How to remove car window tint: the not messy, cheap, easy way

Removing tint & stickers from car windows
So easy you'll slap yo' mamma!!!

This instructable covers removing tint (and stickers) from windows. It is specifically geared to removing tinting from 5th generation Honda Preludes from 1997 to 2001, but can be used on anything from Kias to Hummers, to house windows.

Background:
I recently bought a nice 5th generation Honda Prelude with tinted windows. I always liked the way that tinted cars looked, but didn't think it was practical because most of the driving I do is at late at night. The new car also had radio reception problems. The antenna in my car is a thin wire layer on the back window above the defroster lines. Asking around I learned that the tint in my rear window was likely causing my poor reception (it was). These two reasons drove me to removing the professionally installed tint the car came with.

After calling a tint shop and getting a quote of $140 to get the 5 window (2 doors, 2 rear quarters, and rear window) tint removed I decided there had to be a better way. I did some research online and prepared myself for a messy painful process. It turned out to be easy, so easy I figured I'd write it up for you.

The advantages of this method are that you do not need to cut the tint off at all (no razorblades = no mess) and so it is safe on your rear window without any fear of messing up your rear defroster or antenna lines. The method is also significantly faster, cleaner, greener, less messy, and less hazardous to your health.

General idea:
The goal here is to steam the window and tint so much that the glue releases itself from the window. Then all you have to do is slowly pull the tint off of the window (as you continue to steam) and the glue comes with it - no mess!

References:
This write-up is a basic version of the special technique used by the professionals at Tint Removers (tintremovers.com).  Tint Removers uses a specialized green method of tint removal that does not leave toxic chemicals for professional car, home, commercial office and store window tint removal services.  This write-up is based on an interview with Tint Removers.  If you are interested in professional service or have specific questions for Tint Removers, they can be contacted at [e-mail].  Feel free to reproduce this article but make sure to include a link to this article.

Disclaimer:
Steamers release extremely hot steam... which translates to hot condensate. When combined with tight spaces and or the use of beer as a motivational tool, injury can result. Use common sense, don't burn yourself with the steamer.
Tint will make your car look better to the opposite sex, protects from the UV rays, and wards off thieves. Removing it however, will make it easier to actually see while driving, sometimes important.

Thanks for all of the positive comments. If you liked this article, please rate it, and include your pre-tint-removal & post-tint-removal pictures! (if you didn't like it, let me know what is missing)

Keywords:
Window tinting,remove tinting, tinted, car tint, prelude, steamer, window steamer, remove tint, removing car tint, removing window tint, removing tinting, tint removal, bubbling tint, old tint, how to remove tint.

Step 1: Gather Supplies!

Gather the following supplies

• Cheap clothing steamer (hey, it works on your clothes too!)
• Long extension cord
• Bottle or cup of water (so you don't have to go inside to refill the steamer every 10 min)
• Some rags
• Windex
• 6 pack of beer & a good CD (to keep you entertained while steaming the windows)

Clothing Steamer
This is the lynchpin of the entire operation.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a cheap clothes steamer on sale at walgreens for $12.99 to stay stylish, and I figured it just might do the trick on my tint too. Apparently, I got quite the deal, when looking for examples for this write up they were all about $25-$30. If you want to find a deal, you might try your local thrift shop, Ross, Tuesday Morning, yard sales, Kohls, TJ Max, etc.

Here are some examples of fabric steamers
Target: SteamFast Compact Fabric Steamer $24.99
Walmart: Conair Portable Garment Steamer $29.93
Walgreens: Conair Compact Fabric Steamer $29.99
Sears: Conair GS16 Hand Held Fabric Steamer $22.49 (on sale)

Comments

[phx2slc]

Great humor in the instructions. Apologies to all of you who ran out and purchased a steamer. I was able to remove my tint from the front driver and passenger windows with a hot air hair dryer kindly "donated" by my spouse. No water mess required. I had a few small patches of glue which I removed with some adhesive solvent.

[lorihouldsworth]

well yeah..I did think about a hair dryer, but I wanted the steamer for other things...wondered if the moist heat would be better..guess you are saying it didn't matter.

[papiwapi]

Can we use a heat gun used to remove paint?

[lorihouldsworth]

I wouldn't. The steam is a little more gentle...I think the heat gun would crack the glass

[lorihouldsworth]

Thank you so much, this worked amazingly well. Steamers are more expensive in Australia but I still managed to get away with under $50. The tint was on the Rav 4 when we bought it..and one window had gone a little cloudy and ripply. Now...they are all like that and you have to drive with the windows down when turning corners so you can see...very dangerous. So I followed the above and have removed the tint from the worst window. Will encourage my husband to get involved and do the rest cos its his car. Did find some residue glue...cleaned up with eucalyptus oil..the water soluble type.

[ddemura]

We also got stopped for illegal tinting even though it was on there when we bought the truck. It has started bubbling and has become impossible to see through. I am going to attempt this tomorrow with my clothes steamer.

[chris4.8]

Thanks for the tip. I will have to remove mine tomorrow. Got a ticket today for "illegal window tinting" on front driver and passenger side. In texas 25 is the lowest you can go, mine was 7. It was on the windows when I bought the truck 6 months ago. Had no idea they were illegal. Thanks again.

[gneal]

Thanks for your help on removing my window tinting. My car got passed down from brother to brother and by the time it got to me, the tint had started to peel off. I wanted to pull it up, but I didn't know if that would be bad or not. Thanks again for the help!

[myrbri]

Can I use a steamer in the winter or will it crack my windows. The garage mechanic took it of off my sons car but left the glue on it. I used Mean Green and it came off so easy.

[bonigirl284]

can you use a steam cleaner instead of a clothes steamer?

[bairdos]

I had a very tough and long time removing the film from my rear window (many hours). The film was hazy to see through and had bubbles in it due to age; perhaps this and the defroster lines made it harder to remove film in large amounts (I had no problems with a side window).

- if going to steam, I suggest using a strong steamer that can deliver steam continuously (mine was small and weak and could not do this)
- it was easier for me to lift and pull the film with tweezers than with my hand
- for my situation it was quicker to use a hair dryer and use more force with the tweezers. The glue was left behind and it was easily removed with ammonia/adhesive removing product

[bckeye]

This worked like a charm. If you are working on any window but the rear and go a bit too fast and leave adhesive behind, no worries. get a straight edge razor blade and steam the glue, simply scrape up the glue and wipe it on a paper towel. if you got the adhesive steamy enough it'll come off with no problem.

[roomba]

I was so cheap, I used a hot iron turned up all the way with the steam put on max. A little more awkward but it worked.

Your handheld steamer is a better option.

[paintphone]

Defiantly going to try this out, sounds better then the windex and steel wool that the detail shop uses

[asd-markett]

Not bad!
http://asd-market.com.ua

[no_cookies4you]

You are my hero!

I picked up a new (old) driver's side door for my poor, wrecked car from the junkyard today, and brought it home to find old, grody tint all over the window once I rolled it up. Since I'm fortunate (?) enough to have the door currently sitting on my living room floor and not attached to a vehicle outside, steaming off the tint with my iron worked like a charm, and it only took about 15 minutes tops (and not even half a beer).

Oh, and I didn't bother removing the panel, just gave the sheet of tinting a good tug once I reached the bottom of the window, and it all came right off. Probably again because it's old, so YMMV.

Thanks for the instructable!

[doingy]

You deserve the Nobel Prize for something. I've hated the tint on the back window of the car we bought 2 years ago - impossible to see through it at night. I used the large steamer on wheels that was given to me as a gift years ago and never used until today. It was so easy and there was no glue residue. THANK YOU!!

[dflack]

thanks for this post. I followed it, rather loosely, and it was a success! I bought a six pack of an Avery holiday release and was finished during my second beer, so now i'm tasked with finding a new project and finishing the rest.

I didn't have a clothes steamer but had an iron with the steaming capabilities which worked.

thanks!

[pdarcy]

He states not to use a razorblade on the window. I used a small coin like and australian 5 cent coin to assist peeling back the tinting, it did not scratch the glass and was very effective.

[AlvinMaker]

Thanks a bunch for the ible. I just got an old acura and the back tint is so dark i can barely see though it in the day.

[cwintercorn]

well, Florida didn't seem to have a problem with my 28% window tint, But Minnesota's law is 50% or higher, all I got was a warning for the windshield and a ticket for the front 2. 5 Police stops is all it took for the warnings to actually turn into a ticket, guess my luck ran out.

[jwagner-1]

Believe it or not, you've "stumbled" upon a method the professionals have been using in the shop for many many years. Only difference of course is a shop steamer is more powerful and costs alot more.

This method works on MOST applications, but not ALL.

If you are pulling film and all the glue is staying behind, you're just as well off to snatch the film off and save the time with that step and move on to the adhesive removal process(es).

Good article overall though and very close in process to one of the ways a professional does it!!

[deznewcomb]

We moved from MT to MS and my tint was apparently "very illegal". He had some little device that read 28.8 and he stated it should read 12. So... not inspection sticker for me.


So as most of you probably did, I searched the internet for "easy" ways to get tint off my windows. I came across this and tried it last night. I actually did it with the steam from an iron, which worked very well. It took me and my husband about an hour and a half to get the tint off.

I DID use an S.O.S. pad toward the end to get the last of the glue off and it worked WONDERS as well with NO scratches whatsoever. I tried the alcohol... it just dried it out. I tried the WD-40 and no luck. I bought a bottle of "Simple green" and it worked better than the other three, but it was still taking a TON of elbow grease. So I took my chances with the SOS pad and was amazed at how quick it came off. I did use Hot soapy water to wash them off after scrubbing. When I was done I shined them up with glass cleaner and "TAAA-DAAA" it was done. Pretty painlessly.

[jwagner-1]

OMG!!

Please people, whatever you do, DON'T do this!

SOS pads will scratch the hell out of automotive glass - I can guarantee the windows on this car are now COVERED in a fine scratch haze.

STRAIGHT alcohol is used for LOCATING glue spots, not REMOVING it. The alcohol makes the glue turn white and easily visible. Water and a few drops of soap in a squirt bottle and a razor blade are all you need to remove glue from a side window. #0000 steel wool (NOT SOS!) can be used on a rear glass. WD-40? Really? wow...

BTW - 12% would be DARKER than 28.8. By ALOT. The lower the number, the darker the film.

[katreese]

This worked awesome. So awesome that I had to add to the 111 existing comments to comment on it myself. I had to do my driver's side and passenger's side windows in order to pass inspection, and with my handy little steamer, each window took not even 10 minutes. I did end up with some glue on one window - maybe I rushed! Thanks for the splendid advice!

[ac1D]

Try some "GooGone" or "Goo Gone" to remove the glue, worked like a charm on mine.

[katreese]

Thanks!

[Jarita]

Thank you for the great and humorous information. To those not familiar with old tint, it often has to be removed because it peels, cracks or gets cloudy. It will also fade and this is most often due to the use of glass cleaners that have amonia in them, My 3 yr old tint has faded to where I can now see items on the floor in the back of the car, where originally they were "in the dark". The company I partner with makes a line of "green" auto products for seats, windows, tires etc as well as a "body wash". Nah I enjoy the carwash and at my age I don't look cute washing a car on the front lawn any more. It used to be an MG and now its a Volvo Stn Wgn. lol. Anyway we are going to remove the tint froma our new/handmedown 2002 Stratus. i will take pix if not for the site then for posterity....Off to buy a steamer, thanks again.

[Hellchild]

Im not sure why you would want to do this. can someone explain, please?

[bmohr]

The reason I needed to do it is the tint started to bubble and it got cloudy. As stated this method prevents damage to the rear window defroster.

One thing I was to use a long pair of tweezers the one shaped like forceps to pull the tint. Kept my fingers away from the steam.

[blackproducer21]

You get a ticket in california if your windows ANY of your front windows are tinted. The 3 in the back are ok just not driver and passenger side... $175 EVEN IF YOU BOUGHT IT LIKE THAT!!!

[ggoodman1]

i just got a fix-it ticket in CA for my front 2 windows. $25 + Proof of correction. Not $175.

[sgrose]

True that!!! I am on this forum for that very reason. :( Stupid law.

[adamadamadam]

$250 in Chicago.

[Hellchild]

I know that. Its generally illegal everwhere if your widsheild is tinted. Not just California. and I dont see a reasonin "yelling" in the comments, i can still read it.

[nowheat]

My daughter's car just failed inspection due to heavily tinted windows. That's one reason, another, as stated in the article, is that it can be hard to see through tinted windows which affects ability to drive safely.

[earthcipher]

If you have yet to remove the tint please read my reply feed. I also was removing this tint for my daughter's (16) vehicle. Thanks

[Hellchild]

what kind of inspection?

[nowheat]

State of Texas, safety inspection.

[Hellchild]

is that a law that it has to be removed?