It’s true that ‘nothing lasts forever,’ and if your car tint shows signs of damage such as bubbles, scratches, is faded or peeled along the edges; there’s a new tint law that you have to comply with, or you purchased a used vehicle that came with it, and you just want to get rid of the glass tint. Either way, removing tint isn’t much of a challenge when you know how to remove window tint.
Whatever your reason for removing the window tint is, it is a lot easier to take your vehicle to your favorite auto shop to get the window tint film replaced with a new one, but it will surprise you to know that removing the window tint yourself is easier than you might think. There are a couple of tricks that can help make the task smooth and neat.
We’ve prepared these 5 easy DIY steps to help you accomplish the task at hand without relying on professional help.
You might want to get rid of your car window tints for any of these three reasons, each with its set of challenges.
Bubbling films don’t just look horrible when they form on a window tint, there’s presently no technique to get rid of the bubble other than to remove the tint. You might be tempted to peel the area that’s bubbling, unfortunately this only leaves a messy sight of adhesive and chunks of tint. But hey! Look on the bright side, those bubbles mean that the adhesive used to hold the tint in place is failing, so you can easily remove it.
Sometimes you never even wanted the tint in the first place. Maybe you bought a used car with tint and stickers, knowing fully well that you would remove both stickers or decals and tint when you get the chance to do so. Having to remove the tint for this reason alone can be quite frustrating because, in most cases, the tint is still in pristine condition and the adhesive is still at its strongest. However, we’ll go over a method that works well on undamaged tint film.
Exposure to the sun’s UV rays weakens the tint’s ability to protect you from these rays. With time, even the most beautiful window tint film fades into a deep bluish shade and you’ll be forced to replace it. There’s no other option other than removing the tint because the change in color is due to the disintegration of non-metallic dyes.
Going thermal is an expensive, but clean way to loosen intact window tint film. Though you may need to scrape a little bit here and there, it is easier than trying to scrape the tint without heating it first.
If you want to spend a little time as possible dealing with the unwanted window tint film, then your best bet is to grab a fabric steamer. Removing window tint this way is less messy than using chemicals – and faster too. You simply start working the edges of the tint film so you’ll have somewhere to start tugging at the film, but you need to be careful though. If you pull too hard before the heat weakens the adhesive, you might end up tearing the tint film which means you have to start all over from another edge. You will need to use a scraper initially to pull the edge from the window. Once the tint is off, you only have to deal with the leftover glue.
This method is similar to the one above, only that it uses a hairdryer or heat gun to weaken the adhesive. You simply choose a corner to start from, run the heat gun or hair dryer on high, and you aim it at the edge of the tint film about 2 inches above the window. After some time, the corner of the tint film should curl up and give room for you to pry the film with a scraper or fingernail or a scraper. Aim the hot airflow so it targets where the window and film meet, then slowly pull the film off as the adhesive weakens. You can then use an old microfiber towel to wipe most of the melted glue from the window.
Is it the middle of summer? Make your job easier by putting the sun to work on your window tint film. You’ll need a spray bottle of soapy water, a spray bottle of ammonia, two garbage bags cut out to fit the size of your window, and tarpaulin.
Make sure the exterior of the car window you want to peel tint off of is clean and debris free before you spray it with soapy water, then place one of the black plastic bags over the window and apply pressure until it lies flat.
You need to wear a protective mask so you don’t inhale fumes and also cover all surfaces with a tarpaulin before you spray the inside of the window with ammonia. Now cover the second black garbage bag on the window before the ammonia evaporates, reapply where necessary.
The tinted film isn’t 100% liquid proof and will allow the chemical to soften the adhesive.
Let the window to sit in the sun for about half an hour before touching the bags. If the window received enough heat from the sun you should be able to pry the tint away, spraying extra ammonia where necessary to keep the glue weak. Any residual tint and glue can be removed with a scraper.
While these methods work well at removing window tint, they are labor-intensive and all require applying force on the window. Hard plastics such as ice scraper or expired bank card work best for these methods, if you’re using any type of sharp blade then you need to be extra careful so you won’t be thinking how to remove scratch marks on the window later. Do not use a sharp object on the rear window defroster grid, a little mistake might damage the defroster thereby making it harder to get rid of frost build up in the cooler months.
There are many uses for old newspapers and one of them in removing window tint film. How this works is simple, just moisten the window tint film with soapy water and cover it up with newspaper. Apply more of the soapy water to keep the newspaper wet while it sits in the sun for about an hour.
After an hour you should be able to remove the tint, but if it still proves difficult, then you need to soak and let it sit longer.
First off, this is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming method on the list, but it is also the best method for small patches or tough windows. You simply pry an edge of with a razor blade then tug at the film, slowly. Once you’ve gotten rid of most of the tint film, you can then scrape away the remaining gunk and finish it off with a strong glass cleaner.
If you’ve followed our methods listed above to get rid of the tint film, it is very likely that there’ll be some residual glue that needs to be taken care of. The methods below all work exceptionally on any residual glue.
This is a popular adhesive remover that works well on residual tint glue, but it’s not very effective at removing the window tint film.
This is one of the most affordable and effective solvents out there for removing residual tint glue from your window. Get a bottle of 90% isopropyl alcohol and put some on a rag or paper towel to remove smaller glue spots or apply it from a spray bottle if the glue spots are larger and scattered. Be sure to pause occasionally for some fresh air, so you don’t get lightheaded from inhaling the fumes.
This is a very useful solvent, that’s if you have one lying around. You can apply it on a rag and scrub away at the residual glue or turn some into a spray bottle and give the window a good scrub. Though this method needs extra effort, your window will have a beautiful sheen when you’re done.
On a sunny day when the temperature is high, you can use soapy water and an ice scraper or old card to remove the leftover glue. If you were already using either the hairdryer, heat gun or steamer to work on the tint film, simply reapply the heat over the residual tint glue and then wipe off with paper towels.
Once that’s all done you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done while you allow your car to rest from the ordeal. If you follow the procedure above, you can actually finish removing the window tint of your car and the residual goo in less than an hour.
