Spectre
The Deported
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 36,832
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
- Car(s)
- 00 4Runner | 02 919 | 87 XJ6 | 86 CB700SC
So, some asshat kid went through your neighborhood with a pellet gun and shot out a window on your car. Or you accidentally broke your window loading stuff into the car. Or you scratched your window by accident. Or, like me, you had the window lift hardware that is bonded to the window break off. Now you need a new glass panel, so you go to the junkyard and get a replacement. OEM glass, best quality, perfect fit... only problem is that someone has applied tint and the shade is all wrong or damaged and needs to come off - either to get to clean glass or to prep for re-tinting.
You could sit there and scrape away with a razor blade for hours and hours. You could sit there and try to remove it with a heat gun and get stuck scraping off the adhesive layer with a razor blade for hours. Or you could take the lazy way out and do it with minimum effort. Here's how.
What you need:
One sheet of glass with tint needing to be removed.
One good sized bottle of cleaning ammonia, unscented.
One plastic garbage bag large enough to fit the sheet of glass into.
One outdoor area where you can work with ammonia without worrying much about the fumes or the surroundings.
One sun. (If your sun is unavailable, a 500W halogen work light suspended at at least one foot or about 30cm above the glass will do.)
Several pads of 0000 grade (super-extra-fine) steel wool.
Glass cleaner containing ammonia.
One single edged razor blade.
Roll of paper towels or shop towels.
One bath or terry cloth towel (not shown) - preferably an old one because it's likely to get ammonia and glass cleaner on it..
Optional: gloves to avoid contact with ammonia.
Step 1: Place the glass in the bag with the tint side up. Place the bag on top of the towel on a level surface in the sun or under your 500W lamp, again keeping the tint side up.
Step 2: Open the bag, leaving the glass inside, and liberally douse the tint side with ammonia, so the entire surface is wet.
Step 3: Immediately close the bag and press down on the plastic so that the plastic clings to the wet tint surface.
Step 4: Fold the bag over so little to no vapors or liquid can escape.
Step 5: Go do something else for an hour or two.
Step 6: Come back to the bag and open it up to expose a corner of the glass.
Step 7: Attempt to lift a corner of the tint with your fingernails or the razor, like so:
If it comes up easily, you are ready. If it doesn't, pour more ammonia on and go away for another hour.
Step 8: The film will begin to peel away in large chunks. Remove as much as you can by hand, using the razor to lift corners and such.
The tint will tend to tear and shred, as you'd expect.
Step 9: As you work, continuously spray the tint and glass with the ammoniated glass cleaner. This will keep the tint wet and the adhesive flexible as the ammonia you initially put on is busy evaporating.
Step 10: Eventually you will be left with some pieces that want to stick to the glass. Use the razor blade to scrape up corners and continue to attempt to peel them off, using the glass cleaner to lubricate the razor on the glass. The glass cleaner will also serve to help float the tint free of the glass.
Step 11: When you have removed all the tinted film, you will probably be left with some spots of remaining adhesive. Clean the glass with the cleaner and towels and inspect it to find any adhesive spots. Flood them with the glass cleaner, then use the steel wool (wetted with the cleaner) to polish them away; use the razor and cleaner to remove any large chunks.
Step 12: Clean the glass with the towels and cleaner. Repeat step 11 if needed.
Step 13: If the glass is clean of any residue, you're ready to install it!
Aside from the waiting time, this whole process takes at most about 10 minutes. That's it! It took longer to write this than to do it.
You could sit there and scrape away with a razor blade for hours and hours. You could sit there and try to remove it with a heat gun and get stuck scraping off the adhesive layer with a razor blade for hours. Or you could take the lazy way out and do it with minimum effort. Here's how.
What you need:
One sheet of glass with tint needing to be removed.
One good sized bottle of cleaning ammonia, unscented.
One plastic garbage bag large enough to fit the sheet of glass into.
One outdoor area where you can work with ammonia without worrying much about the fumes or the surroundings.
One sun. (If your sun is unavailable, a 500W halogen work light suspended at at least one foot or about 30cm above the glass will do.)
Several pads of 0000 grade (super-extra-fine) steel wool.
Glass cleaner containing ammonia.
One single edged razor blade.
Roll of paper towels or shop towels.
One bath or terry cloth towel (not shown) - preferably an old one because it's likely to get ammonia and glass cleaner on it..
Optional: gloves to avoid contact with ammonia.
Step 1: Place the glass in the bag with the tint side up. Place the bag on top of the towel on a level surface in the sun or under your 500W lamp, again keeping the tint side up.
Step 2: Open the bag, leaving the glass inside, and liberally douse the tint side with ammonia, so the entire surface is wet.
Step 3: Immediately close the bag and press down on the plastic so that the plastic clings to the wet tint surface.
Step 4: Fold the bag over so little to no vapors or liquid can escape.
Step 5: Go do something else for an hour or two.
Step 6: Come back to the bag and open it up to expose a corner of the glass.
Step 7: Attempt to lift a corner of the tint with your fingernails or the razor, like so:
If it comes up easily, you are ready. If it doesn't, pour more ammonia on and go away for another hour.
Step 8: The film will begin to peel away in large chunks. Remove as much as you can by hand, using the razor to lift corners and such.
The tint will tend to tear and shred, as you'd expect.
Step 9: As you work, continuously spray the tint and glass with the ammoniated glass cleaner. This will keep the tint wet and the adhesive flexible as the ammonia you initially put on is busy evaporating.
Step 10: Eventually you will be left with some pieces that want to stick to the glass. Use the razor blade to scrape up corners and continue to attempt to peel them off, using the glass cleaner to lubricate the razor on the glass. The glass cleaner will also serve to help float the tint free of the glass.
Step 11: When you have removed all the tinted film, you will probably be left with some spots of remaining adhesive. Clean the glass with the cleaner and towels and inspect it to find any adhesive spots. Flood them with the glass cleaner, then use the steel wool (wetted with the cleaner) to polish them away; use the razor and cleaner to remove any large chunks.
Step 12: Clean the glass with the towels and cleaner. Repeat step 11 if needed.
Step 13: If the glass is clean of any residue, you're ready to install it!
Aside from the waiting time, this whole process takes at most about 10 minutes. That's it! It took longer to write this than to do it.
