DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do

PatienceWins · 12th May 2012, 18:38

I just removed the 3M film using Colin. It was easy to remove it from the side glasses and boot glass. There was no damage to the defogger even though I just pulled it off without much care. The rear quarter glass was a pain as it was coming out in very small pieces. Took two hours to remove the film, most of the time was spent on a small rear quarter glass - i doubt if they have used 3M film over there as i could not find 3 M mark there and the film seemed very thin compared to 3M. I kept the car in sun for 2 hours before taking it to basement for removing the film.

The difficult part is remaining, cleaning the glasses.

funkykar · 12th May 2012, 18:45

Guys, any idea about the availability of plastic patti blade used by the guys who install the sunfilm? Removing the gum remains will be pretty easy with such a blade!

hyper-VTEC · 12th May 2012, 18:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Please use IPA iso-propyl alcohol available at any chemist.

Its milder and harmless to body paint but will give you a serious high if you inhale too much.

Wow! Will get one from local chemist shop tomorrow. I hope they sell that over the counter. I mean without a prescription.

I will inhale a bit to enjoy the boring work

PatienceWins · 12th May 2012, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkykar

Guys, any idea about the availability of plastic patti blade used by the guys who install the sunfilm? Removing the gum remains will be pretty easy with such a blade!

I used the thin blade with sleeve available at office stationary/ hardware shops. As per google, it is called a utility knife. I think I had picked it from staples.

http://www.google.co.in/imgres?q=thi...:21,s:71,i:278

the_joker · 12th May 2012, 18:57

I removed the film from my car's windows. It was one of those unbranded ones my dealer put in for free. Removal of film was easy, took me about 15-30 min. All of them came out in one piece. The adhesive residue was a pain. Took me over 45 min for each glass panel. I used toothbrush+toothpaste. Takes a long time to remove the residue.

hrman · 12th May 2012, 19:18

I removed the sunfilm from my car's sides today.The film came off in one piece from 2 windows, and in 2-3 pieces from the other windows. I started pulling off the film from the bottom up so could not quite get the glue residue from sticking to the window.
The best technique is to remove it from the top left/ right corner, and spray generous amounts of Mr. Muscle in the gap between the film and the glass. Mr. Muscle ensures the glue does not stay on. I took at least 20-30 minutes for getting all the films out including the quarter glass.

Getting out the residual glue took about 20-25 minutes per glass. I took a small 6 inch by 6 inch bath towel kind of cloth. Dabbed generous amounts of Mr. Muscle on it, sprayed it on the glass as well and used my own Mr. Muscle (My hand power)

to scrape out the glue.
The end result is that Ive got two aching index fingers and thumbs and an aching wrist.

BTW, I did not have the courage to get off the rear glass sunfilm, because I could not find an edge. Its in one piece so I do not have the readymade edges of the three-piece films. Plus it has the defogger, so I do not want to risk anything today. Maybe tomorrow, Ill try to very very carefully make a small slit with a blade and start from there.

My car is less than a month old, sunfilm is Filmpro. I saw that the film was metallised as well. Well..No use now..

Car looks a bit naked now. By instinct I thought I have not pulled up the windows, but realised there are no films there anymore.

hyper-VTEC · 13th May 2012, 09:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Please use IPA iso-propyl alcohol available at any chemist.

Didn't get IPA anywhere. I tried 4 chemists in my area. Bought a new big bottle of Mr. Muscle. Let's see if that works. Would WD-40 be of any help here?

Vid6639 · 13th May 2012, 09:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by hyper-VTEC

Didn't get IPA anywhere. I tried 4 chemists in my area. Bought a new big bottle of Mr. Muscle. Let's see if that works. Would WD-40 be of any help here?

WD-40 will be too greasy. Will be difficult to clean thereafter.

You can try any hospital chemist as it is used to sterilize the instruments.

I got my bottle from cash pharmacy in St. Marks Rd.

Guna · 13th May 2012, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639

WD-40 will be too greasy. Will be difficult to clean thereafter.

You can try any hospital chemist as it is used to sterilize the instruments.

I got my bottle from cash pharmacy in St. Marks Rd.

Nail polish remover could be another option (not sure about the economics

).

hyper-VTEC · 13th May 2012, 10:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639

WD-40 will be too greasy. Will be difficult to clean thereafter.

You can try any hospital chemist as it is used to sterilize the instruments.

I got my bottle from cash pharmacy in St. Marks Rd.

Sure Vidyut. Let me try Mr. Muscle today. If it doesn't help will source IPA.

Can i use scotch brite. Hope it would not scratch glass?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guna

Nail polish remover could be another option (not sure about the economics

).

Nail Polish remover works. I tried yesterday, but i would need 5-6 bottles which would be around 400-500. Not a econo option.

Jaggu · 13th May 2012, 11:46

Just get any glass cleaner like Mr Muscle and a paint putty blade. Myself and Khan cleaned up the Palio in under 20 mts yesterday. Today few more of my friends are coming over for putty blade. Works wonders

hyper-VTEC · 13th May 2012, 12:13

By putty blade do you mean this?

srinath34 · 13th May 2012, 12:43

Got the sunfilms removed a few moments ago from the Getz. Took around an hour to remove them from all windows. Surprisingly the rear windscreen with the defogger took least time. Used a good amount of Colin and the wiped all the windows clean with a micro fiber cloth. The sun fills were put free when we bought the car 7 years ago. Glad to find no gum residue from the films even after such a long time. Need to get used to the car without the films now. Kinda looks incomplete =-O

dinu2506 · 13th May 2012, 13:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Just get any glass cleaner like Mr Muscle and a paint putty blade. Myself and Khan cleaned up the Palio in under 20 mts yesterday. Today few more of my friends are coming over for putty blade. Works wonders

Jaggu, is it not risky when using a putty blade on the rear that has a defogger. Thats where I'm stuck

bejoy · 13th May 2012, 13:25

For guys having trouble removing the residual gums, I suggest using Petrol/Kerosene. Use a cotton cloth to dab a few drops of Kerosene to the gummed area and leave it for a few seconds. Use a clean cloth to wipe the gum off. Trust me, it is comes off so easily. Colin or other acetone based cleaners take a long time and effort to remove the gum. Though final cleaning after removing the gum can be done by colin.

12th May 2012, 18:38	#76
PatienceWins Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,416 Thanked: 807 Times View My Garage	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do I just removed the 3M film using Colin. It was easy to remove it from the side glasses and boot glass. There was no damage to the defogger even though I just pulled it off without much care. The rear quarter glass was a pain as it was coming out in very small pieces. Took two hours to remove the film, most of the time was spent on a small rear quarter glass - i doubt if they have used 3M film over there as i could not find 3 M mark there and the film seemed very thin compared to 3M. I kept the car in sun for 2 hours before taking it to basement for removing the film. The difficult part is remaining, cleaning the glasses. Last edited by PatienceWins : 12th May 2012 at 18:41.
	() Thanks

12th May 2012, 18:45	#77
funkykar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,635 Thanked: 6,611 Times View My Garage	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do Guys, any idea about the availability of plastic patti blade used by the guys who install the sunfilm? Removing the gum remains will be pretty easy with such a blade!
	() Thanks

12th May 2012, 18:57	#80
the_joker BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 140 Thanked: 217 Times	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do I removed the film from my car's windows. It was one of those unbranded ones my dealer put in for free. Removal of film was easy, took me about 15-30 min. All of them came out in one piece. The adhesive residue was a pain. Took me over 45 min for each glass panel. I used toothbrush+toothpaste. Takes a long time to remove the residue.
	() Thanks

12th May 2012, 19:18	#81
hrman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,128 Thanked: 1,015 Times	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do I removed the sunfilm from my car's sides today.The film came off in one piece from 2 windows, and in 2-3 pieces from the other windows. I started pulling off the film from the bottom up so could not quite get the glue residue from sticking to the window. The best technique is to remove it from the top left/ right corner, and spray generous amounts of Mr. Muscle in the gap between the film and the glass. Mr. Muscle ensures the glue does not stay on. I took at least 20-30 minutes for getting all the films out including the quarter glass. Getting out the residual glue took about 20-25 minutes per glass. I took a small 6 inch by 6 inch bath towel kind of cloth. Dabbed generous amounts of Mr. Muscle on it, sprayed it on the glass as well and used my own Mr. Muscle (My hand power) to scrape out the glue. The end result is that Ive got two aching index fingers and thumbs and an aching wrist. BTW, I did not have the courage to get off the rear glass sunfilm, because I could not find an edge. Its in one piece so I do not have the readymade edges of the three-piece films. Plus it has the defogger, so I do not want to risk anything today. Maybe tomorrow, Ill try to very very carefully make a small slit with a blade and start from there. My car is less than a month old, sunfilm is Filmpro. I saw that the film was metallised as well. Well..No use now.. Car looks a bit naked now. By instinct I thought I have not pulled up the windows, but realised there are no films there anymore. Last edited by hrman : 12th May 2012 at 19:22.
	() Thanks

13th May 2012, 11:46	#86
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,212 Thanked: 15,892 Times	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do Just get any glass cleaner like Mr Muscle and a paint putty blade. Myself and Khan cleaned up the Palio in under 20 mts yesterday. Today few more of my friends are coming over for putty blade. Works wonders
	(1) Thanks

13th May 2012, 12:13	#87
hyper-VTEC BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bengal...ooroo Posts: 648 Thanked: 243 Times View My Garage	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do By putty blade do you mean this? Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

13th May 2012, 12:43	#88
srinath34 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: TecHalli Posts: 333 Thanked: 292 Times	Got the sunfilms removed a few moments ago from the Getz. Took around an hour to remove them from all windows. Surprisingly the rear windscreen with the defogger took least time. Used a good amount of Colin and the wiped all the windows clean with a micro fiber cloth. The sun fills were put free when we bought the car 7 years ago. Glad to find no gum residue from the films even after such a long time. Need to get used to the car without the films now. Kinda looks incomplete =-O
	() Thanks

13th May 2012, 13:25	#90
bejoy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 923 Thanked: 1,405 Times View My Garage	Re: DIY - Removing Sunfilm + what not to do For guys having trouble removing the residual gums, I suggest using Petrol/Kerosene. Use a cotton cloth to dab a few drops of Kerosene to the gummed area and leave it for a few seconds. Use a clean cloth to wipe the gum off. Trust me, it is comes off so easily. Colin or other acetone based cleaners take a long time and effort to remove the gum. Though final cleaning after removing the gum can be done by colin. Last edited by suhaas307 : 13th May 2012 at 16:29. Reason: corrected typo :)
	() Thanks