This weekend is supposed to be pretty warm in NJ... I'm tempted to re-tint my hatchback window on my own. I had it done by a friend's boyfriend 6 years ago, and my 5% limo tint is now clear. I watched him do it, I remember what he did, and it wasn't really rocket science. I'll put the new tint over the old so I don't have to bother with the removal process.

I've also got a few hints from "the tint dude", at http://www.angelfire.com/ns/windowtinting/

Hm, to tint, or not to tint... heh, lets see if I wake up on time first!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

Tom, you are crazy if you wanna tint that back window!! Every person I saw who did it themsevles:

A) Screamed their a** off
B) Made it look like crap

When I was on the Appearance board, I found I was the ONLY person who had a window tinted in less than 3 pieces...mine is only 2. I watched the guy in the shop do it, and I would NEVER wanna try that!!

I paid only $100 and got lifetime warranty tint, guaranteed not to fade or turn purple. Mine is only 35% as MA state law allows, but it looks as nice as ANY tint job I've seen on a Camaro. If you do it, good luck man

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Jason E
'89 Camaro RS 2.8
Grey/AT/T-tops/all power
Hypertech chip/2 K&N filters/Accel 8.8 wires/RapidFires
Eclipse CD and 100x4 amp/Boston 746 4x6 plates and RX 6x9 3 ways/ALL Monster's goodies
Alpine Alarm w/ Keyless entry
IROC tailights/t-windows

[This message has been edited by Jason E (edited October 13, 2000).]

 

Hey Tom, I read you post here.... https://www.thirdgen.org/messageforu...ML/000180.html
You just bought that welder here not to long ago right? Why don't you build a bead breaker.My future bro-in-law built one.It's a little rough but it works.It will break the beads loose in a heartbeat but seperating the tire from the wheel is another story.

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http://www.camaroforum.com/
http://v6fbody.com/
http://nethirdgen.org/

[This message has been edited by Kevin S (edited October 13, 2000).]

 

I tinted my hatchback window two years ago. ( Not a perfect job though. I have small air bubbles here and there. But you can't tell unless you look at it really closely )I also learned it by watching somebody doing it. I bought a roll of dark limo tint ( about 8 or 10 inch with.) So I have 5 or 6 pieces on the window. I used windex on the window.
My biggest advice to you is that do one piece at a time. Let it dry and do the second piece the next day and so on. And also if you don't have a garage make sure it's not windy outside. GOOD LIKE

 

I have heard that is a pretty tough jog. I had 5% on the back of mine untill the state trooper pulled me over. Cost me $40 plus $50 court costs.

 

Well guys, I did it! It came out pretty damn good! There's a few spots where that "original" tinter friend of mine had some wrinkles, and with my job laid over his, the wrinkles show through. But hey that's no big deal; the wrinkles are in the extreme ends of the window.

It took me two rolls of Secret Zone 5% limo tint, at $17 a roll (ouch). Pep Boys also had a squeegee/razor knife "tint kit" combo for $4, which I bought. At first I thought the squeegee was "too hard", it's more of a plastic than a rubber. I went to Home Depot and bought a regular window squeegee- but barely used it. Didn't realize it at first, but the hard plastic "stretches" the tint so it fits the window better. The rubber Home Depot one did a good job of removing air, and that's about it.

As to a piece count, the previous guy did it in four pieces. I was able to match his "piece size", so where my tint pieces meet are in the same spots. He never cut off any overlap, so I didn't either. With the 5% you can't really see the overlap from the outside (well, you could on the faded stuff, heh).

The hardest piece to lay was at the top of the window. It was the smallest, I figured it would be the easiest- of course not! It's always that way, eh? This section had the most wrinkles at the edges from the original guy, which gave me more of a fight. I shoulda made that top piece into two pieces... I suppose I still can, since I have some tint left over- I'll see.

Voltran, I did a method like you said.. I only did one piece at a time. The TintDude's directions said to cut all the pieces at once, and lay them up all at once- I wasn't about to try That! I did have to back the car 1/2way into the garage, it was too hot out yesterday.

I still have to lay the last piece. Out of the four, this piece is the second one down from the top. It's odd driving this way; it seems as if I tried to make a "little" rear window out of my big one.

On another good note, my girl said the job came out much better than she expected! She knew an ex- who did a bad job, and then she had to listen to him complain for a long time about it.

Not too shabby for about $50 ($17/roll tint, $4/tint kit, $8/home depot squeegee, $2/all-foam sponges to clean window)! Now I just have to get used to using my side-view mirrors to see again!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards