Removing tints and tint adhesive

Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:39 am

So this weekend, I got my car inspected for registering in Maryland. The shop that inspected my car failed me... but only for my tints.
I got the car from New Jersey, which appears to have lax tint laws compared to MD. The car had limo tint (5%) on the rear windows and probably 15% on the front side windows plus a windshield strip (which I didn't care for).
Well, Maryland only allows up to 35% all around so they failed me because the car's tints were too dark.
I was forced to remove them to pass so I did it myself. After removing the tints, I noticed that I had very sticky windows as the tint glue residue remained on the glass.
I basically had to remove it by hand with a razor blade. I initially did some internet research and saw that there were tint glue removers sold at autoparts stores. I got myself a near $8 bottle and worked on the windows with an included razor. The remover worked, but it was an arduous process of soaking and then scraping.
After running out of the remover, I did more research and saw that window cleaner with ammonia worked as well. I tried Windex and saw that it really did work just as well as the tint glue remover.
It's a time consuming task as I was trying to do a good job and not damage anything. It's important to be careful on the rear window as not to damage the defroster and radio lines. The rear window is very time consuming.

So basically, in case anyone is going to be doing this in the future, keep these in mind:

1) Get a good razor and replacement blades.
2) Forget the expensive tint glue remover from the autoparts store. Just use Windex with ammonia. Some people also recommended degreasers and oven cleaners. (This is also why you DON'T want to clean tinted windows with Windex. It's better to use something made for auto glass like Invisible Glass. It's safe for tinted windows and I now see why. Invisible Glass didn't do much to remove the glue when I tried it.)
3) Cover the crevices of the doors with masking tape and cover the rear deck with a trash bag to prevent the Windex and glue residue from getting into the spaces between the door and window and into the speakers.

I plan to get my windows tinted again, but a lighter tint. Although the dark tint looked good, it was too dark even for my liking. I may try tinting it myself given all the work I am putting into removing it.

hocaspocas · Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:09 am

Use a cloths steamer...Check youtube for some videos on how to do this. Is cleaner and less messy.

Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:12 pm

Well, I was in a bit of a hurry to get it done because I wanted to pass inspection ASAP.
I also don't have a clothes steamer or a heat gun, but in retrospect, I wish I had used a hair dryer. That may have helped the glue stay on the film rather than the window.
Oh well, lesson learned.

Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:08 am

After doing some research on how to get the glue off more easily on the rear windows, I read that pros use fine steel wool with Windex on and around the defroster lines on the rear window. I got some #0000 steel wool (the finest stuff) at Home Depot and tried that with Windex.
This worked the best out of anything. The steel wool is so fine that it just seems to polish the defroster lines and not damage them while lifting the glue off the glass. I've read that this even makes dirty defroster lines on older cars work much better again by restoring their copper color and effectiveness. The rear window is finally almost all clean.
I also used the fine steel wool to polish my titanium watch. Many people believe it's not possible to polish out scratches on titanium. That does not make sense because titanium scratches rather easily. If the watch has a brushed finish, the steel wool does a great job polishing out the scratches to make it look new again.
Steel wool may be my new favorite tool.