Removing window tint??

[Blue_Goose]

I just picked up a 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Road & Track Edition today. Apparently this car made it's way to Vermont from it's beginning as a Florida car. The previous owner tinted the rear windows on the doors and the the back window. It's beautiful tint...I love it. However as a NH resident it is also illegal unless it let's 35% of light through. I stopped at the shop where I will probably do the inspection once I register it....his handy dandy light meter read it at.......10%.......rats.....




SO......before I can get this car registered and inspected I need to have the tint removed.


How difficult is it for someone who puts tint on for a living to remove it? I'm concerned about possibly breaking the rear defroster wires when they are pulling the tint off.

I've seen the You Tube videos with the trash bags, 409, ammonia etc....it just isn't something I feel confident doing myself and would rather let someone who does it for a living tackle it. Who ever installed the tint did a darn good job...it looks factory...not a off the shelf from Advanced Auto kit


Thoughts?

Thanks, the car IS fun

 

[Traction]

I don't like to questioned on window tint so I removed it all from my 97 Corvette. I bought a cheap steamer and that worked pretty good. Side window came off clean, but had quite a bit of glue left on the rear window w/defrost, from baking in the sun. The only thing I had that removed that easily was acetone, of course that needs to be used with caution. I was concerned about the defroster too, but it wasn't an issue.

 

[wemay]

Steamer, razor blades and soapy water. The rear glass... only steamer. You don't want to razor off the defroster lines.

 

[Blue_Goose]

A couple of pics of the tint

 

[oldhp]

Are you going to get the windows re-tinted? If so, maybe the "tint" shop would give you a deal to R&R.

 

[SZR48207]

If you can get the glass warm enough, just pick a corner and start pulling it off gently. The adhesive may or may not come off as well.

But the adhesive can then be cleaned with solvents.

 

[BryanTDI12]

I’ve removed window tint on three of my cars easily as they look better without the tint. What I do is I use ammonia in a spray bottle and spray the window tint. Then use a black garbage bag cut in half and place it on the window, using ammonia to hold. Park in the sun if you can and let it sit for half hour to an hour. After, take a razor and peel at one corner and pull the whole sheet off. Works like a charm. Note, if you see a translucent film, spray some more ammonia. Car doesn’t smell afterwards and I haven’t had any trim discoloration

 

[Audios]

If you retint them theres a good chance they wont charge you or charge very little to remove, I just did it on the M and its a pain in the butt. Im going to 35%l, I think its a nice touch that doesnt attract attention. The M3 had 10 on it when I got it, wheels were black too , so I got followed by cops a ton that first month. Once i removed it and dumped the wheels, I never get a second glance.

 

[danez_yoda]

There are youtube videos that cover this. It involves spraying the tint with soapy water then sticking plastic over the tint. Let it sit like that overnight and it will soak through the old tent and loosen the old glue.

Comes off easy then.

 

[Blue_Goose]

Thanks for the replies guys...no not going to retint...here in NH it doesn't get cooking like down south although we do have our warm spells. Not to mention the NHSP run Chargers so I think they may take a closer look at other Chargers as well. I may be paranoid on that though as the only time they have pulled me over was when I had my 2014 Charger for a smoked plate cover. I had the smoked covers on 4 different vehicles in the last 15 years that I've lived here and only got pinged on the Charger


Yeah, I've seen the videos on YT but as I said before, I'd rather leave it to the peeps who do this for a living. I did ask about it today at a local audio shop that has a guy who comes in twice a week to do tint jobs. They said he could "probably" do it but runs the risk of breaking a couple of the defroster wires. That turned me off on them a little bit as I guess I assumed that if done correctly no wires should be broken.

But then again maybe I'm assuming too much as with anything, no matter how careful you might be, the risk of something going wrong is always there.


Based on how a lot of you guys have doe it yourselves, a shop should be able to handle this pretty easily?

 

[Schmoe]

Just make sure you find a good shop...I've seen some window tint removal places that have destroyed the rear deicer....and of course they want you to sign a waiver to protect themselves.

 

[SZR48207]

What exactly says a shop would be more careful than you the owner would be? Removing tint is literally no different than removing stickers.

And like the other guy said, they will not be liable for damage to the defrost wires so that gives them ZERO incentive to do the job right.

Just use heat and take your time and it'll come off cleanly. You could even use a hair dryer or heat gun to accelerate the process so you don't have to deal with ammonia or trash bags.