[mayankk]

So, with all the brouhaha over sunfilm's in delhi, I had a go at removing it.
Basically reverse engineered it from how it was installed.
Water on the film, let it dry, and its stuck.
So ideally, water based gluey stuff, apply water, so it should come off.

Well, absolutely correct.
And you shall see how much effect a proper soak can have on how easy it can be.
Or, how i made my life difficult....


1. Soak up some newspaper


2.Cover up the tray and speakers.
(If you have a hatch, you are so lucky!)



3. patchwork your window with the wet newspaper.
I somehow let it soak for too long, and it came off in pieces.
However, this turned out to be good, cos the bigger pieces just kept falling off!
Do note how I have stuck the newspaper on just half the screen.
Please, note, cos I DID NOT!!


Parked the car in the sun, with the small steel pots filled with a bit of water.This evaporated and condensed on the exposed film, as my science teacher had taught me way back.
(on the bottom half which I had left bare)

4. Checked in 30 minutes later, and whipped off the newspaper.
Caught hold of one corner, and the film came off with the tinting material like "makkhan".
The science experiment, however, failed in total and complete splendour!!
The evaporating water did ZILCH!!




5. Fret not. Failed to get the nobel in the DIY category, but the way out here is fairly simple.
Dab the material with water, let it stay for say 30-40 seconds, and it peels off.
Note that this is NOT film, but the tinting material.
Do it in sections, otherwise it just dries up again by the time you get to it.



6. Here's how it is finally.
Left the final two strips(segregated by the defogger), cos my hands got too tired, and it was too hot.Will be finishing it off in the evening, now that I know how easy it is.


Why did I do this?
Because I had to get it done, and I thought, even if I messed it up, it would be a fairly easy drive to get it fixed.
Plus, it was just one window, so not too much effort and time needed.

I didnt want to get caught by the traffic wallas and have them mess up the defogger.
DIY allowed me to be as gentle as I could be.


Total time : just upwards of an hour.

Additionally, I also learnt how to unlock a locked ford.
With the battery disconnected.
TWICE!!
will post later on that.

Hope this helps someone.

[libranof1987]

Wonderful effort I must say.

It's best you spend an hour in the sun removing the film rather than have cops remove it in 5min and end up screwing the defogger.

Will you be using the same method for the 4 windows?

Not sure how you can in summer but any chance you can check how well the defogger is working?

PS : have cops started removing all types of sunfilm in NCR or only those which don't adhere to the 70% visibility criteria?

[nozzlering]

Thanks buddy. Even I have been thinking of doing it myself. But I am stuck in Do or NO Do situation. Your DIY inspires me to do it myself.

[coolclouds]

Thanks for the detailed info buddy.

Let me share how I removed the film in my car today.

The vehicle was parked in sunlight since morning. Used a blade to get one end of the film in top corner. Pulled the film gently and came off in one piece. No adhesive in glass. I'm sending the car for a wash today. Thats it! No water or any solution applied.

Be more careful while removing rear glass film if there is a defogger.

[Catalyst_delhi]

I removed mine as well. I peeled a little and made sure i peeled with equal tension so it came off in 1 piece

[.anshuman]

I removed the sunfilm on my Laura yesterday. The film came off very easily in one peice without any sticky residue. Even the rear glass film came off without damaging the defogger, though i was extra cautious with the rear one. Wiped all the glasses with a wet cloth, followed by a soft dry cloth. Got Autographix 35% VLT tints in Dec 2010.

My earlier experiences of removing the sunfilm were not as good.

Guys, please do not scratch the rear defogger with blade or anything damaging. Be extra cautious with rear glass, the defogger gets damaged very easily.

[mayankk]

I only had film on the rear glass, so I am in the clear now.
No blades, no sharp, or even hard objects were used. by choice.
In fact, if part of the film does get left behind, all you need is a wet wipe and a bowl of water.
The back layer will get left behind where it is on the defogger, but let it be.
Its easy enough to wet it an remove .
So, going by this, side windows should be a walk in the park.
Go on, its a fun enough way to kill an afternoon .

Its a 5 year old film, so I didn't expect it all to come off in one go without a fight.

[Blow Horn Ok]

IMO one can use hair dryers to heat up the film and let it come off easily, if one wants to do it in a shade/garage.

[watashi75]

Instead of newspaper I used those thin black plastic garbage bags. Since they are black they heat up pretty fast. For removing the left over glue I used nail polish remover. It works like a charm.

[liferocks]

Guys if the idea is to heat up the sunfilm, as said (using hairdryer), then why not switch on the defogger for a while and then peel it off.

I dont know just a suggestion. I might try it though I know I am quite tight on free time.

[GTO]

Great one, Mayankk. Thanks!

Those of you who have sunfilm installed on the front windscreen, please be extremely cautious at the time of removal. Any water dripping and going into your dashboard can potentially create issues Link to Thread.

[sam003]

Good man, how about soaking up newspaper in Hot water itself and then put on rear glass. I left my polo rear glass with film as it is as off now. But looking at your solution might give a try in next weekend.

[sgiitk]

@mayankk; Good thinking. Water fixes it so water may help remove it. Obvious once somebody points it out.

[Klub Class]

Mayank, thanks for the tutorial

Does your defogger work perfectly fine after you removed the sunfilm? If it works fine, I'll be removing the sunfilm all by myself the way you did.

[kooldudedelhi]

Hi Mayank,

Do you live in or around Pandara Road area of New Delhi?