Hello all, I searched around a bit but could not find anything. I just bought a 2005 white pearl 350z and the guy had installed tints on all windows. Problem is that it is very blurry when looking out from the hatch, so I want it removed, I called this guy and he said that if he removed it i would lose the defroster. I do not want to lose said defroster so is there any way to remove it without causing damage? If anyone knows a good shop in Miami point me there.

 

Here's a tinter's secret.

You're lucky you're in Miami too for this.

Cover your rear trunk area in some old towels/rags.

1) Put your car in DIRECT sunlight.
2) Cut a black trashbag to a size a little larger than the rear window.
3) Spray 409 on on the film (inside of the window) or something with quite a bit of ammonia in it and soak it.
4) lay the cut trashbag on the inside of the glass pressing it against the film you soaked and tuck the corners under the panels so it stays.
5) Let sit for 30-60 minutes (depending on how hot it is outside) and repeat soaking it (usually 2-3 times) until you can simply peel the film off the window. Essentially you're "baking" the film off the glass breaking down the adhesive with the ammonia.

If you do this most (if not all) of the glue will come off with the film. What glue is left can simply be removed with an SOS pad, a bucket of warm/hot soapy water (dish soap), and some of your 409 spray.

THIS WILL NOT HARM YOUR DEFROSTERS.

 

You brought a smile to my face. Thanx a lot for that. I am still accepting tint shops to look around and see if I can get a quality deal. Problem is right now Miami is hovering ~80 F, I guess this is the first time ever that I wish it was hot enough to do that. I guess I will have to wait. Big to you

 

80 should be good enough. You just may have to leave it out a little longer to minimize your scrubbing with the SOS.

Most tint shops charge more to take it off than to put it on. FYI. It is a HUGE pain.

GL.

 

Go to a good shop and they will be able to remove it without losing the defroster...Iv had tint taken off twice on the rear window and my defroster still works fine. From what I remember removing the rear tint to keep the defroster intact is just a slow process...look around but DONT do it yourself unless you have removed tint before with a defroster. Learning and Experimenting with tint remval on your Z is not s smart move.

 

There's no experiment there. That's how some tinters do it. I was one for quite a few years. When I did it in college in FL for spare money I used this trick ALL the time.

Its just tedious and time consuming.

 

Just speaking from being a first timer on anything. Even with a good DIY sometimes youll still f*ck it up. Iv done it be4

 

I will probably do this myself, I wanted a shop to see if it was worth putting it on again. I like my visibility and it has been bothering me. I don't see any way I can screw this up. Ammonia shouldn't kill the defroster and I am good at peeling those illegal parking stickers that everyone has issues with.

 

z's must be tinted it's a law.......

 

hehe, the only thing is that I have never had a tinted car and I am still not used to less visibility especially at night. Again I would love a shop where I can get it done for me. I am going to try and take it off myself this weekend. Hopefully no rain. I have a question though could I use a heat gun or would that screw it up?

 

You can use a heat gun but the heat is so concentrated in one area it would take you forever and increase your chances of burning something in your interior.

The key is the ammonia to break down the adhesives and film.

Ammonia is actually the primary reason for the infamous "purple tint" people see.

 

I just removed my 6 years old tint on my X5.
I do use a hair dryer to help tear off the film, it is not too hard to get rid of film,
but it takes a while to clean up the adhere.
I used Windex window cleaner spray.
When you google it, you can find many different method.

 

I just try removing the tint in my corolla gts thats probably 10+ years old and i just made a big mess but im going to try the 409 method You know on tint thats not that old most of the time it just comes off in one piece Ive done it

 

I have removed window tint using paint thinner, i think I used 3616. It removes the tint in just a few seconds, make sure you use the cheapest DuPont thinner.