[sourav9385]

Finished removing the super-dark tints from my 8 year old Optra today, but only from the windows. The film on the front and rear windshield is still there. I am scared of removing it, in case I end up scratching the front windshield glass or damaging the rear defogger.

Removing the films is an easy job.Dunno why people charge so much money to remove them. Just on a hunch, had called 3M santhome a couple of days ago to check if they could help with removal. They happily replied that it would cost Rs. 400 +taxes!!!

Anyways, the tints on my Optra were from 3M, so they came off easily. Used a paper cutter at a very acute angle to lift the films from the edges. Then pulled away slowly, till all the film came off. Some glue was still there on the glass, which I was easily able to scrub off using Colin, Mr. Muscle, and a combination of newspapers and microfiber. No scratches that I can see till now.

The sun film drive in Chennai is still running. I was nearly caught a week ago, but I managed to drive away as the lights changed. Decided to throw in the towel, after a discussion with the wife. No point in keeping the films on and running around trying to avoid the cops all the time. Granted, many cars in Chennai are still plying on the roads with tinted windows. Many of them with very dark tints. But rather than face the harrowing experience of trying to explain to the cops why sun films are needed, it's better to get them off for now. Anyways, the weather in Chennai will be decent for a couple of months now. Once the heat picks up again, probably will get some nice reflective/transparent stuff with high UV rejection.

Many thanks to this thread and all the contributors . Initially I was quite hesitant in trying to remove the films myself. But after going through this thread, I clearly knew what I had to do. Good job fellas

[mayankk]

Enforcement is back on.
3 places I saw it near Mayur vihar today.
No questions entertained, no approach calls, no bribe.
Stop, strip, go.
And I think that is the way it should have been from the first day. If you still have it on, your fault.

[raycers_honda]

Finally removed the tints from my vehicle. Not completely though. Basically when I first got the car I had put extremely light tints but was not happy with the look as it was too clear and driving in our climatic conditions in Mumbai with those tints were very uncomfortable.
Anyways I decided to put slightly darker tints the next day without removing the earlier ones.
Finally after all this drama of no tints by the cops and blah blah blah and much harassment by them I decided to remove the tints.
But first I read the forums and searched the net on the DIY way. I had completely forgotten about the earlier tints but then it suddenly popped up in my mind.
So I tried to remove only the top film which was the dark one and I was surprised it came off in one straight pull. Not an trace of any gum residue. It just came of in one pull. So I did all the other windows the same way.
And then I put these roll up blinds which do the sun blocking job decently. Got them for 400 bucks a pair.

[S2!!!]

I finally stripped my car of the light, "previously" RTO approved sunfilms this evening. After going through this thread, the film removal job seemed pretty easy and thought let me give it a shot as I was free.

Tools used: razor blade, a utensils' scrubber, cloth, detergent powder and water

Time taken: approx 10 mins per window

Method: 1st using a razor blade peel off the film from the corners slightly. Then pull it off as slowly and steadily as possible to avoid leaving any glue residue behind. You really need to be patient while peeling it off to avoid additional work. Once peeled completely, no matter how careful you were, there will be some small patches of stains. So your next step is to dip the scrubber in soapy water and scrub off the glue. Finally, wipe it off with a dry cloth and roll down the window. If there is still any glue on the glass it will make a squeaky sound, if not then the job is done.

Result: stainless, transparent glass with no glue residue - a successful DIY job

I thank each and every member on team-bhp who contributed to this thread.

[PM - B]

I have CR 70 on all the glass areas. I have been stopped 4 times (Bangalore) till now and and let go (Touch Wood) saying that the sun film is light enough. WOW.
I was specially flagged down on 24th Monday for having outstanding fine but no mention about the sunfilm even though 3 other cars were stopped for sun film and had to pay a fine.
Very apprehensive of going outside the state currently.

[raycers_honda]

Are these legal ? These were the blinds I had mentioned earlier. They do block the sun very well.

[latentpotential]

As you may see in the attached pic, this turned out to be close to a nightmare DIY for my Swift.

Covered essentials with the latest newspapers.

1. Soaked Papers, left them for 30 mins.
2. Kept spraying water on the papers in between.
3. Used a very sharp knife to pry the corners off.
4. Rear windows - both - came off in a single piece, but left the gummy residue over the entire window
5. Front windows - both - came off in miniscule pieces, hand to individually pick and pull each piece off.

So far spent 45 mins.

6. Had 1 bottle Colin, & 1 bottle Mr Muscle.
7. Left rear window <-> Colin, right rear window - Mr Muscle, started with Pink Scotchguard (specially for Glass), within seconds was gummed up with no chance of recovery.
8. Moved to regular green Scotchguard, gummed up again completely.
9. Tried a clean cloth, it spread more gum than it removed.
10. Tried bare hands, the experience was Gross, but no gum removed.
11. Last resort before calling the professionals - industrial cleaner - sprayed over the glass, loosened the gum up, rubbed cloth over it and it ended up like you can see in the pics.
12. Paper - dry - over the gum snot, and it cleared up.
13. Finally after removing all gum snot, moved to Colin again, and the windows are now spick and span.
14. Pending: Rear Qtr Glass, and Rear Window with Defogger - This will be done by a Professional @ 300 INR.

Time spent so far: Reading thread 1 Hr, DIY: 3 Hr
Calories spent: Enough to treat myself for a good dose Italian at Fratelli Fresh.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Enforcement is back on...Stop, strip, go.
And I think that is the way it should have been from the first day. ..

Knee-jerk reaction from the Delhi police following the bus-gang-rape-incident ???

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

1. Soaked Papers, left them for 30 mins.
2. Kept spraying water on the papers in between.
3. Used a very sharp knife to pry the corners off.
4. Rear windows - both - came off in a single piece, but left the gummy residue over the entire window
5. Front windows - both - came off in miniscule pieces, hand to individually pick and pull each piece off.

IMHO, a quicker way would have been to simply heat up the window glass under direct sun for a few hours or use a hair dryer lightly. The gum loosens up due to the heat and becomes easy to remove (mostly peels off along with the film). Soaked paper will not have any effect on the gum as vinyl itself is water resistant. Instead, warm/hot water would have helped better. You could try this on the quarter glass and see. No need to spend 300 bucks just for the rear windshield, in my opinion.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Knee-jerk reaction from the Delhi police following the bus-gang-rape-incident ???

At least there is some reaction to the incident. They should have done it immediately on supreme court's order. They have started taking action on Govt vehicle with tinted glass carrying officials. I wonder why they were waiting for such incident to happen to act.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Are these legal ? These were the blinds I had mentioned earlier. They do block the sun very well.

Attachment 1031748



Attachment 1031749

I think this should be ok for the rear windows and if you are driving outside the city limits. Not sure within Mumbai whether you will get stopped as the rule is only for films.

From where did you buy this and for how much. Could you tell me whats the width of this. My friend wanted this for his M800 and Beat.

[raycers_honda]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

I think this should be ok for the rear windows and if you are driving outside the city limits. Not sure within Mumbai whether you will get stopped as the rule is only for films.

From where did you buy this and for how much. Could you tell me whats the width of this. My friend wanted this for his M800 and Beat.

The width is about a 18 inches. Got a pair for 400 odd bucks from the reliance mall opposite Milan subway. They have this whole section of only car related stuff.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

The width is about a 18 inches. Got a pair for 400 odd bucks from the reliance mall opposite Milan subway. They have this whole section of only car related stuff.

This time its a blanket order to remove these as well, in Delhi. (Not judgment)
Unless its a German car with factory blinds, which of course are lucrative in other manners.

[jaygeetee]

Any updates on the "de-filming" by police in Pune?
Mine are not too dark and were "approved" by rto earlier but I would like to remove it myself rather than let the police have a go at it if there is any risk of that happening.

[Pancham]

I got my films removed a couple of days back. Yes, I got them removed and did not do it myself. However, they did not remove the rear glass film fearing they might damage the defogger. Very thoughtful of them. I took the car to Hyundai A.S.S even they said they cannot remove the film citing the same reason. I was shocked. Even H.A.S.S is incapable of removing the sunfilm without damaging the defogger.

Car: i20
Cost: Rs. 200/-