Tinting the Windows on a Disco

Not long to go to retirement and I'm off to sunier climes.

Had some thoughts about getting the winndows on the rear-half of the Discovery tinted to help with the effects of the Sun (a long time since I;ve seen some) and heat.

Obviously it's an aftermarket addition, are there any horror stories, things to avoind with these 'films' ?

Do they last ?

regards

Ian
Northwich

make sure the window is spotless before you put it on.

use a VERY sharp knife to cut it

ensure you get all the air bubbles out

if you can remove the door card it helps you get the film further down the glass or better still remove the glass and cover it completely

slob said:

make sure the window is spotless before you put it on.

use a VERY sharp knife to cut it

ensure you get all the air bubbles out

if you can remove the door card it helps you get the film further down the glass or better still remove the glass and cover it completely

Click to expand...

It is fairly difficult to get it right and easily fooked up, I was involved with fitting the decals on the emergency vehicles, and watched bandit class being applied, and we found that,

It was best to clean the surfaces with brake cleaner spray, and your hands, a finger print on the tint wont come out.

It was best to make it close to the size you want first

It was best to wet the vehicle slightly with soapy water, other wise if you fit it squint you cant get it off, but the water allows you to move it about, and you need a proper squegie so you dont mark it but still get the bubbles out.

If you are not carefull then your sharp knife will shatter the window, just push the point of a knife against a window and watch it dissapear into a trillion bits into your door, to do it well you need a model makers craft knife with the sharp point, just enough pressure to cut the tint.

Removing the window has the same effect and it's easy to mark the tint on the refit, very easy.

If I were to say one thing it would be get a company to do it, pentagon glass did our bandit glass and broke a few in the process.

ave done three with no problems except where i dint take the glass out, you could see the slight gap.
if yer read the instructions it tells yer to use plenty of water and yer only need use hot soapy water to clean em

and i int nevver seen a window shatter neither. me last one ah let Ant do it and it wint bad fer his first attempt

slob said:

ave done three with no problems except where i dint take the glass out, you could see the slight gap.
if yer read the instructions it tells yer to use plenty of water and yer only need use hot soapy water to clean em

and i int nevver seen a window shatter neither. me last one ah let Ant do it and it wint bad fer his first attempt

Click to expand...

I think you are right slob, it can be done, and done well, my only point is that it is based on ability and one go at it, unless you keep buying the material until you get good at it.

Dont put much soap in it just a touch to let it slide, and wet both surfaces, the tint and the window with a scooshy bottle and a fine spray.

My personal experience of taking drop glasses out is that they are a pain in the ass, and if you dont and are unable to get the tint into the guides then sure as fook wind the window down and up and there is a gap coz the window moves in the guides. Some you can get the rubbers out in the frame, but for some reason the bastids never seem to go back in proper again, they seem to grow when you take them out.

I have also seen ones done where they were cut to the edge of the rubber and where the sun has shrunk them and left a gap all around, getting them under the rubber prevents that.

It's based on three things here, ability, quality of finish, and cost.

The more expensive tint you get the better the finish and the longer it will last, but it hurts more when you fook it up.

I am here in the sun,and I've done mine without much bother. First off, I cut patterns using plain wrapping paper,and made the neccessary adjustments before, cutting the tinted material. When using patterns however, be aware that for the front and rear windows (side) that the pattern need to be turned over when cutting the opposite side.I used a good helping of a soap liquid solution and a small squeegge to get rid of the air bubbles. The sunny climes does not have any severe effect on the tinting, but be aware that some countries are now seeking to ban the heavier tint.

far easyer in the bath!!! take the windows out to do it , and like DAVID451 said buy the best you can. the cheap stuff is a night mare. i have not botherd doing mine , there is a firm in blackpool called Kyote graphics , he does a mint job , not to dear eather.

bordonladdie said:

I am here in the sun,and I've done mine without much bother. First off, I cut patterns using plain wrapping paper,and made the neccessary adjustments before, cutting the tinted material. When using patterns however, be aware that for the front and rear windows (side) that the pattern need to be turned over when cutting the opposite side.I used a good helping of a soap liquid solution and a small squeegge to get rid of the air bubbles. The sunny climes does not have any severe effect on the tinting, but be aware that some countries are now seeking to ban the heavier tint.

Click to expand...

The cops have a gadget here at the minute that they place behind the tint, aint seen what it is but some of the young kids have been done for their tints being too dark. Don't know if it's a lone ranger out on some personal vendetta with his own concept or not, they can only check the front screen and front drop windows, the rest you do what you want.

there is some law about how much %age of light the front windows can block am not sure if it applies to the rears or if the rears have a different allowable %age

Here's a firm that make the tints (in Runcorn of all places!)
Sl llumar

Also includes some info on the UK regulations on tints

slob said:

there is some law about how much %age of light the front windows can block am not sure if it applies to the rears or if the rears have a different allowable %age

Click to expand...

Only the front and front side glass apply, the rest can have wood in em if yer like, just like yer dunt have to have a rear view mirror if yer have side ans, wudunt need it off course wiff wood, less it was an xray mirror.

with the front door windows they gotta let at least 70% light through in the UK

duno bout front windscreen

the vosa website states that the front and side window legal limit is 70% 'visual light transmisson'. it does not distinguish between front or rear side windows. so yer can translate that how yer like but I wint like to have me car impounded fer a bit of poseability

Yer can spray the rear windows wiv black paint if yer want it's how limos get away wiv having blacked out windows. Screen and front side windows int allowed to be heavily tinted as Slob ses it's 70% visibility.

dont tint the fronts to dark or reversing at night is a no no.and also carrys a fine if the police pull you

aztd5 said:

dont tint the fronts to dark or reversing at night is a no no.and also carrys a fine if the police pull you

Click to expand...

That's right you cant see in your mirrors, that reminds me of when I was younger, my mates put the all singing and dancing high, nae fooking kidin watt bulbs in their headlamps and couldn't fookin see for the reflection off the road signs.

i was going to do my old beemer once upon a time and so phoned up my local police station and asked them as it will be them mainly pulling me for it what was the legal requirement, they told me that the rear panels you can basically do what you want to them and only have to worry about the front side windows (you obviously cant do the windscreen!) they told me to go to a company called "demon tweeks" as they sell tints that fulfil uk tinting legal reguirements %age wise and also have some form of certificate you can present to the policeman when he stops you. be warned though - most windows have a very slight tint to them as standard (maybe 2%)-you only have to half open your window and look at the difference in colour to notice. so lets just say the legal limit was 30% and you put a tint on of 30% your windows would actually read 32% so if tested you would be required to remove it by law. my dad recently told me a horror story of a landrover hating copper that targeted landys/4x4s with tinted windows and physically made you peel a piece of the tint away from the window before you left the roadside as proof you would remove it as opposed to giving you a 7 day producer! mad!

I have some samples of the tints that are 'legal' for front side windows. The tint is so light that I doubt you would notice they were there apart from if they were put on badly or start to peel away.

Stickybackbob said:

I have some samples of the tints that are 'legal' for front side windows. The tint is so light that I doubt you would notice they were there apart from if they were put on badly or start to peel away.

Click to expand...

Thats right, if they were too dark then you would not be able to see at night time, and all the internal light from the clocks etc would be reflecting all over the windows.

Most of the kits that the young uns use tell you that they are illegal for road use, just like them fooking exhausts, and I'm sure that some fooker is going to put a stop to that at some point, I hope.