Tinting your windows at home

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Old 09-10-2004, 11:10 AM
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Tinting your windows at home

Has anyone tinted their windows? I had my windows prof. tinted and had to remove the 2 side windows for a fix-it tix. Now I want to retint the 2 sides, and I was able to peel off the old tint, so I have a pretty good template of the window. I put the old tint on a hard piece of paper and traced, now I am going to cut a new piece of film in that shape.

The thing is: I went to autozone and bought Gila. I had gone to a tint message board and everyone was blasting gila, so I am not sure if it is becuase they are professionals and have thier favorites, or if gila is really a less superior product than others. Has anyone ever used Gila, and also do you roll the window down about a 1/4 inch when installing and the slip the bottom into the window/door slot ? Also do you make the piece a little larger than the shape of the window and then trim off the excess? becuase my last tint was perfect at the edge and I cannot see any other way to do that except to trim it after it's installed, with a razor blade.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

thanks,
Old 09-10-2004, 11:16 AM
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Unless you have alot of experience in tinting windows, get a real shop to do it. It's not as easy as it looks. Never heard of gila. If's it's sold at autozone I would think it was crap stuff.
Old 09-10-2004, 12:46 PM
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go get it done professionally. I've tinted windows on my old car, and it's a tedious process plus mistakes. Leave it to the pros.
Old 09-10-2004, 12:49 PM
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I say try it. Tint is cheap. Worst thing that happens is you're out a few bucks and you have to pay someone to do it.

On the other hand, I would imagine the tint colors would not being the exact same, which will make it look


So much for being decisive.
Old 09-10-2004, 01:41 PM
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unless you REALLY REALLY know what you're doing, id say take it to a shop. Its just a pain in the ass to try to get out all the air bubbles and such. Its relatively cheap for a tint job anyways
Old 09-10-2004, 03:14 PM
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I was trying to install Gila on my Accord V6 with no success.
When I was in college I worked at Fast Signs, so I know how to operate with squeegees. Still, when installing limo tints by Gila I had imperfections and removed it.

I know pros using 3M, dont waste your money on tools and films, just pay someone to do it.
Old 09-10-2004, 03:38 PM
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i'd have someone do it for ya
Old 09-10-2004, 03:46 PM
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as many people already said DO NOT try at home. Go with a pro and do not waste your time.
Old 09-10-2004, 04:19 PM
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i know a buddy of mine who DIY and it came out shitty, and the tint look purple in the light after a while..
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