diy tint stripping
 

Stripping tint is no where near as difficult as tint shops or others make it out to be. I did mine in a couple hours. Would have costed maybe $150-200 more to have the tint shop do it.

Materials Needed:

- 2 or 3 black garbage bags
- 2 spray bottles (One for ammonia and one for water.)
- A jug of household ammonia
- Water
- A clean rag
- A razor blade

Directions:

These instructions are meant for a hot sunny day. If you're doing this on a cloudy day or the winter you may substitute a heat gun for the garbage bags but you will get the glass no where near as hot. Also this NEEDS to be done outdoors in a well ventilated area with the doors, trunk and if applicable sunroof wide open. Ammonia is potent stuff.

Rear Window:

Start by cutting the garbage bags at the seams so they can be laid out flat. Spray the outside of the glass with a spray bottle filled with water. Ensure that's it's thoroughly covered and soaking wet. Lay the garbage bag over the glass. Use 2 if needed to cover it entirely. If there's any large air bubbles push them out, don't worry about little water pockets. You will notice the sun will make the window very warm very fast.

Spray the inside with the other spray bottle filled with ammonia. Soak the window entirely. Hold a garbage bag against the inside of the glass. The ammonia should make it cling to the window. This traps the ammonia to the tint and doesn't let it evaporate. After this stage is complete, let it sit for a couple of hours. Now is a good time to do the side windows and 3/4 windows.

After the rear has been sitting for a couple of hours in the sun, the glass, garbage bags and everything in between it will be burning hot to the touch. Remove the garbage bags. The heat will make the tint very pliable and stretchy and the ammonia will have dissolved the glue. It should easily fall off now. Just lift a corner with a fingernail (Or the razor but be careful of damaging any defrost lines) and pull on the tint. Try to get it off in one big piece to make it easier.

Clean any residue glue with ammonia or ammonia based Windex.

Side Windows:

The side windows don't need nearly as much attention because there is no defrost lines to damage. I removed the interior panels around the 3/4 windows for accessibility but it isn't mandatory.

Start by soaking the inside of the window with the ammonia spray bottle. Let sit for a bit. The ammonia will evaporate rather quickly. Keep reapplying every few minutes.

After a few applications lift a corner with the razor blade. You will notice the edges come off easily because the ammonia has seeped in but after you pull a few inches off it becomes difficult. Spray a few blasts of ammonia between the already lifted tint and the bare glass. The ammonia will eat through the glue and allow you to pull off a couple more inches. I created a little reservoir of ammonia between the glass and tint. This was the fastest method (must work from the top down obviously). And add more ammonia when it starts to run dry. When all the tint is removed, wipe any residue glue with ammonia or ammonia based Windex.