[dadu]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Not just that , it may spill and enter below the glass where your power window components are.
You don't want to corrode all of this with harsh abrasive cleaners.
Just my 2 cents.

Very thoughtful, this is true even for people who are using other water based or similar liquids(non-alcoholic), especially if you have power windows, a small amount into the motor and its a kaput.

[rajiv.kulkarni]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Totally agree, saw with my own eyes this weekend at a auto accessories shop, one car with non-3M tint had left a lot of gum on the glass which had to be removed painstakingly, while the 2nd car with 3M tints (saw 3m watermarks) came off easily without leaving much residue, what was left was cleaned easily with a wet cloth.

I had 3M tints too on my Santro and got them removed all in one go, only the rear glass film gave up in the middle and had to make more than one attempt to take it off completely. No Glue residue on any of the side glasses, since the rear one gave up I see a bit of gum residue will clean it up with Colin today.

[hrman]

I had already removed my Sides and quarter glasses sunfilm past saturday. Last evening, I removed the rear glass sunfilm. Just scratched with my nail at the corner, found an edge and started pulling off slowly. It came off in one piece

I realised even dabbing generous amounts of Mr. Muscle did not prevent some of the glue from sticking on the glass. Tried removing it, but was taking too much time. Ill try it this weekend.

So far, am feeling a bit exposed, since I'm not used to driving a car without any sunfilm. But at night, the traffic behind and on the side mirrors does seem much clearer and I can drive with more confidence. Need to see how it feels in the day or driving in the hot sun.

[vinya_jag]

I removed my 3M sunfilms on last Sunday. It was very very easy. I neither used wet newspapers nor Colin's to clean, just peeled of one side using blade, then removed the film alongside the beedings first and entire film came off in one piece . It was same across all 5 glass. There was no glue anywhere on the glass. Just cleaned the glass with plain water. It took just 5-6 mins per glass and 15 mins for cleaning, around 35-40 mins

[AltoLXI]

I removed all the sunfilms in my Alto last Saturday. I scrapped a tiny bit of film, just enough to hold with two fingers, using cardboard cutter, from the top edge of the windows and VERY slowly pulled the film down.

For the driver side window, I pulled the film rather quickly and the gum got stuck and I spent half an hour cleaning it. For the other windows I pulled very slowly and spraying Colin between glass and film when gum started getting stuck on glass.

I have removed all the films but somehow did not feel like removing the sun shade strip on the top of front glass. Should this also be removed?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Not just that , it may spill and enter below the glass where your power window components are.
You don't want to corrode all of this with harsh abrasive cleaners.
Just my 2 cents.

Thanks Fillmore. No electronics in the M800 except the ECU and Autocop

For the esteem though i will be using the Krud Kutter, a water based (not alcohol based) degreaser with lots of newspapers to boot

[HighOctane]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

I have removed all the films but somehow did not feel like removing the sun shade strip on the top of front glass. Should this also be removed?

No need to remove that strip, if it helps you from the morning/evening sunrays. When you have removed the films in side window glass & rear/front glass, the purpose is solved. Nobody will fine you for thst useful strip.

[arvindmanju]

I removed the garware tint of my 11 year old car, i was able to remove the tint in one go, but not able to get the glue off. I tried my hands with colin no use, then used NC thinner to remove the glue of no use. Now the car looks even more dirty.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by arvindmanju

I removed the garware tint of my 11 year old car, i was able to remove the tint in one go, but not able to get the glue off. I tried my hands with colin no use, then used NC thinner to remove the glue of no use. Now the car looks even more dirty.

Use a soft sponge with some Pril or some other dish washing liquid and wipe the sponge on the glass. Avoid alcohol based solutions as much as possible.

I used CIF and it worked perfectly. You might want to insert a newspaper sheet in the space between the window and the rubber beading (on the inside of the door) to absorb any fluid that runs down while doing the job. That will ensure your electronics dont act funny later due to the moisture or chemical agents from the solution used.

Rinse the windows with a wet cloth and dry them with a microfiber towel. Result will be a nice clean spotless window.

[svsantosh]

Today my company's logistics/admin team invited a team of "professional" peelers to remove all sunfilms in the parking lot for a fee - if you agree! Ranging from 300 - 500 (hatch, sedan, suvs) - I noticed a IDIOTIC way of removing the gum residue on the glass. They take less than 15mins per car and had to resort to it!

The guy was holding a BIG can of TVS DOT3 Brake fluid (yellow plastic can with red lid) and applying it liberally on all glasses and let it drip all over the claddings and inners of the door and just spray soap water and use a soft rubber blade to clean out the gum! God save the cars!

[gtonsing]

Originally Posted by dadu

Very thoughtful, this is true even for people who are using other water based or similar liquids(non-alcoholic), especially if you have power windows, a small amount into the motor and its a kaput.

This gave me an OT question: Does that mean when the car get washed and the glass has dried, I roll it down (power windows) and when I roll it back up, there are visible water spots on the glass. This can be potentially harmful for he power window motors/mechanism?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by gtonsing

This gave me an OT question: Does that mean when the car get washed and the glass has dried, I roll it down (power windows) and when I roll it back up, there are visible water spots on the glass. This can be potentially harmful for he power window motors/mechanism?

A little moisture does no harm since it evaporates due to heat. When cars are serviced, pressurized air is blown in gaps and spaces to get rid of moisture that could accumulate after a wash job.

But a lot of it will cause electronics to foul. Explains why sometimes doors and windows get jammed when the vehicle is driven /waded through a flooded street during heavy monsoons.

And with chemical agents, corrosion is another worry.

[intoxicangel]

Managed to pull all the film off... the damn glue is still there, so cant roll the window down either, jams becoz of the glue...

[IronH4WK]

^ yes, that can happen.

folks who're going to try the DIY at home - please do not roll down the window if you've residual gum on it! this can cause your window to jam midway and also damage the motor if tried too many times. also, it can twist/damage the rubber beading on window (through which the glass slides up and down).

worst case, you'll have to open the door panel the raise the window if stuck.

[intoxicangel]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

^ yes, that can happen.

folks who're going to try the DIY at home - please do not roll down the window if you've residual gum on it! this can cause your window to jam midway and also damage the motor if tried too many times. also, it can twist/damage the rubber beading on window (through which the glass slides up and down).

worst case, you'll have to open the door panel the raise the window if stuck.

Yeah, the issue isnt the window rolling down, its the glue not coming off!!!
Colin doesn't seem to help either... Called my friends garage and the mech recommends petrol / thinner to get rid of the gum...

Next question, what happens if I let the gum be as is for a day till I get time to sit and clean out the gum...