Tinted Window Film

D2 Com · Oct 28, 2009

Has anybody used the pre-cut film on their Disco, whether for pimping or for more practical purposes?
This type of film can be found on ebay but it ain't particularly cheap and so
I would be keen to learn of your experiences ie recommended/not with a barge pole mate.
Obviously if you haven't used this film and don't know of anyone who has, then you can't give a realistic view!

As I have converted my Td5 from 7 seats to a Commercial spec , and that sourcing the 'opaque' commercial security glass is probably more difficult to locate than arranging a naughty weekend away with Jo Brand in a monastery, I would like to have something looking a little more decent from the outside than the current ply effect!

Is their a liquid product on the market that will adhere to the inside of the glass without the need to key, thereby making it appear to be black tint but solid from vision? This is my preferred route if possible.

I could simply paint the ply black but there would still be a gap between the ply and the glass of 50mm or so which may look a little odd from the outside!
The other alternative is solid black vinyl as used by the graphics industry.

Any views?

lerk · Oct 28, 2009

would have thought black spray paint would do the trick if you ain't bothered what it looks like on the inside...

nathan5346 · Oct 28, 2009

Depends how good you want it, If you want it to look the dogs then get it done pro it aint gonna cost a lot for the rears

martinhollings · Oct 28, 2009

i got a precut set of ebay about 3 months ago fitted very easy and is alot better than the stuff i got from halfords for my sunroofs you realy need two people because its not east getting the film off the back without leting it toutch any thing and use plenty of water and washing up liquid mix look on youtube there are loads of how to on there

vision-window-films is who i got my set off i orded the medium and that was just a bit to dark for me but very like the commercial tint

D2 Com · Oct 28, 2009

nathan5346 said:
Depends how good you want it, If you want it to look the dogs then get it done pro it aint gonna cost a lot for the rears

Well I want it to look half decent as opposed to bling wheels. The rear windows in this case include the middle windows so 70% of the total vehicle glass.

Re spray paint, I am bit dubious about this as the glass can't really be keyed, this is why I wondered if there is some special formula paint/spray that will adhere to glass.
Will do some more google searches.

mrnice · Oct 28, 2009

i bought some for the rear window, its a medium/light tint and would have looked quite classy (as opposed to boy racer limo black) if i hadnt f+"£$d it up! i consider myself quite savvy at things like this and thought it would be a doddle, man u need a really dust free enviroment, no wind, REALLY CLEAN windows and quite a bit of patience and skill, i even heated mine up with a hair dryer to shrink it (the window curves in slightly) had loads of advice off pros and prob got it 98% perfect - BUT -i can be a bit of a perfectionist and the tiny bits which arent perfect do do my head in. in hindsight i should have got a pro to do it.

If you can live with it being a bit iffy do it yourself, you never know you may be really impressed with the results but as you mention the pre cut is quite an expesive cock up so maybe pay the extra and get it done properly.

You can buy rear light tinting spray which you could spray onto the inside of the windows which would prob look ok from the outside but would look "mottled" on the inside unless you were really good at spraying and would be opaque when looking through them but still let light in, not my cup of tea mind but may be fit for the purpose. just make sure you clean em REALLY WELL with a de greaser or the stuff could flake.

you could take the glass out and cut metal panels and put them back in place and paint them.

depends really on the money and/or effort you want to spend and the overall finish your satisfied with. some people would pro tint, others would just masking tape over binbags!

G-man · Oct 28, 2009

when ever i have tinted windows i have used the rolls you get in accessory shops and they have always looked good

the trick is to apply them to a really clean window( use glass polish then wipe them over with neat screenwash to get any dust/grease)

then make some lightly soapy water and put it in a spray bottle use this to wet the window so you can position the film before squeezing the water out with a rubber blade

[JP] · Oct 28, 2009

what G-man said.

its not difficult, if you loose your patience when doing little fiddly jobs, forget about it.
I've fitted loads of tints before including curved rear windown with one single sheet (some split in 2 when fitting)...spray with soapy water, place the sheet where you want and then start squeezing the bubbles out from one side...

if you are going to fit it to windows that open, leave a space of about 2 to 3 mm at the top, this stops the film from peeling off when you open/close the windows.

nathan5346 · Oct 28, 2009

Ive bin thinkin bout doin mine but so far bottled it but you 2 are convincing me to have a go... one thing that puts me off is the times ive looked on fleabay for the tint i aint been able to find stuff with the percentage on

D2 Com · Oct 28, 2009

martinhollings said:
i got a precut set of ebay about 3 months ago fitted very easy and is alot better than the stuff i got from halfords for my sunroofs you realy need two people because its not east getting the film off the back without leting it toutch any thing and use plenty of water and washing up liquid mix look on youtube there are loads of how to on there

vision-window-films is who i got my set off i orded the medium and that was just a bit to dark for me but very like the commercial tint

Thanks for your feedback, I will look them up. I know exactly what you mean re not letting it touch anything as I recently applied sponsor graphics to my Landy and one of the graphics had to be remade after the wind blew some grit and dust onto it from the pathway...what a mess! Cheers again.

D2 Com · Oct 28, 2009

mrnice said:
BUT -i can be a bit of a perfectionist and the tiny bits which arent perfect do do my head in. in hindsight i should have got a pro to do it.

You can buy rear light tinting spray which you could spray onto the inside of the windows which would prob look ok from the outside but would look "mottled" on the inside unless you were really good at spraying and would be opaque when looking through them but still let light in, not my cup of tea mind but may be fit for the purpose. just make sure you clean em REALLY WELL with a de greaser or the stuff could flake.

you could take the glass out and cut metal panels and put them back in place and paint them.

depends really on the money and/or effort you want to spend and the overall finish your satisfied with. some people would pro tint, others would just masking tape over binbags!

I can relate to the perfectionist in you but I also acknowledge that some jobs can be 'good enough'. In saying that, there is 'my good enough' and someone elses 'good enough'.
I certainly won't be going the bin bag route!

Lens paint was mentioned to me but I kinda poo-pooed it because I didn't feel it would block out enough. Never used it before so wouldn't really know.
I also considered the removal of the glass to make solid copies and as you say, paint them. Ideally I'd like to achieve the Series 1 3 door Commercial look before LR went over to opaque glass on the Td5.

How the painted glass would appear visually on the inside is pretty much irrelevent really (within reason) because the rear is purely a loading bay. In saying that when I go on expedition I don't want any objects to be able to scrape paint off the windows. This is the problem of not being able to key the surface prior to painting.

Hmmm...decisions decisions. Anyone breaking a Td5 Discovery Commy with opaque glass? Or converting a Commy to a 7 seater maybe and wants to swap glass?

Worth a try I 'spose!

D2 Com · Oct 28, 2009

G-man said:
when ever i have tinted windows i have used the rolls you get in accessory shops and they have always looked good

the trick is to apply them to a really clean window( use glass polish then wipe them over with neat screenwash to get any dust/grease)

then make some lightly soapy water and put it in a spray bottle use this to wet the window so you can position the film before squeezing the water out with a rubber blade

Cheers. I don't actually have a prob with the application as have done external graphics before which is much the same principle with degreasing and application, mainly interested in anyones experience of the actual pre-cut tint film, durability, workability etc or other applications instead of film.

D2 Com · Oct 28, 2009

[JP];889175 said:
if you are going to fit it to windows that open, leave a space of about 2 to 3 mm at the top, this stops the film from peeling off when you open/close the windows.

Yes this is what I did earlier this year, whereas at the bottom I tucked the vinyl inside the scraper seal when the window was fully closed so it wouldn't peel when letting the window down.

mrnice · Oct 29, 2009

forgot to mention a local fitter told me to use cheap washing up liquid not fairy as it can apparently leave streaks.

Also my dog got a little excited 1 day and scratched a small triangle out of the tint, on expeditions the same thing could happen on tint and paint if something scratched against it in the truck so maybe panels would be the answer?

minidod · Oct 29, 2009

How much are you talking about when you say the pre cut stuff is expensive, I was quoted £180 (cash in hand) to get the rear doors back tinted by a company round the corner from my office.

nathan5346 · Oct 29, 2009

They saw u coming, I paid £70 for the 2 front winows and the tailgate

minidod · Oct 29, 2009

Haven't had it done yet just like the look and to try and stop the car getting so hot when outside the office when the sun comes out.

Thinking of doing it my self now reading this.

D2 Com · Oct 29, 2009

minidod said:
How much are you talking about when you say the pre cut stuff is expensive, I was quoted £180 (cash in hand) to get the rear doors back tinted by a company round the corner from my office.

When I say expensive I mean expensive for what the product is. I certainly wouldn't pay that kind of money for something I can do myself. Even worse, if the fitter is using pre-cut then it's money for old rope as far as I'm concerned 'cos someone else has done the hard work for him!
I've seen tint ranging from £22 to £60, pre-cut and on the roll.

D2 Com · Oct 29, 2009

nathan5346 said:
They saw u coming, I paid £70 for the 2 front winows and the tailgate

I think that's a bit more like it, even so I will do it myself.

PASTMASTER · Oct 29, 2009

nathan5346 said:
They saw u coming, I paid £70 for the 2 front winows and the tailgate

Ain't it illegal to do the front ones?

I used the spray-on stuff once on a back window - it wasn't very dark but looked OK until someone decided to wipe the condensation off it and scratched it badly.

So long as the glass is clean and dry I think gloss paint would do a fine job. Possibly even something like bath enamel? Almost anything would tend to scratch though if misused.

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