i want to tint my windows before summer and it costs quite a bit to have somebody do it so i was wondering how hard it is to do yourself? i read teh tech article about it and i dont know if i should do it. what kind of tools do you need? is there any special kit i should get? how much does it cost if you do it yourself? thanks alot

 

Save yourself the trouble and money and just pay somebody to do it. I tried to do it myself and it really sucks to do. You can get a good tint job for around $100. The side windws are hard enough. You can forget about being able to do that hatch window by yourself on your first tint job! Matt

 

I agree. This is not worth doing yourself. Unless you have the skills of course, but if you're asking us, then you don't.

 

I also tried it myself. Didn't work. Saved myself more headaches and just had it done professionally.

 

i wasnt even going to try it....i paid a professional locally to do all 3 windows for $160 w/lifetime warranty...which isnt too bad of a price considering he specializes in f-bodys.

 

i heard the hatch window is a pain to tint

 

I've done mine but, only because I had a AutoZoone $50 gift card.
It's fairly easy but, worth it (w/o a gift card)? Not really.
The main reason, most any autopart chain carries Gila tint which is a dyed film. This is the same type film you see turning purple on so many cars ( the bubbles on the tint on the same cars are a complete different reason).
Most pro tint shops use a metalized film which for one, is usually gaurenteed by the shop and second, will not discolor.

If you choose to do it yourself, make sure you have a garage to do it in. Invest in a pack of razor blades. Buy some generic (no lotion, no good smelly stuff in it) dish soap. You also need a sprayer (old windex bottle or whatever that sprays), a dropcord light, a serious amout of $$ for your cuss jar, a squeegy (sp?), hair dryer, credit card and most of all. patience.

 

Oh yea,, excluding the filth on the car and the crappy paint.. here's mine...

 

Yep. You can see from the replies that this is not a good idea. I also used Auto Zone tint. That stuff sucks. I was trying to tint my CAdillac. I was doing mine outside. You have to wet the tint, cut it right, use soap water, etc. It's a pain in the azz. It sticks to the window wrong, and you gotta rip it off and it leaves a line in the tint. Then it sticks to itself, sticks to YOU, sticks to the door, gets dirt in it, gets bubbes, and then it's real pain in the azz to get your botched tint job off your car. Auto Zone doesn't take ripped up tint back. Then you're out the money you spent on Auto Zone tint, and wind up taking it to a professional anyways, and you'll wind up paying them more to get your botched tint job off your windows and clean them up so they can do it right. That stuff is a nightmare to remove. I'm having mine tinted on Monday. I'm paying an extra $80 to get the old crappy stuff off that the previous owner put on there. Matt

 

Obviously you don't have the patience or the hands to do it somewhat properly. If you have to pay to get tint taken off, why would you even try to put it on ?
It's not rocket science and it certainly isn't the tints fault it sticks to you or any other surface.
I'm not promoting anyone to do it yourself by any means but, just buying one roll and doing the side windows (which are cake) it's at least a learning experience in the DIY category. Even if you royally mess up, as long as the tint is wet, it peels off easily.

 

A friend of mine had his own tinting shop, he said that the tint you buy off the shelf is no good, it turns purple in no time flat and is hard to get it to stay put. The rear window will be very difficult for someone with little to no experience to do, given the curvature of the glass. As has already been stated, have a pro do it, they will do it right, you wont have to worry about the "purple haze", or the "bubble" syndrome. By the time you blow $50 and a weekend screwing around with it, you might as well have spent $100 and had it done right and not have to ever worry about it again.

 

I had my friend do mine for $40 and some ram chips. He does tinting on the side and does a good job too.

The replacement rear window hasn't been tinted yet in the above picture.

Tint is 35% with metallic flake in it.


Before the tint,