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Old 08-10-2004, 04:21 PM   #1
tinter
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Anything window tinting....just ask and fire away.

G'day guys,
If there is anything you would like to know about the fitting of aftermarket films on your cars, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions here.

Eg. How to remove it, repairing scratched tint, where interstate to buy it, what to watch out for, what technologies are available, what colours, what is legal and what isn't, clearing up myths etc..

Regards,
Rob.
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Old 08-10-2004, 04:25 PM   #2
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ok, here's one

can you actually buy purple tint?

i know a lot of of the purple stuff you see around is old stuff that has faded from black

what are the colors available? i've seen yellow and red - anything else?

cheers
Dan
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Old 08-10-2004, 04:32 PM   #3
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I'll swap you with my windows Dan.. I want to get rid of my purpleness and get a nice charcoal, with maybe a slight reflectiveness to it.. Plus my rear window is rooted.. and i've only ever used my dimister once!

AP
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Old 08-10-2004, 04:48 PM   #4
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lol i'd only be able to swap the front windows anyway

and nah, dont want purple (but maybe for the Be-1 now that i think about it), was just curious
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Old 08-10-2004, 05:45 PM   #5
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Just slightly off topic but do you know of somewhere that can drill holes in my rear glass?
I want to install the wiper from my old Cosmo into my 929 and need some holes drilled to do the job.

Thanks

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Old 08-10-2004, 06:08 PM   #6
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a couple of q's (quite common)

what is the darkest tint you can buy that is still legal? i'm pretty sure the classification is T35, but that varies a lot between makers?

what should someone look out for (good and bad) when buying tint?
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Old 08-10-2004, 09:39 PM   #7
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Ok guys from the top!

1.Dan......you can't buy purple tint out of the box but you are spot on about old stuff going to that colour.
All this mauvey/purple stuff you see on the roads started out as grey/charcoal film.
Why this occurs has a simple answer. These films are dyed or pigmented films and are subject to quite severe aging and what happens is that the sun's UV and heat exposure bleaches some of these dyes out that make up the these colours to clear leaving the blues, purples and indigoes being more predominate and coming on through.
They are very poor performers and have limited use.

Coloured films are actually illegal although I do use the odd red, blue and yellow for show purposes. These films are very outrageous and really throw to one colour badly. Traffic lights are horrible to work out especially with red film.

2.Mr.P...your rear screen is rooted not because of the operation of the demister but purely because of the wear and tear factor and greater sun exposure on the flatter rear screen. That is why it has gone off there first before anywhere else.

3. Rod.....you can never drill a rear screen once it is toughened because it will explode like a bomb going off. It has to be done at time of manufacture.

4. Twilight.... legal films for nearly all Australia must allow a net figure of 35% of the sun's visible light to be transmitted through the glass. Sth Aust requires front doors to have a much lighter 70% (effectively nothing since Mazda's glass is 70 to start with) and darker 20% films on the rear are unroadworthy and always have been.

When buying a film, always buy a heat reflective metalised film and not a dyed one and make sure you specify a scratch-resistant one as well.
Don't go to back yarders or the guy doing it out of his car. You don't know what you are buying nor where he'll be next summer when something goes wrong.
For that matter don't get sucked in to buying it new from a car dealer. The "gunk girls" or aftermarket chicks are very persistant in flogging you the whole deal. You pay over the top money for a less quality product that you could buy independantly.

Later,
Rob
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Old 08-10-2004, 10:26 PM   #8
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I have a Q. Now this can be my 1st "dumb question" as kitty puts it hehe

When i got my car the windows were already tinted. Now, if you look closley at the door windows, it looks as though it has water stains/marks on them. The night i picked it u it was raining and i though oh maybe it was to do with the rain on it but relaisd it wasnt. they are only light and cant be seen unless u go up close, but they annoy me lol and i just wonder what caued this?

hahah thanks
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Old 08-10-2004, 11:21 PM   #9
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heya.... i got a Question..

i ripped a chunk of tint at the top with my tafe bag... =\
So the whole window is tinted.. cept for the top of the glass a little bits been ripped off

would i need to replace whole window tint or is there a special way of fixing it..?

a mate of mine is a Tint person but i couldnt be bothered to go to his house to get it retinted =P
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Old 09-10-2004, 06:17 AM   #10
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Oh well,
Looks like I have to take the rear glass out of the Cosmo this weekend.


Thanks
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Old 09-10-2004, 06:14 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joczy
I have a Q. Now this can be my 1st "dumb question" as kitty puts it hehe

When i got my car the windows were already tinted. Now, if you look closley at the door windows, it looks as though it has water stains/marks on them. The night i picked it u it was raining and i though oh maybe it was to do with the rain on it but relaisd it wasnt. they are only light and cant be seen unless u go up close, but they annoy me lol and i just wonder what caued this?

hahah thanks
joc,
The water marks are caused by what we call "hard water stains" and happen because of either industrial fallout or rainwater polution. Alkalines!
Beachside tap water is a real no-no when washing your car with that.

It is only on the outside and the only way to get that off is to use a glazier's rouge paste called "cerium oxide." Should be able to buy it from most big glass shops in a little tub. You make it into a paste, apply it to the window and scrub the hell out of it. Once done, buff it off with another clean cloth and new glass again.
Rob.
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Old 09-10-2004, 08:09 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -BraXta-
heya.... i got a Question..

i ripped a chunk of tint at the top with my tafe bag... =\
So the whole window is tinted.. cept for the top of the glass a little bits been ripped off

would i need to replace whole window tint or is there a special way of fixing it..?
Any torn or holed film cannot be repaired without stripping off the entire sheet and installing a new one!
The problem then may be actually colour matching the film now on. :roll:
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Old 09-10-2004, 11:39 PM   #13
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ahh k..

well i guess my tints are kinda new so yeh ill go back to the same bloke that did em... he was cool and will match up.... ..... i hope =P
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Old 09-10-2004, 11:58 PM   #14
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tinter - yeah that's why i spent a bit more and went to a place that sells 3M tint. i figured i cant go too wrong with 3M (HP Panther 35 i think)
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Old 10-10-2004, 12:44 AM   #15
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Rob,

What is "Johnsons" tint film like?
is it quality stuff?

Thanks.
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Old 10-10-2004, 03:41 AM   #16
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Hey Rob
I have a few Qs that Im hoping you can help me with...

1: I have a few small scratches on my passenger side tint at front and rear, they are both about 2" long and havent gone right through the tint. Are they repairable?

2: I have a 3M T20 metallised tint on the rear window only(speaker protection) and recently I have noticed a squiggly purple snail trail coming down from the top of the tint that seems to have discoloured the tint itself ( tint is about 2 years old), it is about 4" long and right in the middle of the window. Damn annoying in full sun. What would cause this and is it repairable?

3: Last but not least. This is the second car I have had tinting installed on and both have lost function to one band/strip on the rear demister. I garage my car and its rare that I ever use the demister but it wasnt until about 6 months later that I noticed the fault. Both cars had working demister before install. Is this a fault attributed to damage caused during install? How on earth would it get damaged when its the third row and all the other rows work fine?

Sorry about the semi novel but we know you love to read
Cheers
Peter
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Old 10-10-2004, 07:41 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twilightprotege
tinter - yeah that's why i spent a bit more and went to a place that sells 3M tint. i figured i cant go too wrong with 3M (HP Panther 35 i think)
T.....Panther has had its share of premature aging and hasn't been all that it is cracked up to be.
I have been asked to do warranties for 3M Head office Sydney where Panther 35% had been installed interstate. How come? Cars that have been done in QLD have ended up being relocated down here to Melb and that climate up there kills film real bad if it isn't any good.
What I found was terrible fading and loss of total optical clarity (especially out of the rear) due to adhesive failure......you know that rippling effect when you are trying to see out of it.
Overseas, they have had the same problems.

Rob.
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Old 10-10-2004, 07:47 AM   #18
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interesting! i've had the tint now for 3.5yrs and still happy (except for a part i scratched). i got it done at cooltone at albion, brisbane. i also liked the 3m lifetime warranty (so long as the person who installed the tint still owns the car)
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Old 10-10-2004, 07:49 AM   #19
tinter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sabrelli
Rob,

What is "Johnsons" tint film like?
is it quality stuff?

Thanks.
Sab,
I have used Johnson Window Film's Silhouette 35% range of films over a number of years and found it to be a very good product.
It is a metalised film so it gives great solar energy rejection and is extremely durable. Probably one of the top performers given the same equal light transmissions to other films out there...ie. darkness.

Personally for me it is a little too reflective externally (because of the metal deposition in it) and suits cars like the silvers very well.
It is not a true colour stable product over say 4 years. New to old is a definate change but all in all you'd be happy with it.
Back up from the company based in Girraween Sydney is excellent!
Rob :wink:
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Old 10-10-2004, 02:11 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boostedbatman
Hey Rob
I have a few Qs that Im hoping you can help me with...

1: I have a few small scratches on my passenger side tint at front and rear, they are both about 2" long and havent gone right through the tint. Are they repairable?

2: I have a 3M T20 metallised tint on the rear window only(speaker protection) and recently I have noticed a squiggly purple snail trail coming down from the top of the tint that seems to have discoloured the tint itself ( tint is about 2 years old), it is about 4" long and right in the middle of the window. Damn annoying in full sun. What would cause this and is it repairable?

3: Last but not least. This is the second car I have had tinting installed on and both have lost function to one band/strip on the rear demister. I garage my car and its rare that I ever use the demister but it wasnt until about 6 months later that I noticed the fault. Both cars had working demister before install. Is this a fault attributed to damage caused during install? How on earth would it get damaged when its the third row and all the other rows work fine?

Sorry about the semi novel but we know you love to read
Cheers
Peter
Hi Peter,
1. Generally scratched film is history because it has gone through the scratch-resistant clear coating that the manufacturer puts on it.
The only way to see if you are lucky or not is to get a bit of Kleenex tissue, dab it with methylated spirits (metho) and see if it comes off.
If it is purely a scuff mark, you will be in luck.

2.The squiggly line is caused by 2 things. Firstly it's sun exposure for sure but more importantly, the fitter of the film heat shrunk the film on the outside of the rear screen first to mould it in one piece.
He has "over cooked" the pleat or as we call it finger in an attempt to get the film to shrivel up and lay flat.
What you now see is the failure of the adhesive particulary in that area.
It's exactly as you describe....a funny mark and a "ghosting" where the pleat once existed. Way too much heat (bad expertise) and also an indication of a not very good film installed. :cry:
That should be definately covered by warranty.

3.The non working demister line is 100% quaranteed cut by the dhead installer. (I hope he hasn't given up his day job)
What has occured is that he has attempted to releave the pleat coming in from the side by splicing the pleat away. In doing so he has cut the wire.
You wouldn't have known about this until you had long gone out of the shop and eventually needed to use the item.
It can be repaired with repair kits but the film has to all come off first and redone. Repairing paint is a conductive paste that fills in the break but they never look all that good repaired.
If you go back to them, they'll probably duckshove the best excuses you ever heard.
Rob.
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