Removing Window Tint Without Destroying Rear Window Defroster

Boosted92LX

It's only an inch or two. What's the big deal?
15 Year Member
Dec 19, 2010
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Some months back I posted some pics of my car and one of the flaws that drove me nuts got pointed out. Bubbled window tint.

Here is what the window looked like:
2012-05-03_13-48-59_271-1.jpg



I had been afraid to attack it since I'd done it once before on a work car, and it turned out to be a finger numbing, all day ordeal that I never wanted to do again. Even tried windex and black plastic bag trick- didn't work well at all. Pay someone else to do it you say? Pfft, not when I can do it.. ughh. Catch 22.

Scraping with a razor blade would have destroyed the rear defroster, and paying someone was out of the question, so, what to do?
Steam. Works like a champ!

For $20 bucks you can go to Lowes or Wal-Mart and buy a steam cleaner that with patience, will take that old tint right off. I opted to buy a $39 con-air clothing steamer so when I was done my wife could use it for steaming wrinkles out of clothing:
2012-08-04_10-38-59_50.jpg


It never occurred to me to take photos of the window as the tint was coming off, but it only took an hour as opposed to just scraping with a razor which I will NEVER do again. I just used an old credit card to avoid scratches and let the steam loosen the tint a little at a time, peeling it back as I went. Worked great, here's the finished product! :banana: :
2012-08-04_10-41-08_246.jpg


Hope this helps someone!:)
 
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It should be against the law to tint rear defrost windows. I love my tint, but that annoys the hell out of me when they bubble up like that.

I really think what ruined this one was heat lamps in the paint booth it was painted in. I had a guy at a gas staion tell me his did the same thing under heat lamps. I had a *cough* Camaro *cough* that had the rear defroster and I never had problems with the tint on it...:shrug:
 
I really think what ruined this one was heat lamps in the paint booth it was painted in. I had a guy at a gas staion tell me his did the same thing under heat lamps. I had a *cough* Camaro *cough* that had the rear defroster and I never had problems with the tint on it...:shrug:

I just seem to always see this on cars with rear defrost. I guess it could also just be cheap tint or a sloppy installation. Come to think of it my Cherokee has rear defrost and limo tint and it hasn't bubbled in 10 years.