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It is time for me to remove it. A search of Teamswift was not fruitful so this is what I found out.
Ammonia is great and heat helps A LOT !
"The typical warranty on window film is two years against cracking, bubbling or delaminating. The tint's adhesive eventually dries out, at which point bubbles start to appear. You may be tempted to try to repair the damage, but one bubble indicates that the glue is nearing the end of its life cycle. Instead, remove all of the film. This will save time and money whether or not you intend to re-tint the glass yourself or take it to a shop.
Materials and tools needed: black trash bags, undiluted ammonia, steel wool and a few razor blades or knife. window cleaner and paper towels.
Tips:
The difficult thing about removing tint is that most film is constructed of two layers of tinted polyester. When you try to peel the film off the glass, the top layer will usually pull right off leaving the second layer behind. This second layer will not peel off, it will just flake and tear like a price tag.
Step 1:
To over come separation between layers you must soften the adhesive so that both layers peel at the same time. This is very important, if you peel the just the top layer, you may as well just use razor blades as there is no way to peel the second layer off without picking at it for a few hours. You MUST try to peel both layers at once.
NOTE:
You are more than likely to damage one or more of your defroster lines, when this happens, the cut line will not work anymore. Some cars have radio antennas mounted alongside the defrosters made of the same material. If you damage these, your radio antenna will not work! Be careful! Taking it to a tint shop to be done greatly increases the odds of saving the lines, but even a tint shop can not promise to save your lines, sometimes the film is just to far gone.
Step 2:
First, clear the window of any obstructions, like the brake light, speaker covers etc.
Step 3: Next cut open the garbage bag so that it will be big enough to cover the entire window. Spray some water on the outside of the back window and the lay plastic bag over the glass. Cut away excess plastic so that it is now roughly the same shape as the glass.
Step 4:
Next, lay a tarp over rear deck and seat, spray ammonia liberally on the inside of the back window. (Ammonia is very strong, I suggest you hold your breath during this step) and cover ammonia soaked tint with the plastic bag so that it won't evaporate.
Step 5:
Park the car with rear window facing the sun for about an hour. The film should now be ready to peel.
Step 6:
When you are ready to start peeling, leave the plastic in place so the ammonia wont dry. Get the peeling started with a razor blade in a corner where there are no defroster lines. Try to peel film off in one piece. If the ammonia dries as you peel, the glue will get hard again, so spray a bit of ammonia on the area as you peel.
Step 7:
Once the film is peeled you will need to scrub the adhesive off with ammonia and fine 0000 steel wool. Mop up scrubbed areas with paper towels before they dry. Finish up with window cleaner and paper towels. Inspect for missed glue (its clear and hard to see)
_________________
looking for:
the time i mispent in my youth
daily driver: red 1991 Metro 3cyl 5sp, roof rack, 8 degree advance,
got 61 mpg combined on 14" tires but i prefer 12"
completed frame up restoration: black 1994 Swift GT 5sp -- like new ! 45mpg
Last edited by xrw44 on Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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i found pulling the one sided razor blade in long strokes at an angle worked well.
