1994 T-Bird

How do you shrink this thing? Looks like a piece of cake cake but this is the window from hell! Is it just me or is there a magic combination to get this to lay down? I'm doin it mdog's soap method, but the edges curl up as opposed to laying down. I'm in total frickin dismay on this thing. Any suggestions would be greatly apppreciated.

The best advice I can give you ..hard to describe over the net is to shrink the bulk of the car as normal ,but when it comes to doing the bottom corners, don't over heat them too much.

When it comes to installing, squeeqee out the bulk of the window as normal, have someone on hand on the outside with a heat gun to follow your squeegee (careful not to over heat)

The most important part : when squeegeeing the bottom corners out...reverse squeegee from the corner of the window on a downward diagonal motion going towards the bottom centre of the window with heatgun running behind squeegee on outside of glass from partner (if it won't lay down on it's own)


Not THE way...only A way

havent done on of these in a long long long time - but to the best of my memory they shrink at the bottom and lay down in the bottm corners like the dreaded bereta - try it like you do those bottom corners

I really have to spellcheck BEFORE posting

All fixed now ..you get the idea

i was thinking...wtf did i post to make TW edit me?

The problem I'm having isn't on the bottom at all. I know what your talkin about though. How do you start the shrink on this window? I usually do a horizontal and shrink from center out. This just draws the film up tight on this particular window though. I was considering locking down the edges and going from outside in.What do you think? Anybody???

Shrink it like anyother window. When you cut out the bottom corners cut to the inside of the dots making more of a curve than a corner. It the film doesn't just snap in then tuck two large foam blocks in the corners to hold the film in place until it dries.

That's one of those cars that I just stayed away from...

i ususally go outside in, youre always garaunteed to have more material to work with, you never run off the edge. film starts getting over worked. you can always force that finger over a couple inches and shrink it there.

but then again, you mdog's soap method (ive only done it a few times ) i do it wet.

it must just be me but I would of priced that car at 400.00 and said thanks for calling.

why insist on headachs, case in point a friend started tinting a year ago and he had 4 cars lined up on sunday over the laborday weekend he got there at 9 am and left there at 6pm he did one car, yep one car, a bug he called me a couple of times to help him through it, he finished the car and left at 6 pm,
now what a waste of time !!!!!!!!

Tried it twice.

Failed both times.

Thank goodness he's a friend of mine. The second time he came down for tint he was in a hurry and on his way to Wisconsin. I actually got the shrink done right. I laid it up on the inside and there was a huge glob or something that looked like elmer's glue in the middle of the window.

Ripped it off and told him we'll do it another day he has more time.

I'm glad to hear its just not me. I wasted a whole day on this P.O.S. Finally gave up and pieced it. I admit I did a half azz job of piecing it also. Bad mood wrong frame of mind. Knocked 40.00 off of price ( to match job he recieved ), but bugged me all night, so I called and offered to give it another shot. So yes, I've screwed myself again but just could'nt leave it be.
When shrinking, the edges the film wants to roll up as opposed to lay down. Almost like its to tight around curve. This is also how it lays naturally before heating. I do'nt know if this is good description , but has anybody else experienced this?

I turn down cars all the time..just turned down an old classic today..not that I can't do it...it's just not financially feasable for the customer to pay as much as I want...or for me to tint it for far less than my time is worth doing newer, cleaner cars.

Thank goodness I'm at that point of this career where I can do that.

Sounds like I'm screwed!

After you squeege it, stuff a towel in the corners to hold the film to the window. Go to the outside of the car and heat the whole area of corners and it should stay down.

The way I got it most likely isn't the best way, but it worked for me.

Instead of making an H pattern I basically made a U.

That's right......I stretched it tight across the bottom, tacked the sides, and shrank the living crap out of the middle. =)

It worked surprisingly well.

YEAH that is definitely a two person job, i've only done about 4 or 5, but it alway helps to have someone to heat the glass when your forcing down the corners, if not I don't think I could get it.
oh yeah I charge 200 for back 3

I think I've done 2-3 tbirds when first starting out it was a 2 piece and the last two were one piece's.

I wonder if you can turn a 60 0r 72 sideways (factory edges on the sides) anchor center top to bottom
and shrink away!! If that would make it any easier!! I don't have the time and patients to play around with it unless I owned one!! plus I only have 36" and 40"s!!

I can get them done in one piece, but GOD what a PITA!!! I quote them at 350.00 and cross my fingers!!
On a lighter note,.... after the new ones came out, and before I had seen them, I had quoted a guy 300.00. thinking of the "old" ones. It arrived at my shop and when I looked at it I went KACHING!!!

Try and follow this. Film shrinks DOWN on a curved glass. You can shrink film to a convex surface, Try to shrink film to a concave surface When the Berrettas were popular, I got a B/G from a junkyard. I would shrink the top on the outside, then flip the glass, re-apply the pattern and shrink the bottom, shrinking it DOWN. same with the T-bird.

most "dove tail" windows just will lay down on the bottom...no shrinking on the outside or inside.....same with the T-bird, Beretta, Ponitac Grand Prix (mid to late 90's), late 90's Caprice, and of course the "oh my you can do that in one piece" Camaro or Firebird.....

agree but Im the only one on here that agrees about the camaros- its all how you squeegee it

yeah, the 96? on camaros are just simple on shrink.....a few small fingers at the top and the big pocket will lay out on the inside. I have "shrunk" that bottom and had more fits than not doing anything. I use 2 blue max and run the film down with both hands. Of course pro-bond on the edge is great to make it stick better. I don't guess I have done one since I switched to Film-on, and I would bet that it will lay down even better now.

Before I believed that the camaro would lay out like this, I spent 4 hours trying to get one shrunk and to lay down. It was a bit cold and the one or two pieces that I got to lay on the outside would not lay on the inside or sitck for me. Then I tried and left the film bottom alone and.......the rest is history!

I don't recall that style of Grand prix having the same effect as the rest of the cars mentioned my memory might be going

oopss....make that a bonneville not grand prix....sorry

Got my first one comming in today.....

I'll let you all know what happens...

there are two ways I do it, I'll try it one peace you do not heat the bottom kinda like you do on a camreo you kind force it down slowly with a hard card and heat only the fingers at the top you may heat the bottom center but never the corners(this is a dry shrink method I wipe the intire rear window down with a rag soaked with ivory bar soap and water and let it dry.) sometimes it works some times it don't
the second way I do it if the first fails I'll do a two peace seamless on the bottom defog line thats the easiest way no bubbles no troubles I always say hope this helps

ALL seams look like .... Remember?

i had to do alot of these a few years after they came out. sometimes the bottom would lay down no problem sometimes i'd trash it before it layed down. i had the best luck not shrinking the bottom alot. also squeegeed down the side and around toward the middle with heat on the outside. we used to cram paper towels into the corners to help keep the film pushed against the glass and park it in the sun. nowadays i wouldn't touch a car that old except for a friend.

a no-show

yea. they do but this is the devils car ITs either that or start over and waste money besides here they are tight azz with there money so I am the same with my time.

seam a thunderbird..

Only time I ever had a problem with one was when some guy brought one in that was FILTHY. Its one of the few cars I prefer to remove the rear deck on but for some STUPID reason, I decided not to... Looked like I'd emptied the ashtray (butts and all) under the film.

As far as the shrink goes, I always shrink the top half as I would any other window and don' apply heat to the bottom half at all... Just stretch the p!ss out of it.

Here's the trick for the bottom. Wet the film and squeegee it like your installing it, really nail it down. Heat the bottom HOT, almost bubbling the film, now your actually putting fingers INTO the film. Let it cool before pulling it off the glass. Check it on a glass board if you wanna see the fingers, its kinda cool. Anyways, this relieves the stress on the corners and they lay down easy. If you don't do this I've had them leave the shop looking great and come back the next day with the film peeling back. Hope this helps.