removing tinted film

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darylblake

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#192319 6-Mar-2016 14:45

So started peeling this off a window and half of the film has come off but the rest is stuck and its really difficult to remove.

Is there anything i can spray on there that will eat away at the film so i can get it back to glass easily?

Stu

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#1506925 6-Mar-2016 14:57

Try using a hairdryer or heat gun, or for chemicals have had success with acetone. Good ventilation is essential, as the fumes won't hesitate to kill the odd brain cell or three!

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Stu

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#1506933 6-Mar-2016 14:59

Use a window/glass scraper with a blade. Plastic will probably not work well if you're using acetone.

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Oblivian

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#1506974 6-Mar-2016 16:38

Razorblade + alcahol :)

Stu

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#1506976 6-Mar-2016 16:40

Drinking while using razorblades might not be the best idea! ;-)

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eracode

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#1506995 6-Mar-2016 17:22

This is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do. We bought a house that had UV film on four sets of large aluminium bi-fold doors and side panels. It was about 15 years old and had gone milky and had to come off because it was blocking the main view from the house. This was about 15 sq. m. of glass in 10 panels each about 2.2 m high.

I spent months googling, researching, phoning people (applicators, chemical companies like Selleys, film manufacturers like 3M etc). I tried every chemical, aerosol, solvent, temperature and physical scraper combination known to mankind - and just could not get the stuff off. With great difficulty I could get some of the film off in very small pieces but the adhesive, the component causing the milkiness, was still there. I spent a small fortune on all this but it was a complete WOFTAM.

Gave up and got three quotes for complete replacement of the safety-glass with UV built-in. Didn't cost an arm and a leg - the installer did an excellent job simply and quickly - and we got a crystal-clear result (as you would expect with new glass). I found huge variations in the quote prices so it pays to shop around if you take this approach.

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traderstu

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#1507061 6-Mar-2016 18:31

OP, just to be clear, are we talking about a car or a house window? The answer to your question depends on this or, to be more precise, the type of adhesive on the film.

darylblake

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#1507075 6-Mar-2016 19:31

This is a House window.

I did get eventually it off, well I have done 1 panel. It took a couple of hours, I need to do a whole heap more done though :(. I didn't have any acetone.

Ended up buying a brand new razor scraper which was much better than the old blade I had, which helped a LOT. I sprayed it with ammonia. But yeh doing a whole house would suck mega hard. I need to do 3 more then im done with this job.

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MadEngineer

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#1507077 6-Mar-2016 19:38

Chemz label strip. Great stuff.

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traderstu

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#1507101 6-Mar-2016 20:56

Ok, then the film almost certainly has a dry adhesive, as opposed to a pressure sensitive adhesive used with automotive films. Don't waste your money on any chemicals, the only effective way of removing this film is with one of these and a good supply of sharp blades.

I usually use a bit of detergent mixed with water sprayed on the window. This helps avoid the adhesive smearing back onto the glass (only experience will demonstrate what I mean). The only thing to watch out for is large panes normally found in sliders or French doors that carry the 'S' mark. This is toughened glass and, depending on the quality, can be very prone to scratching. There is no silver bullet to avoid this - best advice is to use a sharp blade to minimise damage.

Good luck.

By the way (hope this makes you feel better), with a bit of practice you should be able to clean an average pane in about 10 or 15 minutes.

eracode

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#1518768 24-Mar-2016 06:59

@darylblake: How did you get on with this project?

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darylblake

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#1518780 24-Mar-2016 08:26

Went well. A really good scraper and water did the trick. Didn't end up using chemicals. Having a good scraper with a straight blade made all the difference