JohnMasters Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Hey guys, I would like to have my windows tinted and was looking at the pre cut kits from www.tintkits.com. Has anyone done this and what did you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Those are good if you have curved windows, but with all but our windshield being pretty flat, cutting it yourself isn't to hard. Just compare prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 i bought some a years ago and sady its still in its box sinc ei dont knowhow to put it on and dont want it to look stupid ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbywan Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 i bought some a years ago and sady its still in its box sinc ei dont knowhow to put it on and dont want it to look stupid ha Dude I'm sure if you youtube it there is prolly some instructional vid that will make it cake... one of my good buds does tint for a living and I've watched him do it. It's not that hard. I couldn't live for 5 mins without my tint.. -Colby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Yeah you feel so exposed. I climb in my truck with blacked out tint and it's nice and secure feeling. Then when I drive my mom's Jeep with completely clear glass it's weird as hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Dude I'm sure if you youtube it there is prolly some instructional vid that will make it cake... one of my good buds does tint for a living and I've watched him do it. It's not that hard. I couldn't live for 5 mins without my tint.. -Colby It always looks easy when watching someone that knows what they are doing. I had to put tint on the small piece of glass on the back door of my '95 after it was broken by vandals..twice! It's not complicated to do but I think that having it come out looking really good takes a lot of patience and practice. I don't know if your planning to try to do it while the glass is installed or what but I know that it was challenging enough to get it cut and installed properly while working with it flat out on the dining room table. I think the pre-cut sounds pretty sweet and removes a lot of the potential for screwing it up(assuming it is cut properly). That said I miss the tint on my old pathy big time and wish the new one had it too. I felt so naked at first in the R50, while does have that weird gold tint on the back windows ( not really effective) I would love to get back to the cocoon feeling of the super tint on my 95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbywan Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 It always looks easy when watching someone that knows what they are doing. I had to put tint on the small piece of glass on the back door of my '95 after it was broken by vandals..twice! It's not complicated to do but I think that having it come out looking really good takes a lot of patience and practice. I don't know if your planning to try to do it while the glass is installed or what but I know that it was challenging enough to get it cut and installed properly while working with it flat out on the dining room table. I think the pre-cut sounds pretty sweet and removes a lot of the potential for screwing it up(assuming it is cut properly). That said I miss the tint on my old pathy big time and wish the new one had it too. I felt so naked at first in the R50, while does have that weird gold tint on the back windows ( not really effective) I would love to get back to the cocoon feeling of the super tint on my 95. There's lots of little tricks to it that makes it much easier believe me. For example; clean the OUTSIDE of the window to be tinted. Take the tint lay it out as flat as you can get it OUTSIDE of the window. Trim it to the exact size and viola! You've just created your own pre-cut window film. Make sure you use a spray bottle and lots of water when installing it will help tremendously. Here's a link I looked up to save someone time -Colby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 There's lots of little tricks to it that makes it much easier believe me. For example; clean the OUTSIDE of the window to be tinted. Take the tint lay it out as flat as you can get it OUTSIDE of the window. Trim it to the exact size and viola! You've just created your own pre-cut window film. Make sure you use a spray bottle and lots of water when installing it will help tremendously. Here's a link I looked up to save someone time -Colby Another way is to lay paper over the window and trace it , then cut it and use it as a template for cutting the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMasters Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 I think I may go ahead and give the pre cut stuff a try on my RX7 as the price for that kit is about half that of the Pathfinder and will give me some practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 let us know, I contemplated this as well, my tint is so purple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbywan Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 let us know, I contemplated this as well, my tint is so purple You know that removing the tint, especially when it's so old it's gone purple is the REAL PAIN in the arse!! My tint friend says that ammonia works the best for getting off the adhesive though. Just make sure you've got plenty of ventilation. -Colby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 You know that removing the tint, especially when it's so old it's gone purple is the REAL PAIN in the arse!! My tint friend says that ammonia works the best for getting off the adhesive though. Just make sure you've got plenty of ventilation. -Colby For removing, I heard putting it in the sun with a black garbage bag on the outside of the window softens it up nicely I'd use precut for the back window (most walmart rolls aren't large enough to do it in one pass) but not for the others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrano1992 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 For removing, I heard putting it in the sun with a black garbage bag on the outside of the window softens it up nicely Powerful hairdryer switched to the max temp... "heat and detach"... But be careful, don't overheat tint film to a melting point (it is easier than you can think). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I'd use precut for the back window (most walmart rolls aren't large enough to do it in one pass) but not for the others... I found your problem. NEVER BUY AUTOMOTIVE ANYTHING THERE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I found your problem. NEVER BUY AUTOMOTIVE ANYTHING THERE! But I love their automotive department Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMasters Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 OK, 3 years later I finally ordered an entire precut tint kit for the Pathfinder. 35% front and 20% everywhere else. For a GRAND TOTAL of less than $60 shipped from... www.northerntint.com I figured it was a no brainer at that price. Hopefully I'll have it done by this time next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (3 years later) "Ok, So i finally got around to installing my tint" JK. But yeh as mentioned before have a look at afew youtube videos they might cover something you don't already know. Here are two videos on how to do it. (If you have a factory one on) and Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I found your problem. NEVER BUY ANYTHING THERE! Fixed that for ya! I'm curious to see how these projects turn out for you guys. I have a hard enough time applying a sticker without air bubbles. I just had a shop do mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 i might bust mine out of the box and see how it looks ha fskc it might as well try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard32 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 My buddy has a 4runner and a Subaru Outback he put the pre cut kits on, and he did full limo on all windows, but he had bubbles like crazy...It looked good from far but far from good looking..I took mine to a shop and it came out with a couple bubbles that wouldnt go away. I took it back and he ended up re tinting the two windows that had trouble..it turned out alot better...plus the tint manufacturer warranties their tint if its installed by a proffesional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMasters Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) I'm hopeing that at least all of the windows other than possibly the back glass are flat enough on the pathfinder to NOT need to be heat shrunk. I found one video on youtube with a guy who tinted his pathfinder roll up windows without shrinking and they looked very good. I'll bet its very easy to ruin your tint while shrinking if you've never done it before. Hopefully my tint kit will be waiting next to the mailbox this afternoon. :-) Edited August 29, 2012 by JohnMasters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMasters Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 (edited) OK, I finally have some experience tinting and like all DIY projects it is not as easy as it looks. I totally buggered the first window that I tried which was the front passenger roll up window. I dont believe that I had enough Johnsons Baby bath in the water and I got a bunch of fingers and creases and just pulled the film and tossed it. I also think that I got frustrated too quickly. Tinting obviously takes patience and thats why a noobie like me probably needs more slip in the water. I did have good luck with the rear roll ups, quarters and cargos although I must admit that I initially thought the rear quarters would be the easiest ones to do and I now believe that other than the back glass the rear quarters are the toughest to get rite. The tint buts rite up against the gaskets and the gaskets are very rigid making it hard to squeegee the water out. I found a trick on youtube where the guy took his razor blade and shaved about a 16th of an inch of the gasket giving you a little more working room. I had several fingers in one of the rear quarters but instead of getting frustrated and pulling the film I let it dry for a while and then worked the fingers out useing a heat gun on the outside of the glass and the results were pretty good. If you work the fingers in the wrong direction you will create little hair like crease which you cant get out. I expect the back glass to be somewhat of a hassel and I think I will have to learn to heat shrink the film for that one so I will remove the glass from the vehicle to do get it done. The easiest windows by far to do are the cargo windows where there is no real gasket and they have the little black paint overlap. I do see quit a few of what appear to be water blisters which from what I have read should dissappear after drying up for a while. Of course up until a few weeks ago it was 100 degrees every day with no rain but it has now cooled off and its raining everyday so it should take a while to dry out. By no means will this be a perfect job but I think for $60($75 after replacing the film I ruined) on a 20 year old vehicle it will look perfectly fine. I am going to hold out on posting pictures until I recieve my new passenger side film and get the job totally finished. On a scale from easy to hard I think this project will turn out to be medium/hard to get done somewhat correctly. Edited August 29, 2012 by JohnMasters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMasters Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Alrighty, I was wrong about the drying time. The sun came out a few hours ago and when I went to check on the pathfinder almost all of what I was hoping to be water blisters were gone. RELIEF!!! If anyone is reading this that has had good luck tinting there rear glass. Can you advise whether the back glass film needs to be heat shrunk or is the glass flat enough to get done without the dreaded fingers. It sure looks flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMasters Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Update... You are definitley going to want to remove the back glass to install the tint. I actually had to cut some of the precut tint because it didnt fit perfectly. I went ahead and installed it without heat shrinking BUT once installed I had two pretty good sized fingers at the bottom of the glass so I pulled out the heat gun, on LOW heat and shrunk and squeegeed the fingers out and it worked out just fine. I do have a few air lines on either side of some of the defrost lines but they seem to be able to be pressed out as the tint dries. A trick on youtube that I did not try was lightly sanding the dfrost lines with 2000 grit sandpaper before install. I think what makes this a good DIY project is that you can actually fix some of your defects during the several days of drying out. I found many little fingers and bubbles on some of the windows after install but I have been able to work them out by heating up the glass side and then pressing the film out. After doing the drivers side front roll up window I am not sure how I could have screwed the passenger side film up. With the door panels off the roll up windows turned out to be pretty simple and you can get them installed perfectly with NO fingers without heat shrinking. I have ordered a new piece of film for the passenger side and will be finished with the project and post pictures next week. A few tips... Error on the side of too much slip in the water. This way you have longer to work and it takes a bit longer to dry. Which is much better than not enough slip where the tint starts drying while your still trying to get it into position. Use as much solution as possible on the glass and the adhesive side of the tint when installing. DO NO be conservitive with the use of solution. Be VERY patient and dont freak out when you think things are going wrong. Apparently there are lots of defects that can be corrected after the install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChatWithaNinja Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Thanks John. I've been thinking about the self tint thing for a while and then this thread got bumped back up, which is awesome. I'll probably go ahead and buy the tint and keep it ready for when I have 4 hours of time on a weekend... Never know when that'll be. Hey look! You are in Atlanta too! Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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