Tinting your own car takes patience more than special skill. Plan on a full afternoon for your first car, work somewhere clean and out of the wind, and expect to waste a little film while you learn.
Before you start
- Check your state's limits. Pick a shade that's legal for each window using our tint laws by state.
- Work in the shade, ideally in a garage, at 50 to 90°F. Dust and wind are the enemy.
- Buy enough film. Measure each window at its widest and tallest points and add about 2 inches on each side. Film is sold by the roll in several widths; see car window tint.
Tools
- Spray bottle with slip solution: distilled water plus a few drops of baby shampoo
- Hard card and a soft squeegee
- Sharp utility knife with plenty of snap-off blades
- Razor scraper for cleaning glass
- Lint-free towels
- Heat gun, for shrinking film to curved rear windows
Step by step
- Clean the glass thoroughly. Spray the inside of the window, scrape it with the razor (not on the defroster lines), squeegee it and wipe the edges. Any dust left now will show as a bubble later.
- Rough-cut the film on the outside of the glass. Spray the outside, lay the film on it liner-side out, squeegee it flat and trim it about ¼ inch larger than the window.
- Shape it for curved glass. On rear windows, use the heat gun to shrink the film where it lifts ("fingers") until it lies flat against the outside of the glass.
- Trim to the final size. For roll-down windows, lower the glass slightly and trim the top edge, then raise it and trim the sides and bottom.
- Peel and spray. Peel off the liner while spraying the adhesive side with slip solution. Spray the inside of the glass again.
- Apply and position. Place the wet film on the inside of the glass and slide it into position, leaving a tiny gap at the edges.
- Squeegee out the water. Work from the center outward with overlapping strokes. Finish the edges with the hard card wrapped in a towel.
- Let it cure. Leave roll-down windows up for 3 to 5 days. Some haze or small water pockets are normal for a week or two and will dry out.
Video walkthrough
Common mistakes
- Not enough slip solution: the film grabs before it's in place and creases.
- Cutting on the glass with a dull blade: it drags and can scratch the glass. Snap to a fresh blade often.
- Rolling windows down too soon: the top edge peels. Wait the full cure time.
- Using ammonia cleaners on new film. Use an ammonia-free cleaner.
Not sure you want to do it yourself? See how to choose a tint shop and what professional tint costs.
Photo: -stk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
