i hear if tinted
-felt and moleskin will have melted adhesive (i live in cali, weather is hot enough to melt them and fuck shit up)
-something inside the doors will cause scratches tint
-also the sills may cause scratches with rock or random debris

so what solutions are there? i heard one which is removing the inside thing that scrapes the tint but would that pose any problem? i.e) weakening the structural integrity leading to potential window rattles or loose windows etc etc

thanks!

 

This is a very good question! I just tinted mines last night for the 3rd time due to the scrathches. I myself have no idea what impact would removing the inside weather strip have on the window... Hope some one has an answer on this. In the mean time I am not rolling my windows down

 

mole skin does indeed work.
OP, you're having a hard time to decide between scratches and glue????
Over time some members have seen less glue, and ultimately it goes away. but you do have to endure it for some time.

alternatively, you can just use regular felt and wrap it thinly around the window blade.

there have been reports of people removing or cutting that window blade and their results are not happy.
they get wind noise.

the best thing to do is wrap the window blade by yourself with some felt.

the window sill itself does not cause the scratching. its debris and dirt that get in the way of the sill and the window. the felt or "moleskin" will prevent these said debris scratching your tint.

 

^^ Exactly

 

glue is cleanable.. scratches are not easy choice for me

 

The tint shop that I'm having do my tint puts felt on it.

 

I inquired about felt/moleskin when I got my tints installed. I was advised to not use either, and to instead use a treated cotton swab to clean the window blade. I do this every time I wash the vehicle. Works great!

 

well where do they place the felt and moleskin? isn't it not inside the doors? i heard that from the tinter

IF that is the case the glue would be inside and stuck so you'd have to take off the door panel, i would not like to do that too often and risk snapping old clips

@rksokol did you remove the "inside weather" strip that causes the scratches?

 

the felt/mole skin on a window blade hidden inside the door panel.
so, to apply it, you do have to take the door panel off.

so the glass slides up over the felt. but somehow grabs the glue and streaks it vertically.


Rksokol: thats a very GREAT IDEA.

 

Get moleskin. Just do it. Easiest solution.


If you do get some glue streaks (you might or you might not) on the window, just clean it off. BTW - you don't get glue all over the inside of your door panel; just an occasional streak on the window.

 

http://empirepao.com/?page=moleskin

do itttttttttt

 

i am debating whether to get a tint.

 

 

Just messing with ya....


Get it! You will not regret it.

 

That's a good idea, but unless you do it every day, you aren't protected 100%. Moleskin/felt is the only fool-proof protection. Just put it on once and you never have to worry about it again.

 

if its installed correctly you wont have any issues with either scratches or with glue residue on the tint.

I've installed moleskin on a handful of TL's including mine and i have never had a single one get any residue on the tint and all of these cars are in and around Clearwater beach Florida so the heat isn't the reason for the residue since its in the mid 90's for months.


The reason people get residue is from improper installation.



.

 

would eventually sliding off all the adhesive from the felt/moleskin render it useless eventually?

if the only problem it causes is glue streaks than i'd do it as long as simple window cleaner can take it off with ease

 

I have tint applied to my windows and don't have felt or moleskin. I haven't had any issues, but that may be because I don't roll my windows down that often. One thing I do suggest is to make sure they don't leave a small blank strip on your rear quarter panel windows. They did it to my TL and I hate it. Also, check to see that the type of tint they use does not interfere with cell phone and navigation reception.

 

Apply the molskins yourself and apply some 2 part epoxy around the edges in addition to the adhesive thats on it already. Or better yet put a few sewing stitches around the corners and edges where it is most likely to catch and streak. Obvious all moleskin material is not the same, nor does it use the same adhesive. With that being said comparing your experience with moleskins streaking verses climate is worthless unless you are using the same material, it is installed exactly the same & the surface was prepped the same, etc.

 

lol damn, well regardless and with all the info here

i think i'll get it tinted when income starts flowing positively and buy some moleskin and give some to the tinter (automall tint specialist) i know and seen people who've gotten their cars tinted there and service/quality is top notch

thanks fellas =)

 

just make sure they tint the complete quarter window on the rear doors. Alot of tinters like to get lazy and will leave a strip un-tinted and it looks really bad.

 

bout time i got enough money to spare on tint without going negative.

few questions
- if anyone has cut the trim can you give feed back on how much more noise has increased inside the cabin?
- i don't mind the fishbowl look so can anyone tell me if the 75% oem factory windows protect from interior fade? nothing worse than Ebony having fade... IF the interior does not fade from oem windows I WILL get coil overs first as that was originally my first priority mod

let me know thanks =)

 

i got tints a couple days ago. my tint shop had this special felt that he custom makes. it puts moleskin to shame! much better quality and doesnt have any issues of melting glue like i heard with the moleskin

 

there are other threads discussing the same issue, but it seems the overwhelming concensus is get the moleskin. those that have not, get scratches on the tint. my tinter said its not worth doing, but i insisted on doing at least the front two, since i really don't open my windows all that much except for the driverside window on a regular basis.

my tinter actually only lifted the top of the door panel off enough to get the "window blade" out. he never removed the entire door panel (therefore no fear of breaking clips).

so far so good with my windows. no issues.

 

I am another that recommends moleskin. I bought a TL-S that already had tints and the vertical scratches are for sure an eye sore.

Just curious, does anyone have a writeup on how to install moleskin? I know how to remove the door panels (which is super easy on the TL's), and I am familiar with the window weather stripping strip that is at the top of the door. How do you lay it over that or what is the exact procedure? Also, for those windering what it would sound like with that weather stripping removed. Its very loud...and trust me you do not want to remove that piece.

 

^James, I used regular felt that I bought from Hobby lobby
cut a strip and just lined it on the weather strip, then pushed everything back down and put the door back on.

 

What i did was buy the felt for $6 from empirepao site. Its about an inch in width, i wrapped it around the outer blade that touches the glass in one piece, no cutting. I also try not to roll my window all the way down.

 

Ok sounds good but what did you have to do to keep it in place?

THanks

 

where is this tint shop you're talking about?

california tint?

 

do the stock windows protect from interior fade? I have an extreme itch to buy suspensions and rear camber kit

 

I overlapped the window blade just a little bit.
when I pushed everything back down, and closed everything back up, the felt doesnt move.
you'll understand once, you try.
-Justin

 

i decided to tint 35 all around anyways been 2 days. and now i fear that if i roll the windows down it will scratch regardless of being fully cured or not. what type of cleaning or measure can be taken before rolling them down? i'll be having my hands on some oem visors soon so i'll have to roll them down a bit to install =s any feedback would be helpful thanks. also had cut the very top piece of the inside window stripping but it may not not stop the scratches but may only "possibly" reduce it

 

visors....gross lol

To answer your question the only thing I can think of is maybe use a plastic prying tool to kind of wipe down that strip to ensure its debris free. Maybe also use some compressed air or some sort of slightly damp rag. That should ensure your safe to roll the windows down. Remember it varies between cars. Some guys literally get no scratches ever and others the windows get scratches within a week or two.

 

thanks, i'm going to give it 2 more days to cure to be safe and than proceed to compress air the window area =x

 

Make sure to clean the inner door seals thoroughly with alcohol before applying the moleskin, to keep the moleskin adhesive from coming off and streaking the windows. I haven't had any glue streaks on mine yet. Also I treat the tint film with Kem-O-Pro PRO-303 Glass Tint Cleaner Preservative that I bought from my local tint shop 10 years ago. It's a wax for the tint to help keep it from being scratched.

http://jbchemicalusa.com/productinfo/detail.html

 

Just get the moleskin and install it right. I live in hot ass Florida and haven't had any issues with glue streaking. Install was simple.

 

get the moleskin and don't put down your windows for at least 5 days.

 

What I discovered is that it's more important to make sure the moleskin is all the way to the top of the blade rather than lower section. The window applies most pressure at the top of the blade and will catch the edge of the moleskin hence catching some glue. I purposely wrapped the moleskin around the bottom edge of the blade thinking it was the the thickest part of the blade and left it about 1/8" short from the top (the visibile area) and experienced a lot of streaks. I have since redone a window with wrapping the top rather then the bottom and have had no glue streaks.

Ideally, the way to go is to get a large batch (greater than 1" wide) from a fabric shope and wrap it around the top and bottom of the blade.

 

I hesitated to do this for over a year...and then I moved to North Carolina from Michigan and the heat drove me to do it. I simply found a reputable shop that was familiar with the so-called 'TL tinting issue' and was knowledgeable enough to reference using moleskin (on their own). Since tinting I've never once had an issue with scratches or anything else whatsoever...except getting pulled over a few times, but in the event that happens, I recommend you say F it, drive on and completely ignore his warning to take off your tints. Thus far, that has been the winning combo for me

 

i accidentally rolled the windows down (didn't know holding the unlock button did that... and with the windows all locked) i was like and then proceeded to get in the car put the key to roll them back up thank god no scratches

so do you think i'm safe?