are there any differences between window tint & vinyl

[Martin Pearson]

Simon, tint films are nothing like vinyl really when it comes to application, it’s a completely different skill I believe. Films are heat shrunk PRIOR to installation when dealing with curves & the adhesive is water activated so yes needs to be applied wet.
Did give it a go a few years ago but was never 100% happy with the results I got so won’t offer it as a service.
I would do a bit more research & have a practice before you go ahead with a customer job. Not sure where the best place to look is though. Sure someone like Stuart will come along with a lot more detail for you.

[Eddie Cotton]

hi simon,
im a window tinter and its basically the opposite of vinyl, instead of stretching it shrinks with heat and its applied wet instead of dry. a quick rundown is.
it has a clear top to protect the glue, firstly find out which side is which by peeling it apart (dont take it all of just a tiny bit so you know which side is which), then clean the outside of window, spray with water and lay the tint on it with the clear protective side facing you and the back of the tint on the glass.
make sure the tint covers all the clear section of the glass and trim any exess leaving about half a cm overlapping onto the black section, the bubbles can only be shrunk vertically and not horizontally, so start from the middle of the tint and make a H pattern in the tint so that you push all the bubbles to the top and bottom and not on sides.
now grab your heat gun, not very hot as can burn it, now heat the bubbles from the middle and push out to edges with a squeqee, do it gently as it will crease and creases wont come out. get it to the shape of the window
clean inside of glass and dry, spray the inside of window with soapy solution, peel the clear topping off the tint, then spray the glue side with soapy solution,
put the tint on inside of glass with glue against window and spray top of the tint, then push all the bubbles out from middle to edges. and jobs a gooden unless you need to heat any small bubbles around the edges out

sorry for the essay but thats the written version, or watch a youtube video

[Simon Worrall]

Thanks Martin.

Eddie that is a revelation!
You shrink the film on the outside of the glass before applying it to the inside!
After I read your post I went to youtube and watched a few experts doing it.
One bloke covered the back of his window with a bathroom soap "haze" to hold the film in place while he shrunk it. Clever!
I am quietly Confident, and of course I will get twice as much film as I need!
Thanks for your input. I will post the result when its done.

Simon.

[Martin Pearson]

Simon, don’t try to heat shrink to big a dart, if you create large darts when your squeegeeing the film then split these up into smaller darts before heat shrinking. Remember the film will only shrink one way so make sure you have the right orientation BEFORE you cut it lol.

[Eddie Cotton]

generally if you are buying a roll, the top and bottom will be the width (20", 30" etc) and the left and right sides should be the length (1 metre, 5 metre etc, if that helps you with the direction to shrink it, the key like most jobs is in the prep and cleanliness. ive been doing it 4 and a half years so second nature but i know a lot of customers that have tried and absolutely hate it

[Lee Attewell]

I’ve been tinting for over 30 years now mate… Do the wise thing and get a pro to do it..

Not worth the hassle mate.

[Simon Worrall]

I tinted the windows of the van today.
I must say, it went without a hitch..
Of course, I was given a heads up by the people on this forum, so thank you all for that.
The four side windows were only curved in one direction, so there was no problem there other than seeing through the dark tint to cut the shape I needed.
The back window had a compound curve so I needed to shrink the material which I did on the outside of the window, with the protective film still on, before removing this and transferring the film to the inside.
Shrinking took a long time, I probably kept the heat a bit low.
It is hard to get your head around the fact it only shrinks in one direction, but that is enough to make up the curve.
As Martin said, you have to keep splitting up the darts. Once or twice I went a bit too fast and left a crease behind, so I had to lift up a corner of the film and start again from the middle.
Another thing, there was plenty of room to move inside the van.
I would probably not do a hatchback.
Simon.

[Eddie Cotton]

The trick for cutting the template on dark tint if you can’t see the line is to put a light behind the glass and then it will be clear enough, also ye I would avoid booking in any clio’s, golfs, civics, some peugeots and saloons until you have got a bit of confidence with it all

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote Lee Attewell:

I’ve been tinting for over 30 years now mate… Do the wise thing and get a pro to do it..
Not worth the hassle mate.

totally agree lee i tried it and threw a wobbler when it didnt work 🙄