Tinting a windshield

SeanA011 · May 17, 2014

I've never tinted a windshield before. It is illegal in my state which I believe is everywhere but I have a customer that has an eye prescription saying that he can tint down to 30% and he wants it done. Is it the same as tinting a back glass?

TINTGUY O.C. · May 17, 2014

WINDSHIELDS ARE HARDER! You have to use little water as possible, but keep your slip good. i shrink the same as rears, and enter from passngr side. just slow & go. cut sides with about a 1/16 overblack.

you will be good to go! our state has a medical exemption form to send in for a state exempt certificate, you might check to see if your state has anything like that

jh812 · May 17, 2014

Same as the rear window for me. Dry shrink should be no problem. I always warn the customer first of water damage even though I've never had it happen. I also use the same amount of water as on the back I'd say. Also 30 seems a little dark. The darkest I've gone is 40. I may would try and talk them into that.

ultratintsouthport · May 17, 2014

Done plenty of them. Always make customer sign a waiver accepting full responsibility and full knowledge of current laws.

I've refused to do some in the past also. Sometimes because customer is an idiot who wants 5%, other times out of concern for water damage behind the dash. (Last one of those was a 2014 Panamera Turbo)

Either way, like TINTGUY OC said, use as little water as possible and protect/cover everything you can.

TINT1 · May 18, 2014

I have tinted hundred's of windshield's it is legal with a script from a eye doctor i use a 50% 60% mirror film it is clean/clear looking but it take 99% of the u.v. out and 40-60% off the heat,if you want to know more contact me back.

bman848 · May 18, 2014

Ive done alot of them as well. I use 40%. 30% seems just a tad too dark for me. Make sure to clean everything really good, including the dusty dash and like what was already stated, trim them close and precise.

SeanA011 · May 18, 2014

I appreciate the replies. I also have a mentor who taught me to tint. I called him and prolly had about a 30 minute conversation about it. I got it coming this week so I'll let everyone know how it goes. The guy said 30% because that's what he had in the past.

jaydossignet · May 18, 2014

So obviously it's okay to use a heat gun to shrink it on the outside and to use a heat gun on the inside if needed?

I ask because i thought it was unsafe to use a heat gun on the windscreen because of the type of glass.

ultratintsouthport · May 18, 2014

So obviously it's okay to use a heat gun to shrink it on the outside and to use a heat gun on the inside if needed?

I ask because i thought it was unsafe to use a heat gun on the windscreen because of the type of glass.

If you do the job right on the outside, a heat gun on the inside won't be needed.

Just be wary of not over-heating one area of the glass too much while shrinking. If you feel like you're spending too much time in one area, move to somewhere else and come back to it.

Ryker · May 18, 2014

just a note on heating up windshields. I was doing a strip on a replaced windshield at a glass shop. Using the old glass on a rack to cut the film I got an idea to see how hot I could get the glass before it fractured or had any failure. So, after I had installed the strip on the new windshield I proceeded to heat up the old, already cracked glass. I heated it up a bit more than I thought I should and NOTHING....so I heated it up more and still NOTHING....finally I put my Wagner HT-1100 heat gun down to about a 1/2 inch from the glass on high and held it as far away as I could stretch my arm, anticipating the glass to explode, and began to hammer it with heat. After a good 30 to 45 seconds I quit.....NOTHING at all happened to the glass.

Now I would not have wanted to get any water on it as I am certain it would have rapidly cooled it and caused a problem but just straight heat and NO A THING happened a windshield.....