how hard is it to tint your own windows?

[aturcotte127317]

so ive been wanting to tint my windows for a while (get it done professionally) and now ive been searching for prices, and in my city, its all 250-280$, now i can travel about an hour away and get it done for 150$ (but i think there are some strings attached). now im wondering if i pick up some tint film from advanced auto, and did it myself would it look haggard? because i see alot of tint jobs that just turn out horrible, but i think that might just be because they had no idea how to do it, didnt take their time etc. so is window tinting something that HAS to be done pro? or can it turn out ok if its a DIY project? aslo if you know of any other ways to do it or any tips on ohw to do it correct, let me know. thanks in advance guys!

[caps]

give it a try, tint is cheap

[korey_hofer]

it will turn purple if you buy it from there and tinting sucks ass but it is cheap

[jmelton86]

It turns purple from using ammonia based glass cleaner. They sell ammonia-free glass cleaner especially for tinted windows. Check it out next time you're in an auto parts store.

[Team Nemesis-DJ]

Its not hard ...just take your time ..i us to be pretty good at it ..

[korey_hofer]

the part that sucks is that it seams you never can keep dirt and **** from blowing on the Car while you do it

[cartunez2004]

Originally Posted by jmelton86

It turns purple from using ammonia based glass cleaner. They sell ammonia-free glass cleaner especially for tinted windows. Check it out next time you're in an auto parts store.

its turns purple when it has metalized (spelled wrong) sh*t in it cant think of what its called tint basically cheap tint has it in it, tintin isnt that hard just make sure u do it in a clean place cause if not u will have dirt in it and that will make it look like ****\
u can also order pre-cut tint online and i used it b4 and it worked out great

[aturcotte127317]

why do you need to get the pre-cut tint? couldnt i just use a razor? also any and all tips would be greatly appreciated, aswell as any name brands (that i can get at autozone, or advanced auto, or walmart, etc. is it me or are those prices to get it done pro, insane?

[aturcotte127317]

X2 on my last post.... any help?

[aturcotte127317]

any reccomended brands? does pre-cut really matter (it's kinda hard to find it for a 94' audi 100 trying to stay away from egay)

[caps]

lumar

[aturcotte127317]

thanks caps, ill check them out!

[StoneColdJesus]

Tips: Get your Car as clean as humanly possible. Any grit on your car can and will end up under your tint.

Flat and simple curved windows are very easy to tint, you can work out all the bubbles pretty easily if there's only one curve on a window. If it has a compound curve you'll end up having to cut, overlap and seam the tint at some point or deal with a bubble on at least one corner.

Keep the window as wet as possible with soapy water. Also wet the back of the tint with soapy water to prevent scratches from the squeegee.

If you want tint to the edge of the window don't plan on rolling them up for a couple of days. If you have to roll them up ASAP trim the tint back about 3/16" - 1/4" from the edge of the window. Also run the tint as far below the edge of the door panels as possible so the door's squeegee won't peel the tint. Naturally this entails pulling the door panels.

Most importantly, get a hand. I've never had a problem tinting with help but I can't do it alone. You have to trim the tint by wetting the window outside the car and sticking the tint to it with the clear film facing towards you and cutting the rough shape out about 1" oversize. Having a hand to stop the tint from walking all over the window as you're trying to trim it makes a huge difference.

Also... buy an extra roll just in case you end up flubbing a cut or getting a wrinkle in the tint. It happens and it's easier to return unused tint than to run to the store with your car half torn apart.

[nick]

last time I checked Lumar wasnt sold at autozone

[Coolwazabi]

llumar is awesome... 3m makes good tint...

but IMO llumar is the best...

[cartunez2004]

pre-cut is just ez if u dont wanna cut the tint all u do is put it on and get the bubbles out, and as far as walmart, pep boys autozone it will look good for bout a year and start to turn purple after that , solar and llumar films are good tint and the price for a shop to do it is kinda high the highest place around here is $225 for a Car i get a car done for $175 if i dont feel like doin it myself

[aturcotte127317]

alright, so extra set of hands, clean windows, ive heardto take soemthing like a card (playing card, credit card) and stuff about 1/2 inch under the window squeegee, sounds like a good idea, but wouldnt that promote some wrinkling when trying to stuff it under the squeegee?

[StoneColdJesus]

Originally Posted by aturcotte127317

alright, so extra set of hands, clean windows, ive heardto take soemthing like a card (playing card, credit card) and stuff about 1/2 inch under the window squeegee, sounds like a good idea, but wouldnt that promote some wrinkling when trying to stuff it under the squeegee?

That's why I say pull the door panels. Remember, you've got dirt below the squeegee line and unless you clean it off the tint won't stick to it.

[aturcotte127317]

i am willing to buy offline, but not ebay... (i guess i have soem negative balance on there, that ive paid off, but still suspended account...) but i couldnt find anywhere ot buy lumar tint, their website only had "dealer locators" which was 2 states away from me

[nick]

check for Solar Guard its good stuff too

[kensaudio99]

Here my window tinting. To do proper windows tint require time and patient. Don't get pre cut tint because if the first time you will screw up your tinting. Buy a huge roll of tint and remember buy Grade A tint because those are good quanlity ones. Every tint have a dark shade so select 5 or 20% shade. 5 % shade is very dark so wouldn't get that unless if live a country where the laws tint allow that shade. I would go for 20% shade or higher. I can tell you more about tinting because i did it on my own.

[aturcotte127317]

looks really nice man!!! i sent u a PM!

[VikingLax18]

Originally Posted by jmelton86

It turns purple from using ammonia based glass cleaner. They sell ammonia-free glass cleaner especially for tinted windows. Check it out next time you're in an auto parts store.

no. It turns purple from being a dyed film, instead of a dye free film. it has nothing to do with the cleaner

[VikingLax18]

I started tinting by doing my own car, and then realizing I could get all my friends business. You won't be able to get good tint unless you setup a contract with a bigger company, like I did.

I have an account with Johnson window films and Order tint here and there, because I'm not doing it all the time.
I could describe the whole process, but you can find that stuff online. here are some pics



Got a fatass roll to last me. Johnsons is the best you can buy FYI, really really good quality **** with awesome Customer service.

These are just a few I've done. That Bmw 3 series I did yesterday.








Wished I could have seen this thread earlier i could have given you alot of pointers.

What brand did you use?

[aturcotte127317]

i didnt even buy it yet! ur not too late! shoot me soem tips man! (aswell as brands!)