[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

What ever the method is laborious and stupid! Some real mess the SC and the cops have got us into! What a waste of time, $ and effort! another wasted weekend!

This is what 3m did in my case
-peel off the film dry
- use Mr muscle Kitchen Cleaner and a blade to remove the glue
-same for the rear windshield.

Im yet to test the defogger after this. Anyways now my windows are clean enough.

One doubt. Does the ruling mean we cant put stickers of Gods or our professions on our windscreen? Cause some interpretations are saying nothing should be stuck on the glasses.
My question sounds dumb, but one can get pulled over for anything. Just dont want an excuse to get caught.

Thanks

[KA18]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

I used scotch brite ....., it leaves scratches, I used ........a small piece of steel wool,....., glass wool leaves no scratches,

Does not Steel wool also scratch the glass?
Which one did you actually use, Steel wool or Glass wool?

[A350XWB]

These are valuable tips Jaggu. From my own experience of removing the sun film from three cars, I can say the following.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

1) You cant predict if the film is going to leave residue or not, depends on the age and quality of the film.

This is a very valid point. My experiences with the cars are
1. 2006 Santro Xing - The film came off without any problem and left absolutely no residue. This was the easiest to remove and a wipe with a damp cloth was all it took. The glass is as good as new.
2. 2011 Figo - This was tough. The film came off easily, but left a layer of glue and I had to scrub it off and it took hours to make it really clean. Yet to clean the rear windshield as it has the defogger. Cannot use the putty blade on that one.
3. 2007 Accent - The film came off in bits and pieces, even though I was careful. But the glue left over was lesser compared to the Figo.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

3) For cleaning gum never use a blade or scotch bite directly. Ensure you spray some solvent, shampoo/glass cleaner/petrol etc and then use the blade etc to remove.

I sprayed Colin on the glass to soften the glue and also as a lubricating agent before scraping off the glue using a putty blade. I have to say that the precision of the putty blade was much higher than I expected. It did not leave any scratch on the glass and the edge of the blade is really uniform. No distortions to the edge plus the blunt (compared to the shaving blades) edge ensured that no scratches were present after the process. But, as Jaggu mentioned, do not dry-scrape.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

4) If you see gum on glass, leave the film hanging from the bottom edge, this will keep the gum away from seeping into the weather strip and falling over the door pad etc.

This is a very valuable tip which I forgot to do and I had to take extra effort to clean the channels later. One more thing you can do to minimize this is to scrub towards the top and not towards the bottom. Also, if you are using a putty blade, always use vertical motion and not horizontal, to ensure that the blade follows the curvature of the glass.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

1. Remove the film with the glue, this will need steaming the film inch by inch while removing it (a lot of effort, assuming we do not have steam throwers, unlike what you see on DIY videos from the west where they use steam throwers for general cleaning)

Those things are quite powerful: could result in cracked glass, maybe.

2. Remove the films (peel it off) and then remove the glue. This can be done in 3 ways

...

(C) Chemical: Use petrol to dissolve the glue (check the quality of your windshield, if you use too much of this then the glass becomes dull). You could also use benzene, but then you have scrub a lot and you need to really careful not be get it it on the painted parts of your car (its also a paint thinner !)

Items coming soon to a newspaper near you! ...

Man found dead inside car: suffocated/poisoned by chemical fumes.

Man dies in car explosion: thought to have been using petrol to remove sunfilm.

I hope that I'll never be able to say I told you so on this

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by KA18

Does not Steel wool also scratch the glass?
Which one did you actually use, Steel wool or Glass wool?

Steel is harder than [most] glass: do not use.

Scotchbrite is not harder than glass. It doesn't scratch glass when washing up in the kitchen, and I guess that auto glass is at least as hard as the stuff that tumblers and household items get made from.

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Those things are quite powerful: could result in cracked glass, maybe.

Items coming soon to a newspaper near you! ...

Man found dead inside car: suffocated/poisoned by chemical fumes.

Man dies in car explosion: thought to have been using petrol to remove sunfilm.

I hope that I'll never be able to say I told you so on this

Thanks for pointing this out. he..he...lets clarify a few things, before someones takes these suggestions to the heart as a rule book!

1. (steamer)That was from a video I saw on the net, it worked for that guy, I have not clue on the make of the steamer, looked like the ones that use in the kitchens, I my best guess, they do not break glass as they use it even to clean China! They are not the industrical type! did I say industrial in my previous post, my bad! apologies!

2. (chemical)Please take an informed decision on this one. Better consult someone (an expert before you attempt this). You will need to be a bit careful if you use any hydrocarbon, you will need just a swab of cotton to clean it up (to get the major layer of glue off, they are better removed with a hard plastic knife, the kind that painters use). The spirits are better used to remove some isolated spots that give you a glare. But then after you use them (like I said again, just a cotton ball swab, to remove pointed dot marks) you should wipe the glass clean with Colin (or some other window glass cleaner, that also removes oil content). Actually I got this suggestion from a local auto shop, can't be sure if this is an expert advise!

But you are right, you should keep the doors open for a while to let the vapors and the chemicals be swept away . Better done in the afternoon and under direct sunlight, that ensures natural cleansing.

Even when you get the interiors cleaned up from shampooing, the chemicals they use also need to be flushed, I do the same after an interiors treatment.

I have done this, and I am still alive to write this note !

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE FOLLOW THISE STEPS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND EXPERTISE! (this should help)!

@ Parthasarathig: Does Mr. Muscle work? It never crossed my mind. May be that is a better alternative than using Petrol/Benzene. Guys, please let me know if that works as well! It should be defiantly much safer than using the spirits.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Good clarification.

I'd go further with the flammable volatiles like petrol. I think it is possible for a petrol-vapour-and-air mix to ignite all by itself; what is the flash point, I wonder? In this country, the ambient may be above it! Anyway, the slightest spark... turning on the radio might be the last thing a person does.

Back to Chennai... Very worrying to see that things seem to have got started here. My almost new sunfilm (CR70) was so expensive.

[ravib]

Removed 3M sun film from my i20 in just 30 mts. Didn't use anything other than nails. Tried shaving blade for few seconds first, but it was little messing up so simply used the nails to peel the film from corners. Even the rear glass was also easier to remove, if done with little care.

No residual marks, nothing. After removal of sun film, cleaned the glass with Colin. Thats all.

I would say, indeed 3M sun films were at good quality. It came out in single piece without leaving any marks.

-Ravi

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

Does Mr. Muscle work? It never crossed my mind. May be that is a better alternative than using Petrol/Benzene. Guys, please let me know if that works as well! It should be defiantly much safer than using the spirits.

Yes Mr Muscle definitely works. The procedure i say in 3M.
-Peel off film
-Spray Mr Muscle Kitchen cleaner intermittently for every 3 to 5 minutes and keep trying to remove the gum with the blade.
-And then after having cleaned everything they used the airgun to dry up the glasses.

Dont use petrol and any hydrocarbon. Ideally diesel and not petrol is used for cleaning all this. But since we become absent minded we may drive off without letting things get dried properly. The smell of them in closed environment is enough to induce nausea. God knows what else it can do.

And please avoid medical spirit or nail polish remover. I tried them on my windows, the gum was removed with much effort but left a purplish tinge till i gave to 3m who removed it with Mr Muscle. They didnt however use colin, but it works.

Do note colin is a glass cleaner and they were using the KITCHEN CLEANER version on Mr Muscle so probably better removal. I did however enquire why they were doing a job of 250rs as 450 and not using the steam machine. Id suggest that Bhpians follow the DIY method given here. Its far better and economical. And better executed than the guys at 3m.

I doubt if I will go there again for detailing. I was shocked to see how they treated my rear windshield inspite of my telling them to be careful. It was because the guy got pissed i was telling him in english. Some bad seeds are there. He used a cleaning brush on the rear.

Please avoid them or atleast stand there and act strict. Dont leave the vehicle alone. The way these guys drive it around the parking. Just young kids who get overexcited behind the steering wheel or am i just too particular about my stuff.

Anyways as far as West Bengal is concerned any such film removal going on there? My parents hadnt even heard about it till i told them the reason i got my films removed.

Regards.

[superutp]

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

Yes Mr Muscle definitely works. The procedure i say in 3M.
.

OT, which branch of 3M did you go to? Surprising to hear about the carelessness in their work.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by superutp

OT, which branch of 3M did you go to? Surprising to hear about the carelessness in their work.

I went to their UB city branch. And they were removing films from all cars by the same method except those people just use them as workhorses and not love their cars.

Since the basic principle in all the DIYs was the evaporation of water or steaming, i was surprised they didnt use that on my car. I had nothing against them not using steamer or some quick method. What frustrated me was that the guy used the brush on my rear windscreen and not just that before doing so he peeeled off the film without giving a damn to my words. It was just this one guy.

I told the initial guy to do it carefully and he was giving his best effort in that and slowly and carefully removing the film. This guy comes and says to him in kannada why are you spending more time on this bloke's car. He thought since i spoke in english i wouldnt understand or speak kannada.

At the end of the treatment I went in front of the guys and told this person in Kannada Im paying 450 bucks so irrespective of what language i speak you are supposed to do your job properly.

The manager Mr Vinod however was a very good gentleman and he tried to accomodate my needs even in that rush. And even the rest of the guys were good. I mean Mr Vinod did as he promised. I was very happy with the way he himself was working with the removal of films. Shows his dedication. but Im not going back to 3m ub city anymore. I was happy to leave with my car asap.

My friends also wanted to get theirs removed after i would give them a review. I told them not to go there. Now they are getting it removed from local shops some of whom are also opened only recently after reading TBhp DIY.

Sadly inspite of the plethora of TBhp stickers on my car 3m people chose not to treat me well. But that shouldnt just be the case. They should treat every other guy properly who may not be a Bhpian but is paying their high prices.

My only advice to fellow Bhpians will be that please if you are treated bad do post about it here. All i read about 3m are good reviews. And if you are visiting the UB city branch do stick with your car till the job is completed.

I however do not speak for the other 3m outlets as I havent experienced them.

Regards

Mods please move my post if it doesnt suit here.

[edassery]

I did it in under 15 minutes on my Corolla Altis. Thanks to the 3M film that I had installed - it came out pretty well with very less glue stains remaining that I scraped of with a paint scraper and dish wash liquid.

I posted a video on Youtube on how exactly it was done (I think I cannot link it here as per Team-BHP ToS?).

I agree on other folks that the sticky glue remaining is too bad on local brands of films.

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Good clarification.

I'd go further with the flammable volatiles like petrol. I think it is possible for a petrol-vapour-and-air mix to ignite all by itself; what is the flash point, I wonder? In this country, the ambient may be above it! Anyway, the slightest spark... turning on the radio might be the last thing a person does.

Back to Chennai... Very worrying to see that things seem to have got started here. My almost new sunfilm (CR70) was so expensive.

Thanks, now this thought of vapour mix thing really got me on my toes and started to search for how good (or rather bad/dangerous) idea I might have used (I did not do enough homework on this one, but better late than never) even worse suggested on this forum. I know the guys take the advise on this forum seriously (I have always!).

So I spent the evening trying to really find out why the spirit as a cleaner for glue removal should not be used. before I delve any further ---

PLEASE DO NOT USE HYDROCARBON BASED CLEANERS FOR REMOVING GLUE LEFT OVER FROM THE FILMS !!

See the problem is not the hydrocarbon itself, but the fine vapor + air mixture. Something that happens at a temperature called flashpoint

see here for details

Flash point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Petrol as you see if already a deadly mix a indian summer temprature (even for bangalore standards) and diesel is well close to Delhi/mumbai or chennai.

Even though their ignition temperature is high > 200. Its very dangerous when the vapors are set free (like when you wipe it on the glass). You might be at risk especially if you have a busy neighborhood or an apartment underground parking place (no place is safe enough) it might create the mixture to concentrate. I was lucky (ignorance is bliss! : read stupid), it was shady and windy when I did it and I had all the four doors wide open for the cross winds and I kept them open for a while after I was done (including the soap cleaning after the spirits).

But I would really like to pull back the petrol/benzene/hydrocarbon based advise. Please refrain from this.

(MODS: if there is way please do away the original post from this thread, that one misleading post there! my bad.)

[Thad E Ginathom]

Sorry to have worried you, but I think it was worthwhile, and thanks for the further research.

I don't think you're the only one to have mentioned petrol, but, if you wish, one way you could get your post edited would be to "report" it and request the mods directly. I doubt very much that they are getting to read every post in this thread.

[Tushargohil]

Guys my experiences with LUMAR on XUV was not a good at all... hell of hard glue left behind (kind of one more layer of glue) although we remove film in one pieces.

Just wondering.. who was protecting us from sunlight Glue or Black Paper....