D.I.Y. Tint Removal Gone Bad!
Prior to removal, this window will be near impossible to see out of. By the looks of the film, this removal will be very difficult, coming off in lots of tiny pieces, leaving all the adhesive behind, versus one clean piece.
Difficult removal; The tint has faded/purpled, and has become brittle, thus coming off in small shards while leaving behind the adhesive layer.
Attempted DIY removal. You can see that the owner of the vehicle was unable to reach the bottom of the window and opted for scraping the rest of the tint off with a razor blade. This last ditch effort to remove the tint without a professional, has left behind a completely inoperable defroster, and just a hint of where it once was.
All too often we see cars driving around with purple, bubbled, peeling window tint that is more than just an eye sore, it's an accident waiting to happen. When cheap window tint starts to go bad, the clarity of the film begins to diminish quickly, and thus poses a major safety risk as normal visibility is being decreased tremendously. It is important to get this film removed as quickly as possible to avoid the inevitable accident that is waiting to happen. Many people whom have experienced the lack of visibility bubbled tint creates take matters in to their own hands, and attempt to remove the film themselves. While we support this decision in regards to maintaining safe driving conditions within the vehicle, we strongly urge folks to have the film removed professionally. There are a number of things people overlook when attempting to remove film on their own, one of which is their rear window defroster. Often times the film is so old and brittle, and the adhesive is so far gone, that it is impossible to remove it in one piece. As a result, many resort to the use of a razor blade to scrape all of the small shards of tint off the glass, taking the defroster with it too. While in rare cases, this last resort is the only means of removing the remaining film and adhesive layer, it is often times easily avoidable when the film is removed in a professional setting. We do like to warn our customers that the proper removal process often time takes all day (8am to 5pm), as we do take every step possible to avoid using a razor blade on the glass. Don't end up driving around with partially removed tint and no rear-window defroster like this person above. You can save yourself many hours of strenuous labor, as well as maintaining the resale value of your vehicle by keeping that defroster in tact.
Side Note: We can normally provide a removal estimate over the phone, but are unable to guarantee the working condition of the rear-window defroster until we've began the removal process. There are many factors that effect the difficulty of the removal; some things to consider are the quality of the film, the length of time it's been on the vehicle, where the vehicle has been stored (i.e. garaged, carport, or under the harsh sun), etc. Please keep these things in mind, and remember, 3M offers a Limited Lifetime Warranty to cover the cost of removal, and replacement, in the event the film starts to go bad while you own the vehicle. If you want the piece of mind in knowing you will only need to pay to tint your windows once, 3M products are the way to go!
