on my hatch, with a rear heater, the rear tint has gone purple and i need to remove it.

the old tint was 2 ply and the top layer came right off but left a thin plastic film and the adhesive. I have a product Axius Tint-Off which removes the adhesive but i have to use a heat bun to remove the thin remaining layer first.

this is quite the process, being careful not to disturb the heater.

is there any better solvent i could buy other than my auto zone special remover. this can not be how the comercial people do it?

 

are you talking about a hardtop with glass window i assume???

 

yes

 

i do not know the products used here, but am posting this for the process...

http://www.doityourselftint.com/window_tint_removal.htm

 

i've seen tint shops use something that smelled like goo-gone or citrus-based solvent. They rub it on a terry cloth towel and scrub the window. The film came off effortlessly. Not sure if this damages the defroster lines though.

 

I've used Goo-Gone before and some other solvents to remove the glue. Just use elbow-grease to get it off. oh and have like 5 beach towels on the inside of the car to keep the car safe

 

Use ammonia spray it on the glue and let it sit for a little while then scrub it with a skotchbright pad or a pad you use to wash your dishes. Wipe off all the glue that comes off with a paper towel be sure to cover your interior so you don't get ammonia all over it because it don't smell very good.

 

are these methods mentioned safe??? i'm looking to get rid of the tint on another car, but was affraid of damaging the defrost on the rear window as well.

 

I'm not sure if the products people have mentioned are safe for the defroster grid, but I can assure you that you do not want to scrub the defroster elements.

The elements are essentially screen printed onto the window. If you must wipe the window, you want to do so gently with a soft towel, and you want to wipe parallel to the elements if possible.

So be careful as well with selecting a solvent for the adhesive.

I've repaired sections of elements. It might have been much easier on a hatch or a removable window. On my Civic coupe it was a real b1otch to mask off straight lines. Additionally, the repair paint that I used tends to heat up the surrounding area faster than the rest of the elements, leaving two spots defrosted before the rest of the window. No big deal, but I'd do everything I could to not damage the elements.

Good luck!

 

what exactly are the elements??? are they the horizontal lines or are they something more specific?