Do it yourself tint

[teacozy]

Man, that sucks. It might be the type of tint this guy is selling you. My local guy has tinted 4 of my last 8 cars and all he uses is water, not a soap solution and heat gun rarely, just on some bends.

I have considered doing myself also, but my local guy is really good and fast and somewhat affordable. He charged me $50 for the front two sides on my reg cab and had it done in 20 min. My STI he charged $180 and took about 1hr and a half.

Finding a good, reliable tint shop is such a crap shoot. It's a real hit or miss. I just lucked out with this guy near me. Before I found him, I went to 4 different tint shops with 4 different cars and they all sucked @ss. You should ask around and see if there are any local guys that are good and fast. Good luck.

[blatant]

this type of sh it is why i just pay to have the tint done.

[blatant]

if anyone in arizona needs to have their rig tinted on the cheap by a dude who's been doing it for 15+ years, as his daily job. pm me, i'll give you his info. He'll come to you.

Tinted my regular cab for 100bucks, my t100 for 140, full size dodge 2500 for 160, so i reckon for you tundras, you'd be around 160. He'll put whatever you want on it and warranty it, should it bubble or get whacked.

[Gatorman76]

Originally Posted by blatant

this type of sh it is why i just pay to have the tint done.

Right on! Definitely not worth my time. If I ever had a thought of trying it this thread has convinced me not to.

[dosequis driver]

I paid a local tint shop to do the front windows on my DC for $100. They had to redo the driver's side after I found blems (grit caught between the adhesive and film) in the tint: a mfg defect, not their fault.

However, rather than paying them $225 to do the windows on my A.R.E. shell I paid close attention to how they worked the material on the front windows and bought tint from Wally-World and did it myself.

I pooched $40 worth of tint "learning" (mostly getting the tint turned around backwards when laying it out), but was able to get the job done for about $125.00 in material with very good results; ok, there are two blems in one window but they're not noticable.

The one thing I learned watching the pros do it was seeing just how wet everything needs to be. I didn't use any special solutions; just soap and water. The Wally-World film was pretty good stuff and my cost was high only beause the windows were too large to yield more than one window per roll of film, including the back window which needed to be a bit more translucent so that I could still see through it given that the back window of the Tundra was also tinted.

Was it worth it? Yes and no. Like a lot of guys, I'm a habitual do-it-yourselfer who likes to learn how to do things. In terms of how my time could have been better used and/or the value of my time, it was a loser as I probably spent a good 3 - 4 hours messing around with the project, including three trips to Wally-World. However, if I ever need to have windows tinted again I'll be in a better position to decide if I'd be better off doing it myself or paying someone else given what I learned this time around.

[Ando140]

Well, my first attempt at tint was going well, except I couldn't get it to slide. It wouldn't slide b/c I didn't put enough soap in the water (the directions said 5 drops to a gallon, which isn't nearly enough... unless their drops are about the size of a teaspoon). I had the window as clean as it could get (went over it w/ a razor) and I had as much soap/water solution on it as I could get... and continued adding as the tint was being applied. The thing that killed it was that it couldn't slide, so it creased. Had my last attempt not torn, I believe I could have gotten the tint on fine and it would look every bit as good as the pros... the problem is, I had no margin for error b/c all I had was one piece for each window that was perfectly cut for the window. If I could get my hands on a roll of 3M color-stable tint for a reasonable price, I'd be willing to try it again... but going the pre-cut route just isn't worth it b/c you can't make a mistake.

[CHINKinatundra]

i paid a local tint shop $135 to do 35% on the 2 front windows, and 5% all around the back (rear pop out windows on AC, complete rear windows). it was the best deal i've found. i would've had my front windshield tinted as well if it were legal.....

[Alan760]

I feel you on the difficulty to do tint. I bought about $500 in tint to do my entire desert house. The very first window I miffed, and got so frustrated that I crumpled the entire sheet of film up. Needless to say the tint got taken back to Lowes.

When I get the money do tint the front windows of my truck I will be taking it to someone who does it for their job.

What % should I get for the 07 tundra fronts?

[Naif2]

Make sure when you do go get it done by a professional you ask if they can hold up the tint into the sunlight. I forgot to do this last time and they gave me a tint with a blueish tinting instead of a charcoal. Needless to say I wasn't too happy but he wouldn't do anything about it. From the outside it looks completely normal but from the inside it looks like I'm underwater.

So just make sure that if you want a charcoal black tint to make the tint shop hold it up to the sunlight and if it looks blue ask if they have the charcoal tint, if they don't go somewhere else, my two cents. Also walk away if they don't give a lifetime warranty, most places will just give you a business card that they sign (if you get illegal tint) or a receipt.

[Ando140]

If the 07 tint is the same as previous models, the back tint from the factory is about 20%... so if you want it to match the back, I'd say 20%... but watch out for those laws... especially in CA, I don't know what they are, but they're probably strict.
Nice '07 btw...

[los211]

Originally Posted by Alan760

I feel you on the difficulty to do tint. I bought about $500 in tint to do my entire desert house. The very first window I miffed, and got so frustrated that I crumpled the entire sheet of film up. Needless to say the tint got taken back to Lowes.

When I get the money do tint the front windows of my truck I will be taking it to someone who does it for their job.

What % should I get for the 07 tundra fronts?

I believe the max for Cali is 20% fronts. I had my wifes Impala tinted to 35% with 5% in the rear. Haven't had an issue with the cops yet. My Malibu has 20% on the fronts and no issues there either. I have noticed form my days with a slammed mazda p/u that the more attention your vehicle attracts it can also attract the attention of law enforcement. My other cars are not modified so they don't look out of place anywhere unlike a slammed truck or a 4x4 that is jacked up on 40 inch tires. I plan to get 35% on the front doors of mu Tundra and an 8 inch strip on the giant windshield and see how it goes. I had the back windows tinted at a shop for $170 with a liftime warranty against "defects" 5% over the factory 20% VERY DARK!! Cant see much at night but it works well in the day time espacially for my kid who is strapped into a car seat and can't get out of the direct sunlight.

[madmanx]

Here is a tip for you. I tinted my bedroom windows so heres what I learned.

To take off the tint from the plastic film use two pieces of tape and tape them on the corner - one on each side. Then just pull them a part. This is the best way to remove it without tearing anything and preventing any creasing.

Also for my solution I had used a teaspoon of johnson johnson baby shampoo and distilled water. Worked great.

[NoKz]

I'd rather have professionals do it than to risk doing it myself. My tint was only $140. Pretty cheap IMO.

[ThirdHorseman]

Props for trying! I always pay to have it done because for a truck, it's like $30 a window and it's done in an hour or two.

[Burger Steak & Eggs]

It seems to be a bit of an art form with a moderately long learning curve. I would tend to pay someone instead of doing it myself, although I respect people who can DIY.

We are not talking life changing money here. FWIW though, it seems to make a difference in cost if you get it done off season, such as right after Christmas when they have relatively little work in their shops.