Window tinting film.....

Hello all!

I'm new to the world of Auto-Sleepers - I have purchased my first one. A 1999 VW T4 Trooper. I was lucky enough to buy this from the original owner, it is low mileage with full Volkswagen service history and in near immaculate condition.

One of the small things that lets it down is that the black film/tinting on the rear offside window is peeling off. As this is applied on the inside of the window, is there anyway of dealing with this, without removing the bed, interior cupboard etc etc? Has anybody else had this problem?



Many thanks,
Rich.

 Looks in nice condition Rich.    Not too clued up on the Trooper is the black film original or aftermarket I wonder. With luck another "Trooper" will be along shortly to help

I know that this subject arose some months ago, but I cannot remember the conclusions. A forum search will probably find the thread.

IIRC the only 2 options are to have the window cut out, re-tinted and bonded back or interior removal, but it's been a while and I may be remembering that wrong...

Thanks folks. I did a search and found the thread already started on the subject back in April. There didn't seem to be a conclusion though.

The tinting on the windows is factory from about 1998 I think and looks like this when it starts peeling off...

To sort it out properly it would be best to take the window out and take it to a company that do window tinting localy.Before you start though contact Autosleeper or a vehicle window fitting company to ensure you can get the same window rubber as a replacement . Good luck

Shuggiegreen wrote:To sort it out properly it would be best to take the window out and take it to a company that do window tinting localy.Before you start though contact Autosleeper or a vehicle window fitting company to ensure you can get the same window rubber as a replacement . Good luck

Thank you. I think the rubber is just standard rear quarter window VW T4. I will go down this route, providing it is possible to bond the window back in from the outside!

Google is your friend!   

There are specialists around who do this kind of work and you will easily find one to do the job. There are two methods used. One is complete glass removal and re-fitting, others will do it 'in situ'. The latter is less costly for obvious reasons.

It was one of the first things i had done on my van as amazingly none of the previous owners had bothered. A local company quoted me almost £300 to do sides and rear by removing the glass, but from 'googling around' i then found a company just 40 miles away who did the job 'in situ' for £140 and have to admit i was well impressed with the results.

You can buy the window film and 'DIY', but it's not easy.

Bulletguy wrote:Google is your friend!   

There are specialists around who do this kind of work and you will easily find one to do the job. There are two methods used. One is complete glass removal and re-fitting, others will do it 'in situ'. The latter is less costly for obvious reasons.

It was one of the first things i had done on my van as amazingly none of the previous owners had bothered. A local company quoted me almost £300 to do sides and rear by removing the glass, but from 'googling around' i then found a company just 40 miles away who did the job 'in situ' for £140 and have to admit i was well impressed with the results.

You can buy the window film and 'DIY', but it's not easy.

Thanks for the reply. I wouldn't want to attempt tinting myself as I would like it to look good when finished     However, my latest question was more about the window being able to be cut out and later replaced with only access to the outside of the vehicle. I will do some phoning around when I get the chance!

I'm just about to have a go at tinting rear windows of my symphony, plenty of pro instructions on youtube,and doesn't look too difficult, have just bought a 3m length of 50% smoke tint on eBay its less than £6, will report on my success or disaster.

Rich Oakley wrote:Thanks for the reply. I wouldn't want to attempt tinting myself as I would like it to look good when finished     However, my latest question was more about the window being able to be cut out and later replaced with only access to the outside of the vehicle. I will do some phoning around when I get the chance!

Any window tint specialist can tell you the feasibility of that if you drive the vehicle to them. They only need to look at the window to tell you.

fenderbender wrote:I'm just about to have a go at tinting rear windows of my symphony, plenty of pro instructions on youtube,and doesn't look too difficult, have just bought a 3m length of 50% smoke tint on eBay its less than £6, will report on my success or disaster.

Good luck!!  

Well I did it, my two rear windows are now tinted, I've got to say it wasn't easy but I've managed it without air bubbles the difficult part is separating the tinted film from its clear liner without the sticky film touching itself if it does you might as well throw it away and start again, you need to spray loads of soapy water on the film and the glass, the film is actualy put on the outside first and cut to shape before transfering to the inside.Obviously glass needs to be spotless. My mistake was cutting it slightly too big meaning i had to trim it down when it was stuck on.Its not a perfect job but its not bad, the film I used (50%) wasn't really dark enough only slightly tinted so I'm going to do it again later with a 35%, the lower the number the darker the tint. It was only £5.75 for the film,enough for four rear windows,and you get a knife and squeegee. Next time it will be on a cooler day and with no breeze.

fenderbender wrote:Well I did it, my two rear windows are now tinted, I've got to say it wasn't easy but I've managed it without air bubbles the difficult part is separating the tinted film from its clear liner without the sticky film touching itself if it does you might as well throw it away and start again, you need to spray loads of soapy water on the film and the glass, the film is actualy put on the outside first and cut to shape before transfering to the inside.Obviously glass needs to be spotless. My mistake was cutting it slightly too big meaning i had to trim it down when it was stuck on.Its not a perfect job but its not bad, the film I used (50%) wasn't really dark enough only slightly tinted so I'm going to do it again later with a 35%, the lower the number the darker the tint. It was only £5.75 for the film,enough for four rear windows,and you get a knife and squeegee. Next time it will be on a cooler day and with no breeze.

Well done you!   

I know how difficult it is as i've watched the 'pros' do it but they naturally make it look easy and cut, prepare glass, and fit within minutes. But then they are doing it every single day!