Do it yourself tint?

[Phlip]

Originally Posted by zugoi

man i dont think there are "pros" unless you wanna pay alot for it. Tint cant be that hard. I will try mine when i get a chance. The shops prolly just hire someone off the streets and just teach them on the spot. Its not rocket science.Just do it urself first and if u mess it up SOOO bad then goto a shop.

So what you're saying is that it is more than acceptable to undertake something knowing that your inexperience is more than likely, given the described experiences of others who have been there point to it not being as easy as you seem to think it will be, will see you fail? On top of that, it is okay with you to have to do something twice when you do not have to? Sounds a lot like selling my car to ride a fuckin' donkey.
I'll pay someone to do it, I will pay them to do it one time, my time is too valuable to be wasted.

[zugoi]

Well go right ahead. what i said is my opinion. Its my car and id tell everyone else that why not try it yourself and learn so you can do it again to your friends car or what not. Im not going to pay someone everytime i need my car worked on. I think the hardest part on doing tint is the cutting, but the guy is buying a kit thats pre-cut. All he has to do is clean the glass and appy the tint and like others say use a heat gun or blow dryer. Doesnt sound hard to me at all.

[kdashy]

Originally Posted by zugoi

man i dont think you need "pros" unless you wanna pay alot for it. Tint cant be that hard. I will try mine when i get a chance. The shops prolly just hire someone off the streets and just teach them on the spot. Its not rocket science.Just do it urself first and if u mess it up SOOO bad then goto a shop.

Wow, that is just not an acceptable 30th post on this thread, after all thats been said.

Try reading this thread, you might learn something.

[kidswole]

Originally Posted by kdashy

Wow, that is just not an acceptable 30th post on this thread, after all thats been said.

Try reading this thread, you might learn something.

yeah thats pretty funny,

And another thing, hair dryers don't get not enough to shrink tint, maybe if you stand there for about 30minutes on one "finger" or "tunnel" it may get hot enough to squiggle up and shrink

Like I said before,if youre super patient and anal about detail you may be able to fart out a somewhat decent tint job, (that looks good from about 50 feet away)

If you do want to try something, do the Visor strip across the front windshield, its easy, some cars you don't have to shrink, and it's just easy practice and easy to remove if you get tons of trash in it.

GL

[leonphelpss11]

sit there and watch em do it, my friend works there and they do it in like 2 hrs or summin like that... i think you'd have 2 hours to spare

[rowdogg03]

too bad you guys dont live in San Diego, I took my car to TJ and had all 5 windows tinted for 50bucks out the door. Great quality too... no runs, or bubbles... Gotta love Mexico :]

[datsun510dude]

Tinting isnt THAT hard...one of the most important steps is PREP work! Just imagine getting the tint on...only to look from the outside and see small dots from pieces of dirt on the window. I was showed how to tint by a pro that told me a good glass cleaner and newspaper will clean the crap off the windows.All the things you need are a good tint (shrinkable is easier for us rear side hatch glass guys), spray bottle, 1 mother f***in sharp razor blade, "tint on" liquid, bondo style spreaders, and a heat gun would help too. (All this stuff except the good quality tint can be purchased at walmart) Heres a quick rundown of how i learned on my ae86

**best to do this in a low wind and in a heated or warm garage if possible

Clean windows better than you ever have, inside AND out

Cut film a little larger than the size you need for the window

Mix the "tint on" and water per instructions in the spray bottle

Spray mixture abundantly on outside of window

Place film adhesive side out (toward you) on the OUTSIDE of window

Cut the shape of the window out in the film as clean as possible

Move inside the car

Wet inside of glass with mixture, as well as tint and as you peel back the tint from the backing, spray the adhesive on the tint so particles dont get stuck on it

Place wet tint on soaking wet window and start from the center of the tint with the bondo scraper/squeege and squeeze the tint down onto the window by pushing the water mixture out.

Repeat the squeegeeing action until most of the water is gone and all the little bubbles are gone.

Remember that the tinted windows should not be rolled down or anything for a few days as the glue isnt completely set.

....Its simple on paper, but once you get in your car, its a whole different game....hope this helps someone out!

[nissan240syan]

do it yourself is pretty hard not to bubble and does not look dark at all. If your afraid the "tinter" will test drive it then just wait their, when I got my tint done it took 2 hours and looks a lot better than when I did it myself

[skylinekin]

did mine myself, cost me $20 and didnt take too long, where I live front window tint is illegal so If I get pulled over for it and have to take it off no big deal.

[datsun510dude]

Heres instrustions from TAP Plastics' site. I used TAPs 5% on my rear and it looks decent. Few small pin bubbles in the corner from DIRT, so be sure to scrape and clean windows as good as possible!! Microfiber towel (12 for $2 @ Walmart) and a can of invisiable glass (about $3?) and your set, also use a razor on the windows w/o defrosters.

http://www.tapplastics.com/uploads/p...letin%208.pdf_

[thejapino]

For everyone saying
"if you mess up the first time, take the tint off and get it done/try again",
you might mess up the rear defroster when pulling off the old tint. If your defroster doesn't work anymore in the first place, try it then.

Professionals take 2 hours on a tint job b/c they are PROFESSIONALS. If you think you can do what they do in 2 hours it'll either come out shitty or you would have only done your two front windows. Just get it done at a shop. Money well spent IMHO. Everyone I know that thought it was easy and tried the 'do-it-yourself' tint method just ended up taking it off and getting it done.

Also, you could get it cheaper if you get more than one car tinted! Hook up your brother/sis/mom/dad/gf and your $120 240sx tint job might end up being $80. Save everyone some money.

[datsun510dude]

Originally Posted by thejapino

For everyone saying
"if you mess up the first time, take the tint off and get it done/try again",
you might mess up the rear defroster when pulling off the old tint. If your defroster doesn't work anymore in the first place, try it then.

If your pretty quick with taking it off you shouldnt damage the defrosters...if you ARE worried about it they sell "tint off" at walmart...spray, lay a bag over the window (side tint is on so the plastic clings to the wet inside of window) leave for 10 minutes and come back and the tint should come right off. Did it on a few friends cars (G20, 240, civic) without problems.

[driftenthusiast]

Any reputable shop will have a waiting room for customers staying and you can usually see the door if they took your car out you would know.

[kanagawa_kouki]

Get it done professionally... C'mon now it isn't that expensive! and trust me it will be worth it!

Originally Posted by R240NA

I tinted for a few years too, and the common automobile owner doesn't have a chance in hell of doing a good job. Even reading some of these replies I'm cringing. For one, you can't use a carbon blade on glass without leaving marks, razor blades and regular Olfa blades will cut into the glass. Secondly, rear windows or ones with curvature really need to be heatedshrinked to the glass before applying it.
I'm sure the people replying who say their's turned out good are comparing it to total ass, which in most cases should look better, but that doesn't mean it's right and it will last. Plus I don't see any reason why you shouldn't trust the tinter, if you're there with the car do you really expect them to do a banzai run up the highway? If anything, take off the door panels, rear deck, any parts to make thier job easier, they'll appreciate it.

well said... as always.

not to mention, back when i actually CARED about bullshit like tint.. the entire process only took about 1-2 hours, its rather quick.

bring some grub and just hang out with your tinter. its not surgery, its a fuckin tint job.

[datsun510dude]

Tint Plus in Fremont,CA (NORCAL) does a pretty clean job, they use suntek tint and provide a lifetime warentee. $160 for rear 3 in my ladies 07 subaru

[thejapino]

I paid $190 for 7 windows for the E34 with 3M. I got a good deal!