I recently got a 1991 740 non-turbo sedan. The previous owner installed stick-on tinting and rain guards that were cracked and broken.
I yanked off the rain guards (the ones that let you open the window a crack while it is raining and not get wet). Most of the double-sided tape is stuck to the car and is rather hard to remove. Any tips?
The tinting is a dark purple and is bubbling. I tried to remove some of it tonight with a razor blade. My blade died quickly and I removed maybe a 1/4 of back driver side window's tinting. To complicate things, the rear window's tinting is in decent shape. I don't want to take a razor blade to the rear window due to the defroster. Can I/should I remove it and are there any ways easier than hardware store razor blades?

 

To remove the excess stuck on tape you can use paint thinner or goo-gone. AS for the tint, really a razor blad is your only way. But you can soften it up with a heat gun. For the rear window. Try to heat up an edge to get the film to peal off then keep heating it as you go. Sometimes that works.

Another way is to park the car in the sun. Take a garbage bag and cut it to the shape of the window. Sray the outside of the window with water and stick the garbage bag to it. Then spray the inside of the window with amonia. Let it all heat up and try to pull it off.

 

Heay gun/sunlight for the tinting, but heat alarge area, don't concentrate on some small spot at a time. If you can peel back a corner of the film you can start pulling teh film bacl slowly whilst applying heat to teh film ahead of where are you are lifting.
If you have any adhesive residue, use prepsol or turpentine to clean it up.
Apply the solvent generously witha wadded rag, then get a razor blade under it once it softens and slide the blade along under the adhesive. Final clean with a rag in teh suual manner.
The adhesive on teh outside of the car can als be removed with teh above solvents but no razor blades please! A plastic scraper wil help you on teh outside.

Regards, Andrew.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_film
Window tint and the adhesive that adheres it to the glass is difficult to remove. While it is generally best done by experts, the consumer can remove it with appropriate materials and care. The process involves heating the film with a hair dryer or a steamer to soften the adhesive, pulling the film off in small sections, and dissolving the glue with a strong ammonia solution which may then be wiped off. Some professional tinting companies remove the glass during tint installation for a perfect finish, making removal of the film very difficult for the novice. As a side note, IGU (insulated glass units) should not have hair dryers put to them to remove film.Window tint and the adhesive that adheres it to the glass is difficult to remove. While it is generally best done by experts, the consumer can remove it with appropriate materials and care. The process involves heating the film with a hair dryer or a steamer to soften the adhesive, pulling the film off in small sections, and dissolving the glue with a strong ammonia solution which may then be wiped off. Some professional tinting companies remove the glass during tint installation for a perfect finish, making removal of the film very difficult for the novice. As a side note, IGU (insulated glass units) should not have hair dryers put to them to remove film.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

i was a window tinter for 5 years....

the best way to get that tint off is to get a spray bottle of soapy water(like dish water soap) and black trash bags. get the inside windows really wet and cover each one completely with a black trash bag(you'll have to cut the trash bags to fit each window). When you cover the windows with the trash bags, they don't have to be completely stuck to the window like the window tint itself(don't squeegee them), just cover them. then set it out in the sun for about 17 minutes on the hottest part of the day(all the doors closed). hopefully it is still like 90 to 100 degrees this time of the year where you live. you want the steamed heat to seep into the window tint glue. about another 15 minutes later go and re-wet each each window. in about 15 minutes go and take off one of the window tints. it should just peel off like butter. when you use a razor for the final cleaning, make sure you use a brand new razor every 2 minutes(except for the back window, don't use a razor but a plastic dish scrubber pad). and make sure you have the razor tilted. and make sure the window is soapy wet when scrapping. when you scrape go in one motion(top to bottom). Use a olpha knife to get the corners. it is very easy to scratch a window with a razor.

if it starts coming off in pieces instead of one piece you will ether have to use a heat gun or one of those flame throwers(forgot the name) that plumbers use to heat pipes(the sell them at home depot). a blow dryer is way to light. during the winter i had to use those. make sure the window is always wet on the inside when using those. i use to get the windows so hot you would see the water boil(with the trash bags). but once you see the water boiling that is when you don't want to get it any hotter because then your window will bust. use an olpha knife to peel the sections off.

really, tinting and removing tint is a really hard skill to acquire that takes lots of practice and time. i've scratched quit a few windows and even busted one with to much heat from trial and error. if this is just for one car you probably would be best off having a shop remove the tint then go through the pain.