Anyone ever remove old tint?
 

The Supra's tint is purple and bubbled on the rear hatch. It is bad enough that I can't see out the back when the sun is shining. I've watched a few videos but it seems like a sketchy process perhaps best handled by a professional. I've received a few quotes in the $200-$250 range to have the hatch and little window tint removed. No one will promise the rear defroster won't come off with it of course.

I think I have my mind made up on letting a professional do it for fear I may make an amateur mistake costing me much more $.

Has anyone done this before? Any thoughts or recommendations?

I never have, but my one friend who tried it fought the same battle with the defroster. When I had the Camaro retinted he removed old tint and installed new for $150. At that price it wasn't worth the risk IMO.

It's not fun.

I removed the old tint from a T/A hatch I purchased used. Because it wasn't mine, I had no idea how old the tint was or what quality. All I knew was that it needed to go.

I spent about 1 hour or so with a steamer in my garage, sweating my face off & trying not to rip the tint as I took it off. I was thrilled to get it off in only 3 pieces...

...until I realized that most of the glue was left behind. I spent more hours than I can count getting adhesive off that back window. Eventually I got it all off, but at the expense of my thumbs & the better part of a bottle of Goo Gone.


Pay someone.

Pay someone.

It seems like mike got lucky and his came off in big pieces. I removed the tint from my fox body hatch and it came off a million pieces. Biggest of which no bigger than a piece of printer paper

Napa sells defroster line repair kits. Steamer is a good idea. I've done it with razors. Starting fluid (ether!) should help with glue removal if sprayed while pulling the tint. Junkyard guys use it to remove stickers......important stickers.....

Age a factor though? Important stickers may be <2 years old. Tint on 90s-era cars probably isn't. That left-over adhesive gave me PTSD.

I know the perfect test mule :lol:

Nail polish remover can accelerate the glue removal process quite a bit - plus it can dissolve residue that cannot be removed by mechanical means. But if you decide to use it, be careful near anything not inert such as glass (i.e. carpet, leather, plastic)...

I removed the original tint on the side windows years ago, sharp utility blades and straight ammonia worked well. Obviously defroster lines complicate it. If you have access to a steamer I imagine that would work well (buy it, try it worst case return the steamer lol)

Did a tint removal on a 4th gen rear hatch a few months ago. PITA and tedious. I used a heat gun and diluted ammonia with a razor blade. Didn't hurt the defrost. Result was great in the end. Just took a bit of time. Tint may come off w/out the glue. Don;t fret, just spray with ammonia. Do it in a ventilated area as the stuff smells and will prob cause cancer to some degree in California.

Glass cleaner when done.

Put plastic down to catch droppings.

Have the PROS do it. Just the slights of pressure could make a cut in the wire and it will not work. Also the glue residue will turn to slime and it takes forever to make it ALL go away:rofl:. Suggestion is to start with a small corner and see if it starts to peel of. If it's starting to break into small pieces, stop and make the Pro Call!

:bertstare:

After researching and getting my wife's new mustang tinted I have come to realize most shops that tint are hacks. No one guarantees perfect and blemishes should be accepted. Her hatch was not as perfect as she wanted. 3 places including the one that did it could not guarantee against damage after it was only on for 7 days. Most wanted $200-$250 for removal. I guess my point is that I didn't come in contact with any "professionals" in the tint business in central NJ.

I removed the tint from my old Silverado. It was tough getting started but once I got a good edge going you could peel it back evenly going side to side on the door windows. The glue cleanup was tedious but acetone helped make it easier. I removed it from the back window with the defroster and it came off without any damage to the defroster. I don't recall if I tried using heat like a hair dryer or heat gun, I might have.

0000 steel wool is how they do it at tint shops, shouldnt damage the defroster line but dont quote me on that.

I had a shop do my tints. I asked a friend about removal he said **** that noise. He just had a shop do it. So my vote is for a shop.

YEs on the steel wool. Use that after you get the tint off and clean up residue. I used 00 with no harm to the glass. 000 or 0000 would be fine also. You would need to F it up hard to cut the defog strip. Just be sure teh razor is sharp and go at an acute angle. Practice in a corner to get the idea. Its a quick process to learn.

I did it on my 84 Camaro. 000 steel wool helps. also use windex(with ammonia) to help. Pull the tint back on the tightest angle you can and go really slow. Take your time, its not a quick process but very doable.

Couple places quoted me $200 to $250 for removal. One was the shop I used to have the Hellcat tinted and the other was recommended by a friend.

Of course my Dad isn't afraid to do it lol...

I wonder if it's better in the long run just to replace the glass.

i have blue bubbling tint on my 83 monte lol thats gonna be fun to take off but first things first....finishing the motor lol

Doubtful plus the cost of it would make you fall out of your chair.

Your dad is afraid of nothing!

DO. NOT. TRY. IT.

I did it over the summer on my 98... I have no idea how long it had been on there, but it started peeling in one small spot, so it had to go. I tied every trick in the book. The trashbag trick, windex, STRAIGHT ammonia, heat, goof-off, acetone, steam... nothing would touch it, I couldn't believe it. My last resort was Aircraft Stripper... Yes, I had to use ****ing paint stripper, and even then, it took days and multiple applications.

Tim can attest, it was the absolute worst thing I've ever done, and after all that, I still ****ed up the defrosters a bit. Never. Again.

It did suck total donkey nuts. Dont forget we still need to peel it off my 01.... :)