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Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:29 pm

Anyone interested in removing old crappy tint from their van?

1. Using a spray bottle, spray ammonia onto the inside of the window
2. Cut out black plastic trash bag roughly same size as window and place on the window. Smooth out all air bubbles.
3. Park car out in the sun and let the window bake for a good 4-5 hours.
4. Peel away plastic bag
5. Using a razor blade, slowly peel back tint while lightly spraying tint with ammonia (I used windex because I couldn't stand the smell of vaporizing ammonia in a hot van).

After 25 years the tint took on a bubbly, psychedelic purple look.

After

Before

After

Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:42 pm

I used Simple Green on a really hot sunny day and it melted right off...

Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:39 pm

I'm curious about how you did the rear window. I've used a razor blade before to remove tint on side windows, but have never known how to scrape rear windows clean without damaging the defroster grid. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

David

Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:01 am

I used a razor blade on the rear window. I also thought it was going to be tough not to damage the window defroster lines but it was pretty straight forward. I removed the rear window tint last and after getting the hang of all the other windows it was pretty easy. The razor blade 'skims' over the defroster lines with the right pressure.

Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:07 am

The other tip I would suggest is that you purchase a razor blade holder from your local hardware store ... will definitely save your fingers. I also attached a 18" handle/pole to the holder for better leverage (via duct tape) ... this was especially helpful for getting to the window behind the closet in a Westy.

Sun Jul 01, 2007 1:56 pm

Quote: The other tip I would suggest is that you purchase a razor blade holder from your local hardware store ... will definitely save your fingers.
Yes...absolutley!!! I forgot to mention that.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:24 pm

Well, I thought I'd relate my own experiences with removing Winston's window tint, and graft those onto an existing thread so you could compare and contrast.

Here's a picture that gives you an idea of how Winston looked with the window tinting in place:

I had intended to have Winston’s deep purple window tinting—the deep purple is a sign that the tinting is shot—removed, for safety’s sake, before the expedition to Fort Collins. The tint on the back window was so bubbled, scratched, and clouded that it was difficult to see out of it at night. I decided to get right on that after the repair, and took him by John’s Sunroof and Window Tinting for an estimate. A very serious fellow looked him over, and concluded that it would take them several hours and $225. I gulped, and agreed, but upon returning home found a post that tinting could be removed with the use of a steamer, which we have for wool clothes and cleaning. I made a start on the driver’s side window, and it did seem promising! Accordingly, I left a message on the tint company’s machine that I had decided that I couldn’t afford them, which was true.

I could only do the one window when my neighbor from across the street, came to pick me up for dinner. Oddly, that dinner, too, was VW related, he had wanted to celebrate my eventual victory in the Jalousie Wars, and that was the first time we had to do it. I picked his brain for input, he very much encouraged me to go ahead, saying I'd do the kind of job I wanted with the kind of care I thought it required. The argument was pretty convincing.

Wednesday… I rather grimly set to work removing the remaining window tint from Winston’s other windows. I had NOT finished the driver side, but I was getting better, I learned how to use the steamer to make the edges of the thin film bulge up… Then it is a matter of directing still more steam into the bubbled areas, then gently peeling off the film, with the idea of using each peeled bit as a handle to pull off the bit unpeeled. The older and more dilapidated the film is, the more frequent is the film’s tendency to rip right off in your hand, forcing you to try and get another area of the remaining film to bubble… peel… lift, etc. This can go on for hours. In my case it went on for nine hours. I worked five hours on Wednesday and four hours on Thursday.

The film on the front passenger’s side window and both cat’s ears in front came off fairly easily, the film on the sliding door window put up a somewhat stiffer fight because I had to open and close the window to get one side or the other clear enough to peel. At least I didn’t have to take off the notoriously-breakable plastic screen to do that, I was worried about that.

I used lacquer thinner and a razor blade scraper to remove the adhesive remaining on the glass after the film had finally met its destiny in the garbage can. I had a few burns from the steamer, you are trying to lift the film as soon as the steamer loosens it, and your fingers at times get uncomfortably close to the hot steam. I learned to scrape adhesive as the steamer cooled down—it’s not a good idea to refill a hot steamer with cold water. You get geysers and explosions. Ask me how I know. Better—don’t.

The rear window was… Hell, with defroster wires. I couldn’t use a razor blade to help me scrape the film there, due to the presence of the fine copper wires on the same surface, the ones heated by the rear defogger, which is, for a fact, a pretty vital component of driving the van safely.

Break just one of those wires, and the entire rear defroster won’t work. Direct current, and all that. I worked for a full two hours on the rear window Wednesday and got… About a fourth of it done. I had to remove the rear curtains and curtain rods, and the film kept ripping off in my fingers, forcing me to start over… and over… and over… and over.

I finally gave up Wednesday and got back to work on Thursday—same routine, only this time I wore rubber gloves to help with the burns, which worked, pretty well. Instead of lacquer thinner, I used a product called ‘Oops’ to remove the adhesive still on the back window. The results were… Good!

I had to rub very hard with a terry cloth rag, but that left the glass clearer than I could ever remember it, and so it was just a matter of settling down and peeling… Pulling… Having to start over… Cleaning adhesive while the steamer cooled… Refilling and restarting the steamer… Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Well, it took me about 10 hours total, so I made around $22.50 an hour doing it myself. I had my earphone radio for company, and a whole lot of stubborn. A note about the earphone radio, it's this unit:

http://www.airwareamerica.com/m2rx7a-peltoralertamfmearprotector.aspx

The steamer gets pretty LOUD, this unit mutes that and lets me listen to something besides its hissing. I also use it when mowing, using power tools, or shooting! If I ever had to clear the house, I could have its microphone set to maximum amplification, yet the noise gate would prevent damage if a shot was fired. Neat gadget, very, very worth it. But I digress.

I must not have been surfeited with the smell of steam and chemicals, I started Thursday with cleaning Mom’s steam iron with a chemical de-scaler, she had complained that it hadn’t been working very well. What was one of the most interesting things about completing the job was the realization that, under the film, the glass of all but the window on the side was ALREADY tinted! No wonder I had such trouble seeing the gauges inside the van! Fairly dark tint, too.

Anyway, I've been meaning to share those experiences with you.

Best!

Sat Oct 22, 2016 10:16 am

Good older write up! I did the same. Rubber mechanics gloves, $10 wallpaper steamer from Craigslist, and about 4 hours. I did the middle windows, back window (need to remove cabinet to access the window behind closet), and the hatch window which yes was a PITA. I did use the razer blade a little bit on the hatch window mostly as the tint tended to want to stay on the small heat elements.

Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:19 pm

Well done, it looks like a huge improvement!

I think there are two types of people in the world: those who like tint and those that don't. Even when I lived in NM I didn't like tint and removed it from my '85. I think it makes it too gloomy inside, even on sunny days.

Naturally, FWIW, YMMV. :D

Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:15 pm

Thank you! The photo links appear to be weird today on old and new posts.

I've never really wanted to go back on the window tint film--except maybe on the left hand rear window, where I would go opaque to protect the stuff in the closet from light.

What HAS intrigued me are the very recent anti-THERMAL tints, which are supposed to repel all but a small percentage of external HEAT. The catch there is that the sun would still be hitting Winston's metal, and I'm pretty sure that he would be getting hot that way. There are days I walk into his 100 degree interior and hear Strother Martin discussing lapses in communication.

:shock:

Best!

Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:31 pm

Good tips above. I've always just used a heat gun and *new* razor blades. One tip on the defroster grid... Blue masking tape (or I suppose any tape really) can work to pull it off sometimes, especially if old and ready to go. Just lay it down and rub in on well, then yank quickly. Or heat, then tape, and yank.

-Kevin

Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:36 pm

Thanks! I think I'm a no tint guy, especially super old purple tint... At least in a bus/Vanagon, you are meant to see clearly outside. If you want privacy, pull the curtains.

Thu Sep 17, 2020 4:47 pm

The tint my grandfather had put on my van in 1988 is full of bubbles. I dont mind them but its going on the chopping block soon and it looks a mess.
Removed it from one window and using a heat gun , it peeled right off. Unfortunately the adhesive is so thick that the window is basically still tinted ! I could honestly almost leave it like that and still have tinted windows .
Anyone else been in this situation? Is this just all razor blade work or has someone come up with a shortcut. Windex does not seem to even phase it.

Thu Sep 17, 2020 4:54 pm

Tobias Duncan wrote: The tint my grandfather had put on my van in 1988 is full of bubbles. I dont mind them but its going on the chopping block soon and it looks a mess.
Removed it from one window and using a heat gun , it peeled right off. Unfortunately the adhesive is so thick that the window is basically still tinted ! I could honestly almost leave it like that and still have tinted windows .
Anyone else been in this situation? Is this just all razor blade work or has someone come up with a shortcut. Windex does not seem to even phase it.

Soak it in wd 40 with a rag, after an hour or so, or even over night, itll scrap right off with a razor blade

Thu Sep 17, 2020 9:16 pm

A little tip, something that we would do in the glass shop. When using a razor blade to scrape something off of glass we would foul the blade first. A new razor blade can scratch glass, so lay the blade fairly flat on something like a piece of brown paper and drag it across the paper a couple times. The paper is just abrasive enough to put a micro bevel on the cutting edge. It helps keep the blade from digging in and or catching. Once done keep track of which side is the top. If you flip it over you will run a good risk of creating scratches.