Save Money By Tinting Your Own Car Windows Like a Pro

Clean the window and door from the outside

• Clean the entire window and door with tinting slip solution made from 1/4-teaspoon of blue Dawn dish soap mixed into 1-quart of distilled water. Squeegee the window clean.
• Spray tinting slip in the window seams —the narrow gaps along the edges of the window where the glass meets the frame or rubber gasket. Take the triangle hard card and wrap a microfiber towel around it. Use the point of the tool to get into the window seam to clean any dirt.
• Roll down the window. Spray tinting slip in the rubber gasket channels. Switch to the straight edge of the triangle hard card, wrap it with the microfiber towel and clean out the rubber channels. Wipe back any solution and dirt.

Cut and measure the tint

• Measure the car window. Tint comes in different-sized rolls, so choose a roll that is wider than your tallest window.
• Make sure the window is in the up position. Spray tinting slip solution on the outside of the window.’
• Unroll the tint from the box, enough to cover the window you are tinting. If you are doing a rear door with two window panes next to each other like us, measure the entire door span and add four inches to your measured length for two extra inches of overhang on each side. Cut the tint to length along the box edge to keep it straight, using a snap-blade utility knife with only one blade segment exposed for cleaner, more controlled cuts.
• Position the factory edge of the tint along the bottom of the window — not a side you cut. Roughly cut any excess off at the top to follow the window’s contour, leaving about an inch of excess. If your door has two panes, split the tint between them now. Lightly secure the tint film to the window with the hard card.
• Starting from the top left corner, cut down the left side to the bottom of the window. Remove the excess.
• Before cutting the right side, carefully slide the tint to the left, overlapping about 1/4 inch onto the door frame. Make sure the bottom edge is still lined up with the bottom of the window.
• Cut the right side along the window edge and remove the excess.
• Reposition the tint back to center with equal overhang on both the left and right sides. Peel the bottom of the tint off the window and drop it about 1/4 inch below the bottom edge of the glass so it overhangs onto the frame. Then roll the window down a few inches — this drops the top edge of the glass below the frame and gives you room to make a clean cut along the top.
• Line your knife along the top of the window and cut along the top edge for a clean, straight cut.
• Use the hard card and blade to straighten the tint at all four corners, then cut the corner points off at a slight angle. Sharp corners have very little adhesive contact and are the first spot to catch and peel up over time.

Heat-shrink the tint

Car windows are curved, but the tint film is flat. Before you install the tint on the inside of the glass, you need to heat-shrink it on the outside so it conforms to the window’s curvature. Skipping this step means wrinkles and bubbles that won’t come out.

• Position the tint on the outside of the window so the bottom edge sits about 1 inch above the window seam. Anchor it into position with the hard card. You’ll see the excess tint material bunch up into wrinkles along the bottom curved edge — these are called “fingers.”
• Use the heat gun to apply heat directly to the fingers. As the heat hits them, the wrinkles will tighten into small zigzag creases — that means the film is starting to shrink. Immediately scrape them down with the hard card to lay them flat against the glass.
• Continue working across the bottom until the tint lays flat and conforms to the curvature of the window.
• Peel the tint up and spray the window again. Reposition the tint so the top edge sits about 1 inch below the top of the window frame. Anchor it and repeat the same process — heat the fingers that form along the top and scrape upward to flatten them.
• Once the tint is fully shrunk to the shape of the glass, spray the side of the door panel with tinting slip. Peel the tint off the window and place it on the wet door panel to hold it in place while you prep the inside of the glass for installation.

Prep the inside of the window

The inside of the glass needs to be perfectly clean before you apply the tint. Any dust, residue, or debris left on the surface will be permanently trapped under the film. To do this:

• Apply double-sided tape to a piece of plastic sheeting and attach it to the door panel just below the window. This catches the dirty solution runoff and keeps it from dripping into the door panel and onto your interior trim.
• Spray the window with tinting slip and squeegee it clean.
• Spray the window again, then use your razor blade scraper to scrape the entire glass surface. This removes any sticky residue, adhesive, or contamination that the squeegee alone won’t pick up. Spray and squeegee clean one more time.
• Roll the window down about a third of the way. Spray and flush down the sides and bottom window seam to clear out any contaminants left behind from scraping.
• Use a clean microfiber towel to wipe the top edge of the window where the squeegee can’t reach.

Install the tint

• Spray the inside of the window with tinting slip so the tint can slide into position during application.
• Move to the outside of the car where the tint is parked on the door panel. Starting at the top corner, peel the backing liner (the clear plastic protecting the adhesive side) down about halfway, then spray the exposed adhesive side with tinting slip to keep it wet and workable.
• Peel the tint off the door panel from the top corner. Orient it so the adhesive side faces the window, and pinch both sides just below the top edge to hold it in place.
• Move to the inside of the car and gently place the top half of the tint onto the wet window.
• Slide the top edge of the tint up between the rubber weather seal and the glass, tucking it just below the rounded top of the window frame. Stop when you reach the backing liner that’s still attached to the bottom half.
• Use the hard card to squeegee the top half of the tint, pushing the tinting slip solution out from the center toward the edges to set it against the glass.
• Peel the backing liner off the bottom half of the tint and spray both the exposed adhesive and the window with tinting slip.
• Tuck the bottom and side edges into the window seams the same way you did the top. Use the hard card to squeegee the bottom half into position.
• Take the triangle hard card and slide it along the edges and bottom window seam to flatten the tint into the seams for a clean, tight finish.

Fix any remaining wrinkles

If you heat-shrunk the tint before application, it should already conform to the window’s curvature, and you can skip this step. If you didn’t heat-shrink or if wrinkles appear after installation, here’s how to fix them.

• If fingers appear along the top or bottom edges after application, use the heat gun to apply heat. When the wrinkles tighten into zigzag creases, use the hard card to push them flat — scrape downward for bottom fingers, upward for top fingers.
• Repeat until the tint lies flat along both the top and bottom edges.
• Never heat-shrink fingers that appear on the sides of the window. Instead, use the hard card to push them toward the top or bottom edge and shrink them there. Heat shrinking on the sides will distort the tint and prevent it from conforming correctly to the glass.

Installing tint on a fixed window

Fixed windows like quarter windows don’t roll down, so the process is simpler — there’s no heat shrinking and no tucking the tint under weather seals. The cutting, cleaning, and application steps are the same as the roll-down window, with a few differences:

• When cutting on the exterior, align the factory edge along the bottom and overhang the left side onto the divider between the windows by about 1/8 inch. Use the hard card to press the tint flat against the full surface before cutting.
• Carefully cut along the outside edge of the dot matrix border — the band of small printed dots along the window’s edge. Make sure the dots end up underneath the tint, not exposed. Tint doesn’t adhere as well to the dot-matrix area because the dots’ textured, raised surface prevents full contact with the adhesive. You may notice a slightly hazy or lighter appearance along this border — that’s normal and unavoidable on most vehicles.
• Since the window doesn’t move, you don’t need to roll it down to cut the top edge. Just cut, clean the inside, and apply using the same peel, spray, and hard card technique from the previous step.

Checking your work

• Inspect both windows from the inside and outside. Look for any fingers, bubbles, or debris trapped under the film.
• Use a flashlight to shine around the edges of the tint, checking for any gaps where light sneaks through. If you see light, the tint isn’t fully tucked into the seam — use the triangle hard card to press it back in.
• Once everything looks good, spray the window with tinting slip and wipe clean with a microfiber towel.
• Avoid rolling the window down for at least two to three days to give the adhesive time to fully cure.

FAQ

Can cops pull you over for tint?

Yes, they can. They have the right to pull you over if they see that your tint is darker than it should be, and it can be a costly offense if you receive a citation. Every state has different laws regarding the darkness of your tint, so look up the tint laws in your state to know how dark you can tint your windows before tinting your windows.

How to clean car windows with tint?

A mild soap-and-water mixture with a microfiber towel or a soft sponge will do the trick. You can also use ammonia-free products like Invisible Glass to help clean. Avoid using brushes, rough sponges, and cleaning materials used for the outside of the glass.

How long does window tint last?

Tint can usually last 5 – 10 years, but it really comes down to maintenance, sun exposure and how it was applied. Given those different factors, the lifespan of your tint can be shorter or longer. To make it last 5-10 years or longer, keep up maintenance and be sure to go to people you trust. If applying yourself, take the time to do it properly.

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