So I bought this tinting kit from snap tint..http://www.snaptint.com/car-tint.html In theory this is a great idea and according to them, very very simple. They have written instructions and a how to video on there site. I thought to myself, "G if there's any way to F*$K this up, you will" so I watched the video three times and read all the directions... Guess what? I [email protected]!KEd it up. Not as easy as I anticipated, or maybe I was thinking it was going to be way easy and i wasn't prepared for the challenge. Any way money and time lost. Overall there prices are very decent and if you can get it done right it would come out very nicely. So that's my experience and now I'm leaving it to the pro's!:-(
Did my own tint job!! NOT GOOD!
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250 Posts
:lol:I read your post and smiled. Overwhelmed with empathy I am. I would not try to tint my own windows even if life were an eternity. Give me anything sticky on one side and instant catastrophe. I would have been in my E cussing up a storm. Just ask my wife.
There are some things I have learned to just not try. This is one job I would hand over to a pro as well.
Trust me I understand!
There are some things I have learned to just not try. This is one job I would hand over to a pro as well.
Trust me I understand!
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575 Posts
Sorry for your frustrating experience. I have seen to many bad tint jobs on the road and I didn't think twice about having a pro do mine. Tinting either looks really good or really bad imo depending on the installer and quality of the film used. I'm sure you will love it after you go to a good shop to have it done.
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I tried tinting the skylight myself and then took to a professional. Live and learn.
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154 Posts
I had my tint done 2 days ago for the fronts, windshield and supposedly the skylight too. I knew this guy for the last 10 years and was so disappointed that he refused to tint the skylight. :-( He said that he got a memo from film company to never do it - tint sunroofs. Reason being, it can crack because of too much heat it absorbs. Now, I never heard about it but since he was a pro and refused to do it, I just had to go with what he said. He can have an extra money for it but flatly refused to do it. I just don't know if this is something new or not.
Definitely something I'd leave to the pro's. You've got to be good to get tint right on cars these days. It's not just a flat piece of glass... Unless you want to spend tons of money practicing on your own car so you can be a pro, just have a pro do the job.
I tinted the moon roof of my Element with 5% tint. It took two tries but I got it.
It's not easy, but it's something that anyone should be able to do with practice. My brother used to tint cars so I do have an extra resource that most people don't have.
The hardest thing for me was cutting the tint just right. It does take practice. I found for windows with a black border that I could give about 1mm space between the cut tint and the edge to allow for sliding around for final fitting. Also make sure you use the spray of dawn dish soap alot. Make sure you do it outside on a bright day. Make sure you use a very sharp blade. The blade that came with my kit kept dulling out every 16" that I cut so I had to keep replacing it.
The moon roof (if you have one) is a safe place to practice and make mistakes. Just pull off the tint and dispose of it if you don't like it.
It's not easy, but it's something that anyone should be able to do with practice. My brother used to tint cars so I do have an extra resource that most people don't have.
The hardest thing for me was cutting the tint just right. It does take practice. I found for windows with a black border that I could give about 1mm space between the cut tint and the edge to allow for sliding around for final fitting. Also make sure you use the spray of dawn dish soap alot. Make sure you do it outside on a bright day. Make sure you use a very sharp blade. The blade that came with my kit kept dulling out every 16" that I cut so I had to keep replacing it.
The moon roof (if you have one) is a safe place to practice and make mistakes. Just pull off the tint and dispose of it if you don't like it.
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877 Posts
I had mine done by a guy when i was living in savannah (Jackson Tinting). The guy did it out of his garage, but did an excellent job. I drove out to his house (not as creepy as this sounds) and just sat and watched him do the whole thing. Before I knew it, he was finished. I had him do the sunroof, front two and the strip and I think the whole thing was 90. he said $25 per window plus $15 for the strip. Which I found to be real reasonable after comparing it to other shops. He used llumar tints, which matched perfectly with the factory. My biggest regret is I had him only do 35% on the front two. Next time I go back, I think i'm gonna have him darken all the windows. Watching him do it, it doesn't seem that hard, but it looks like there definitely is a bit of experience that gets you to do it better and faster without error. I'm very much a diy'er, but I'm leaving tint to the pros.
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159 Posts
It's actually really easy..... All you need is a whole lot of patience and a shaded area. Sun and tinting your own windows is bad. Cause the water you'll be spraying on your window will dry fast.
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575 Posts
I found it really easy too! Chill out and play on my Iphone for a while while a pro does the job, then cough up a few bucks and drive off:grin:
Oh you said "whole lot of patience." Yea I don't have much of that...
My hats off you you guys that can or even want to do tint yourself. I could see me being very frustrated very quickly.
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42 Posts
When you guys have tinted the windows which percentage did you guys get to match the rear glass?
Also, we noticed that the rear glass still lets light in that bothers our son in his car seat. Has anybody tinted the rear glass to make it a bit darker? If so, which percentage did they use on the front to match?
Also, we noticed that the rear glass still lets light in that bothers our son in his car seat. Has anybody tinted the rear glass to make it a bit darker? If so, which percentage did they use on the front to match?
Window Tint
Based on experience, removing and putting on tints is complicated. The complex glass curvature and heat-shrinking are far too difficult. I prefer leaving this job to the professionals. I consulted the expert on tints at www.TintBuyer.com for my window tinting needs, they provided quotations, tint law in every state and locate the best professional tint installer near my area.
Based on experience, removing and putting on tints is complicated. The complex glass curvature and heat-shrinking are far too difficult. I prefer leaving this job to the professionals. I consulted the expert on tints at www.TintBuyer.com for my window tinting needs, they provided quotations, tint law in every state and locate the best professional tint installer near my area.
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