Removing window tint....

[Dave M]

The Grand Prix I bought has some nasty purple window tint all around, and the rear window tinit is starting to bubble and it's installed so bad I can't use my rearview mirror at all because you can't see out of the back window. Can anyone tell me how to remove this tinting... I'd like to remove it all, sides and back. Is it hard enough that a professional should do it (especially the back with the defroster), or is it something I can do? I've never messed with tint before, so I have no clue.

Thanks!

[Z Ya Later]

For the rear window, I would have someone do it just to save the risk of damaging the rear defogger. The rest I've heard isn't too bad, but I've never done it myself. Are you going to get new tint down the road? If so, I'd just take it to a reputable shop and have them strip it and put the new stuff on. Kill two birds with one stone. Good luck and take care.

[pete]

Check with a shop that does tint. I was guoted about $25 per window to remove it a few years ago. Its mostly elbow grease to get it off, and I think the guy says he uses vinegar to help get it off.

[TraceZ]

Check with a shop that does tint. I was guoted about $25 per window to remove it a few years ago. Its mostly elbow grease to get it off, and I think the guy says he uses vinegar to help get it off.

I recently un-tinted a drivers door window. I just peeled it off, then I used a razor blade with simple green to remove the adhesive.

The back window would be a little harder. I wouldnt be afraid to DIY, though. Just peel it off and find a good adhesive remover that is safe for glass. Try looking at a body shop supply place.

[raroZ28]

ammonia works good. I just did mine on another car, came right off with a razor blade. Then finish off with the amonia.

[The Old Man]

My rear window tint is bad.. The shop quoted me $44 for the job.

[Joe 1320]

While I haven't tried this myself, a pro once gave me the tip of coating the tint heavily with goof-off and immediatly stick clear plastic wrap to the tint and close it up. Let it sit in the sun for a few hours. Open it up and the tint should peel right off with little effort. Again, I haven't tried this yet so you are on your own.

[CRM]

gasoline peel it off and use gasoline to wipe off the glu. it will smell tho

[alenstein]

My original window tint ,the stock blue-green tint, is scratched up from the weather strip runing on top of the door, anyone has this proble? Can the original tint be removed, and how?

[MN6WS6]

Reply from a former tinter

I used to tint, so this is what we did at our shop. To remove old tint, the first thing you do is peel it off. If it's purple, this will be either really easy or really hard. Good tint comes off in one piece. Crappy tint comes off in about a billion. You just have to deal with it. The key on the back window is to peel it by hand (in however many pieces it decides to come off in), and get a spray bottle and pour straight ammonia in it. Spray the back window (after you get the tint off) with ammonia, and sit it out in the sun. Spray it about every 20 minutes, and after about an hour the glue should come off pretty easy. We used a no-scratch pad (tough to find retail but the local tint shops keep them by the case). This looks like a scouring pad, but it doesn't leave scratches in glass like a real scouring pad does.

For the rest of the windows, peel the tint off, then use a mixture of a little bit of baby shampoo and water. Spray the window down, take a razor blade, and the glue comes right off.

If you have a steady hand, you can scrape a defroster back window off with a blade, but if you hit one of those lines, bye-bye defroster. I really can't recommend anybody do this, but it does make life a lot easier. BTW, some tint shops also have rear window defogger repair kits, just in case they mess up. The downside is you can't tint back over it as it requires solder joints to be made. You'll never see them unless you get in the back seat and look for them, but they disrupt the glass surface enough to prevent re-tinting.

[Blevyou know]

CRM gasoline peel it off and use gasoline to wipe off the glu. it will smell tho

Not in my car!

[fastTa]

Naptha works pretty good. Home Depot carries it. Just about any solvent will work to remove the adhesive from the window.

[DeWynter]

Zippo fluid will remove most anything that uses glue to stick on.

[FourthGenCamaro5]

Removing Old Tint

To remove old tint use a tint-remover. You can buy this stuff at Wal-Mart, Autozone, or Advanced Auto. It is cheap and the only other thing you need is a razor blade. Just spray it around the edges till it soakes some (about 10 min) then start scraping. Do it slowly some tint has two layers and you will pull the top layer off leaving you a sticky bottom layer which is like a price tag and is impossible to remove cleanly without a lot of work. Use Windex w/ vinegar to clean up. If you do have to use ammonia use DILUTED ammonia, and make sure you are in a well ventalated area.