle enough, the defroster lines have their own coating that is fairly easy to damage and then you lose their insulation.

Brian, the fact that the rear window tilts up in that 'vette makes the job 100 times easier and less unpleasant. Laying in the back of a sports car doing a raked rear window like that would not be fun. I don't like very dark tint on cars but it's awesome if it comes on a used car that was in a sunny area. It protects the heck out of the interior and you can just remove it, like you did, and either put lighter tint in or go without.

Denis
I didn't like the tint, it was to dark. The one thing I regret from removing the rear tint is now the reflection from the sun makes it hard to see the factory gps/radio
When I had a 911 I used the same method to remove the tinted glass. Lying in the back like a pretzel to remove the rear tint, fun times.

[Kraftwerk]

I really need to remove the SUPER dark tint on my Mom's car, its all bubbbly on the back window and difficult to see out of..

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Brian 162

Denis
I didn't like the tint, it was to dark. The one thing I regret from removing the rear tint is now the reflection from the sun makes it hard to see the factory gps/radio
When I had a 911 I used the same method to remove the tinted glass. Lying in the back like a pretzel to remove the rear tint, fun times.

I'm not a fan of super dark tint either. I like to be able to see out, but I do like some tint. I go with a high quality heat blocking, durable, but not too dark tint on my cars. The only place where I might go darker is a strip across the top of the windshield (depends on the car and factory windshield).