Team-BHP - DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do

Quote:

Originally Posted by swarnava.m (Post 2800476)

Scotch Brite on car glasses???? :Shockked:

Sorry for the reaction.. But sounds to me like killing my dearest own pet..!!

Car rubbing guy does it because he necessarily needs to remove the paint and do it over again..

I don't know if there is a practical way to get rid of them, since scratches necessarily mean damage, and unlike body panels, you cannot paint them to repair the damage. Try the 3M product as you mentioned, but if that does not yield good enough results, you can try to live with them if they are not hindering. Otherwise, replacement is the only option, although I guess that would be a considerable cost.. :eek:

Hay thanks for a frank opinion.
I do know that I have created a mess but misreading the thread where Scotch Bright was discussed I thought it will be easy to remove glue. And learned it the hard way stupid:.

The scratches are not that bad and they are not hindering me, but since I know I did them I tend to see them, no one else has yet pointed it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modifiedsachin (Post 2800957)

The scratches are not that bad and they are not hindering me, but since I know I did them I tend to see them, no one else has yet pointed it out.

Well then I guess it might be okay to not go for a replacement immediately. You could try options of removing them. Just be very very careful not to increase them any further at all, since it is likely to happen. Both due to the fact that the glass is damaged in the first place, and a minor scratch may get aggravated, and the fact that you will be very eager to get them off..

On that note, did you try the 3M product?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 2801684)

ok, guys, if I ever do use Scotchbrite on my car glass, I'll make sure to test it hard on some other glass first, and even then proceed with great caution.

if you do use Scotchbrite, get a used one, which will be softer. also, rub gently, but systematically. if the residue is more, don't get disheartened; put your favourite music and pace yourself accordingly :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by swarnava.m (Post 2801611)

On that note, did you try the 3M product?

Two years back (Before putting a new windshield) there were too many wiper scratches on my windshield & at night the tail light of the front car use to hinder a lot as it used to get spread on my windshield.

I went to Windshield expert but they said only replacement is solution & it will take half a day & I was running out of time as it was raining & after they fit a new windshield (In half day) it will require a 24 Hours (Since rainy season) to dry out completely, I decided to check if any other option is available & I went to Patel auto at Goregaon West (Mumbai).

There the service personal offered me a solution at 1400 INR to use a 3M glass polish (Or rubbing like thing) and they will remove the scratches. Prior to that I have seen at Milan subway one person rubbing a windshield with some sort of polishing stone on one car's windshield & when I inquired they said he is removing wiper scratches. So I though its something similar & I said ok for 1400. The process took 2 hours and then the scratches were actually gone.

Just before 6 months a big stone hit my windshield making a nice hole (Laminated hence it did not penetrated) and I had to replace it as I did not wanted to rush before rainy season.

Those who never make mistakes are lucky.
Those who learn from other's mistakes, are smart.
Those who learn from their mistakes, are experienced.
Those who dont learn even from their mistakes, are idiots.

Guess I just got experienced in removing sun film. If only I had read the thread carefully before starting.

Started this morning, and easily peeled off the film. Film came out easily enough (5 min job), and I was admiring the glass. Few glue marks, thats all it looked like. But fate was not done with me. The marks that I saw were actually places where glue had come off. There was glue residue all over the glass. :Frustrati Then started the scrubbing. Pril, Cif (kitchen cleaners) and kolin (glass spray) dint work.

Flash of realization. "Go read Team-BHP". Read this tread here and saw alcohol/ kerosene works! Took wifey's nailpolish remover and an alcohol based hand sanitizer spray (which we had got during a hospital stay). Sprayed those and scrubbed with towel, cotton and (softened) scrotch brite. The glue residue comes off.

1 window is fully done, another one half done. 2 more to go. This is real good workout!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by anshul_UVA

Few glue marks, thats all it looked like. But fate was not done with me. The marks that I saw were actually places where glue had come off. There was glue residue all over the glass.

Though i laughed away when i read this section, i completely respect your lesson here. Team-bhp is truly a treasure trove for all of us. Sorry to take you off topic.

After having grounded the car for exactly 5 weeks, I decided enough was enough.

Armed with a pail of hot (straight out of the tap!) water with some bathing soap in it, a plastic knife, a kitchen knife and a couple of old cotton dusting clothes I made my way down to the car at 2 pm.

With the car's thermometer reading a searing 43 degrees C under the Gurgaon sun, all the 3M RE35 required however was a little bit of peeling using a single finger nail and then smoothly pulling it off the window with no drama whatsoever. 30 seconds per window. 2 mins effectively, not including "baking" time for windows that weren't directly exposed to the sun.

The film tended to tear at places where the sun wasn't directly hitting it. For instance, the film covered by the closed ORVMs and the the film on windows on the side of the car not facing the sun tore a bit.

Opening the ORVMs and parking the car nose pointing the other way for 15 mins did the trick. I resumed pulling the film from the other side and pulled around the tear in both cases.

It was just so super-duper easy that there's no point going to a shop or having the cops pull it off for you if you have 3M film and live in a hot area.

There's no glue on the glass that I could feel with a casual swipe of the palm of my hand on the glass. I hope I've not done the wrong thing by not wiping the glass off with some soap water at the end.

I've left the front and rear quarter-glasses alone. I guess that's where the fees paid to professionals helps. Unlike regular windows which you can roll down to find the edge and use your finger nail to peel off, these things required a different technique. Maybe making a small cut in the film using a knife and then tearing off the two parts separately would do it, but I'm not bothered now.

Regards,
spadix

Last weekend removed sun film from my swift. Here, in Bangalore it was cloudy day, so couldn't bake the car in sun.

Used hair dryer. Had no issues in removing, left some gum on the glass. Tried working with paint thinner (used to remove paint marks on glass panels) but it was such a pain. After a window went to Colin glass cleaner one with added vinegar, it worked like charm, no hassel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anshul_UVA (Post 2803383)

But fate was not done with me. The marks that I saw were actually places where glue had come off. There was glue residue all over the glass. :Frustrati Then started the scrubbing. Pril, Cif (kitchen cleaners) and kolin (glass spray) dint work.

Flash of realization. "Go read Team-BHP". This is real good workout!!

My sympathies Anshul:uncontrol - have been sitting in office and wondering whether to take up the offer by a driver in the company basement to strip-clean my Honda City. he's charging Rs 300 and plans to tear the film off by hand, use a half-razor to clean the glue and colin glass cleaner to wipe off - I think I will go home and let the kids do the same - with Mr Muscle cleaner and minus the razor blade! They can't be more dangerous to the defogger and the automotive glass than the blade scraping over the glue!! Bangalore Traffic police have posted on their facebook page that their enforcement drive is on - btw anytime you folks are feeling down, you should go see the comments by the public to the police on their posts re Sunfilm! Barrel of Laughs! clap:

Quote:

Originally Posted by spadix (Post 2803467)

There's no glue on the glass that I could feel with a casual swipe of the palm of my hand on the glass. I hope I've not done the wrong thing by not wiping the glass off with some soap water at the end.

Except for a little bit of glue I can see now near the top of the co-driver's side window. Nothing that prevents the window from being rolled up/down fully, though.

Even the driver's side window gave an almighty squeak when rolled down fully after a couple of days.

And maybe it's just me, but I can make out a faint whiff of something other than the usual car plastics smell when I step into the car now.

So even with 3M film which is among the easiest and cleanest to uninstall, it's advisable to clean the glass with mild soap water after removal of film. I will do just that this weekend.

Regards,
spadix