Removing old window tint

When I purchased my 450SLC, it had tinted windows.  The tint wasn’t new, as there were already a couple of minor areas where it was lifting.  In the 20+ years since, it had slowly become worse.  Removing it had been on my list for the last 5-10 years, and I finally got around to it recently.

The worst of it was on the rear window, so when I replaced the rear window a couple of years ago, that only left the side windows to do.  Over the past few weeks I’ve been tacking the side windows.

The main issue was that the tint was lifting and tiny air bubbles meant I wasn’t able to see out vey well.  The edges were also becoming rather untidy.   In the end, it wasn’t a particularly difficult job, just time consuming.

The first thing I learned was that the old tint was in multiple layers. I assume the tint was put on as a single piece, but has separated, although I could be wrong.  At first I thought the tint was coming off really easily, and that the window was just dirty, until it became clear I had only removed the first layer.

The first layer was fairly clear, and the second layer was much thicker and had the actual tinting properties.

I found the easiest way was to very carefully use my fingernail to lift up and edge and then peel the stuff off like a sticker.  Once I had both layers off, the time consuming part was using window cleaner and a plastic razor blade to get all the glue off.   With the window cleaner, it was like cleaning snot off the window.  It was just snot that had been there 25 years. The picture below shows all the tint gone, just the glue remaining.

Removing the tint has made a big difference in enjoying the car.  I can now see out of the windows much better, and the car looks better too.