[thoma]

Originally Posted by msaudf

this is not a very quick process as you will be peeling in a rate about 1cm per second, but still YOU SAVE THE DEFOGGER!

there you go guys. it worked for me. now someone give it a try and let us all know how it turned out.

I too wanted to remove the sun film on our Baleno for some time as it had faded a bit from its original color. And now that we have the SC order banning sun films, I wanted to remove the one on the rear windshield before the cops pry it out and damage the defogger.

Today, followed the exact steps in the above post and has successful removed the film from rear windshield. I would like to add the following points to the above.

- At first, we will feel it is so simple as the film comes out pretty easily. But hold your horses. Try to peel very very slowly. Abrupt peeling or continuous break in peeling can result in lot of gum being left over. Cleaning the gum is more tough than peeling the film.

- I used some old leftover Amway See Spray to remove the gums. It was effective undiluted. Some amount of gum do tend to stay on the glass near the defogger circuit, no matter how slowly and carefully we peel the film.

- Since my film was 6 years old, it was not that tough to peel out. Though, there was not a single place where it had started peeling off by its own. I wanted to remove it as the color got a bit faded. I started the DIY towards 4 pm when the windshield and the film was adequately heated up by the sun. This helped.

- I checked the effectiveness of the defogger by wiping the outside of the windshield by a damp cloth after turning on the defogger for some time. The dampness disappears faster near the defogger circuit than the other places.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by invincible7

gowda.. the tints are done from inside, never from the outside for any glass in the car.

It would be intersting to know how this can be done as i have the same dilema as to how can one remove the tints if one wants to from the defogger equipped glass.

Mine were done on the outside hence no problems... Only issue is that i had to use ammonia to scrape it as the film was brittle

[pramodpk]

I also would have to remove the sun film on my Fiesta but am worried about the defogger. Can you suggest any place in Bangalore where it can be removed without damaging the defogger?

Thanks in advance.

[sgiitk]

One has to be careful, that is all. The heater is bonded to the glass very strongly. Also, it s reasonable tough. So jet start peeling from a place away from it and then proceed carefully. It is very very unlikely that the peeling off of the film, will result in the demister markings trying to come off. Just make sure you do not scratch the demister.

[fre2bpowerless]

Be mentally prepared to lose the defogger, 9 times out of 10 it will be damaged.

Best way to remove is, heat the tint and the glass from the exterior and peel slowly.

[MAS]

Way back in January, when i was getting the sun films onto my car at 3M Chennai, there was a BMW X6 which had come for getting a darker shade of sun films fixed (replacing a lighter shade already present). While removing the sun film from the rear glass, i could see many "bits" of the demister coming off with the old sun film. I witnessed this as i was hanging around for my car's under body rubberized coating to dry.

Guys, when professionals had a problem, i am sure a DIY will present even more challenges. I am worried as i have a RE50 (not sure, it could be a RE20) on the rear of my Fiesta. I just hope the Supreme Court comes out with a stay on this sunfilm "ban" order.

[racer_m]

Originally Posted by fre2bpowerless

Be mentally prepared to lose the defogger, 9 times out of 10 it will be damaged.

Best way to remove is, heat the tint and the glass from the exterior and peel slowly.

Well dont know how you came up with your stats but I have a perfect 100% success till now!
removed tints from my rear defogger twice and helped in 2 friends removing theirs. So thats 4 out of 4 with none damaged.
I do apply this pre removal step though.
just heat up the glass with the defogger itself for 1-2 mins before you start. this itself makes the tint come off easily when you peel it off. And yes I did not have any issue of residual gum being left over. May be because all the films were of 3M brand

[fre2bpowerless]

Originally Posted by racer_m

Well dont know how you came up with your stats but I have a perfect 100% success till now!
removed tints from my rear defogger twice and helped in 2 friends removing theirs. So thats 4 out of 4 with none damaged.
I do apply this pre removal step though.
just heat up the glass with the defogger itself for 1-2 mins before you start. this itself makes the tint come off easily when you peel it off. And yes I did not have any issue of residual gum being left over. May be because all the films were of 3M brand

Stats from someone whose product is used on hundreds of cars a month, also responsible for installations at service centers of luxury and premium car brands.

I don't throw numbers around, 't-bhp rear windshield tint removing genius'

[racer_m]

Originally Posted by fre2bpowerless

Stats from someone whose product is used on hundreds of cars a month, also responsible for installations at service centers of luxury and premium car brands.

I don't throw numbers around, 't-bhp rear windshield tint removing genius'

Oh thats cool! even I am not throwing numbers pal. guess I should start a DIY thread for "rear defogger tints removal" the same.
I still suspect that I may not have the same success with other film brands other than the very reputed ones though. (Had seen that garware/unknown brands leave a lot of gum/residue behind. and that chances of damaging your strips trying to remove them are more as compare to just the film removal)

[dadu]

Keep your Car in the sun with the rear facing the sun, let it heat up for 3-4 hours and then try to remove the tints slowly. This is the best you can do to save the defogger, rest is your luck.

[fre2bpowerless]

+1 dadu

One can try their best but better to be prepared to accept the worse.

Originally Posted by racer_m

Oh thats cool! even I am not throwing numbers pal. guess I should start a DIY thread for "rear defogger tints removal" the same.
I still suspect that I may not have the same success with other film brands other than the very reputed ones though. (Had seen that garware/unknown brands leave a lot of gum/residue behind. and that chances of damaging your strips trying to remove them are more as compare to just the film removal)

I can imagine a higher chance of success with 3M, Llumar & V-kool. Next time you remove tints from the rear glass, do take some good pictures for a DIY report. I'm sure a good bunch of bhpians would benefit from it.