28 replies to this topic

[0138dave]

Hi had a quote today for £175 to tint my windows on the mini. That's the 3 back that I have to take out n the 2 front

Is this worth it or should I attempt to do this my self???

What do you think??

[Carlos W]

If you have the front ones done make sure they're legal or the police will make you take it off!

You could give it a go yourself, I bet there are loads of guides online and videos on YouTube

[0138dave]

there are guides but don't want to do a crap job of it looks fairly straight forward but £175 is alot I think.

As for the front I only want a light tint as im having a second child so to keep the sun off her as the seat can't go in the back

[0138dave]

I want these done what would you do £35 for a good tint fitting kit with heat gun £15 for film and do it myself or pay the £175

[mike.]

I like tints, every car in our household is tinted.

My mini has the back 3 windows tinted with a 'medium smoke' tint. Darker than that and it'd look like a van.

You can get legal front tints but they aren't really visible, as glass on its own lets through about 70% of light - The legal limit. So legal tints are nothing really, although they can help block out UV rays. I have a 'light smoke' tint on the front windows of my corsa, which whilst its not technically legal when measured, its not dark enough to attract police. If I were you i'd just get the back 3 done, its the front ones that are tricky to tint and so will make up a big part of the cost.

I think I paid about £80 to have my back 3 mini windows done and my mate recently had his audi A3 done and that cost him about £110 for the back 3.

Heres a few pics of mine, from some angles you can barely tell its tinted, others it looks blacked out.



You can see through them and into the car quite easily really, but from other angles like below they look really dark:



From the inside you can still see out perfectly though

[brad-the-bear]

there is a guy near winsford area that did my friends (2005 plate) fiesta for £90 he has a little workshop with all the proper stuff and he did a VERY good job of it. are you in the north west area?

[0138dave]

From Dudley mate do you need the glass out to tint the mini windows

[mike.]

Mine were out anyway when they were done, it makes it easier but its not necessary. They cut the film to near enough size from the outside, then trim off excess once its in place on the inside.

[chrisdeakin]

In most places you need at least 70% light getting through for the front windows , any behind your driving seat can be as anything you want, also bare in mind some windows already have a tint even if only slight so adding tint may make it darker than you think , but if your not doing front windows it's no problem, but still useful to know

[surfblue63]

I've got tints on my Sprite, mainly to help reduce the suns rays.



Doing the side windows yourself is easy with a kit, I did mine in the kitchen when the windows were out. However the rear window is a pain and I gave up after the second attempt turned into a creased up mess. The rear window has a double curvature, so it's not easy to get the film on without creasing it. In the end I had it done by a local tinting company.

[Ethel]

You may well find a full set of "sundym" glass for less than £175, unless you want something darker.

[0138dave]

Did you use a heat gun on the back window??? To heat shrink the film???

[surfblue63]

Did you use a heat gun on the back window??? To heat shrink the film???

The film I used was the type that requires plenty of water sprayed onto the window and a squeegee to push the air bubbles and excess water out. I didn't try using a heat gun on the window as I thought it would be a bit risky heating the glass with one.

[clivemk1mini]

My advice would be buy a good quality film not the rubbish you get from halfords etc. all the windows can be done whilst in the car. The reason people remove the fronts is so you can get to the edge of the glass so no chance of a light gap. As for heating the film then i always do for curved screens as its alot quicker, but you have to heat the film on the outside first with the release liner facing you also the film will only shrink one way which is the left or right side of a roll and not on your cut edge. So you have to pull the film from
The box the length of the window not the width if you get what i mean.

Or you could ask your local tinting company if they would sell you a cut set of tints

[1987minimayfair]

Tints make the car look sexy. I have mine tinted all round the back. Not the front. Keeping the poice happy

Hallam