tinting dilemma

[dirtysuitman]

The tinting on my rear windshield is bubbling up with little air bubbles, and i cant get them out... i tried to go to a tinter and remove it but he said it would tear out the heat pads on the windshield.... does anybody know what i can do???

[kennycm]

Use a razor and cut little holes in it, flushing the air out. Perhaps use some water to have it stick to the windshield.

[DBMaster]

You are probably not going to be able to make it look decent by "popping" the bubbles. Cheap tint looks fine when it's new, but a few years down the road it bubbles and/or turns purple.

They are probably right about not being able to get it off without messing up the defroster grid. When I had mine done 11 years ago I noticed one of my grid lines did not work any more. I took it back to the tint shop and they said they could fix it by removing the tint and using some conductive paint to repair the open spot. Well, what I ended up with if FOUR grid lines that do not work. Make sure before you tint that the shop promises to replace the rear glass if they mess up the defroster! My tint still looks good and fortunately there are still enough good grids that the defroster is effective. I hardly ever need it, though, as it doesn't get cold here often and I keep my car in the garage.

Good luck with it.

[smufguy]

i want to do tinting on my car. what product is good?

[phatazzDX]

When I tinted at a shop, we would peel the tint off the best we could without a razor blade. As you peel back the tint, keep the glue side wet in an attempt keep it from pulling up the defroster lines. Use a blade to remove the small pieces of tint left, being careful not to touch the defroster lines. After all the tint was off, we would use the finest steel wool pad we could find to remove the glue left on the glass. Soak the glue with water for a few minutes, then rub the steel wool pad lightly across the defroster lines to remove the glue.


<< i want to do tinting on my car. what product is good?>>

Any tint will turn purple over time. Just some are faster than others. The tint in the auto stores and Walmart are not good choices because they turn purple within a few months and are not scratch resistant. The best stuff you can get is only available at tint shops or maybe on the internet somewhere. Most shops should sell you some raw tint to do it yourself. You want the stuff that has scratch protection for the inside, exposed side, the store bought stuff does not have this. Lumar (no affilation) is OK because of the scratch protection and doesn't purple as quickly.