got a repair order for my window tint...what would you do?

[judunty84]

i got stopped the other day by a Statie (Maryland). I was doing 10 mph under the speed limit because of traffic about a half mile from my house. The trooper pulled out right behind me from a residential neighborhood, clearly was not running radar, since I was the last car in line. He lit me up and I knew it had to be for my tint since I was driving slow behind traffic and couldn't possibly have done anything else wrong.

He brought a tint chart with him to my car and told me my tint was too dark. he said I could verify it with a light meter at the DMV (which I won't do because I know I am too dark for legal since I have 20%). Anyways, he didn't ticket me for it but instead wrote me a repair order. A Maryland repair order requires the tint to be removed and verified by a police officer within 30 days, if not the tags will be suspended. I guess I will take it off...I know a few cops that may sign it for me, but if that trooper ever nabs me again, I know I would be looking at getting cited for sure.

i called the tint shop where i got my tint and they want $80 to remove the tint. I know this sounds reasonable but since cash is a little tight, I am looking to save a buck any place that I can. My question is should I attempt to remove the tint myself, something I have never done before, or is it really worth the $80 to pay the shop to do for me. I don't mind putting in some time and work to get it off but I am nervous about screwing something up especially the rear defroster. any advice from those who have had to do this?

on another note, does anyone have a pic of a BMP with 35% tint?

Thanks!

 

[plyhard13]

Back when my little brother was in high school, he got a tint ticket on his Mustang. He took a picture of the car and photo shopped the tint out. He took the picture with him to court and they dropped the ticket. I DO NOT recommend going this route as the repercussions of being caught far outweigh the price of the fine.

 

[Tempted2Speed]

Back when my little brother was in high school, he got a tint ticket on his Mustang. He took a picture of the car and photo shopped the tint out. He took the picture with him to court and they dropped the ticket. I DO NOT recommend going this route as the repercussions of being caught far outweigh the price of the fine.

LOL

 

[VDubVirus]

LOL

x2

 

[Jose D.]

ouch just googled it. even shops run the risk of screwing it up. I say take it to a shop, not only do you run the risk of messing up the defrost lines, but also the radio antenna that's built into the glass(it might be in the windshield in our cars, cant remember)

 

[gman32888]

Theres no way tints are illegal in the rear. Check your state laws- You may only have to remove drivers side or both driver and passenger fronts.

 

[gman32888]

Oh yah- and I peeled my front driver side tint off without any issue.

 

[SimonSaysGTI]

I had a customer that had her tint removed (not sure if by a shop or not) but so much glue was left behind it inhibited the windows from going up and down smoothly so I had to pull them get mineral spirits and sit there with paper towels razor blades and just scrub at the windows for a while. May just be worth it to pay the $80 for them to do it if thats typical

 

[themike]

I just had mine installed and he told me "do not use any ammonia based cleaners because it will ruing the tint - the ammonia is actually what I use to remove tint". Just passing that along...

 

[Kingkongbass]

If the tint is fairly new then i shouldn't be hard at all to get off.. just peel and get the adhesive off with a razor blade... good trick is get a steamer for like clothes and steam the shit out of it first then pull an edge back slowly and steam in between the the glass and the part your pulling off. The slower you go the less mess you have to deal with.. and im sure you don't have to take it off the back window because there is no way they can test it....

 

[maxgtiturbo]

backs should be fine.

 

[GTI_nurse]

backs should be fine.

depends on the state...California is unlimited in rears and 70% or higher in front but in oregon 30% is legal all around. Doesn't matter if it is the rear window or not. I consider this funny because legally you don't need rear window at all if you have 2 side mirrors.

 

[DanSan]

Maryland Window Tint Law
Maryland Tint Law Enacted: 1995
HOW DARK CAN WINDOW TINT BE IN MARYLAND?

Darkness of tint is measured by Visible Light Transmission percentage (VLT%). In Maryland, this percentage refers to percentage of visible light allowed in through the combination of film and the window.
Windshield Non-reflective tint is allowed on the top 5 inches of the windshield.
Front Side Windows Must allow more than 35% of light in.
Back Side Windows Must allow more than 35% of light in.
Rear Window Must allow more than 35% of light in.

dude be lucky.. 35% is pretty dark..

NY state law is 70% all around. fml

 

[JoeyDaBomb]

Newish tint is easy, steam and pull of in big chunks or even 1 full sheet. Then clean all the glue off ( autozone sells some spray for this) and you're done.

Now old tint is terrible, comes off in 1" strips and takes forever to do. My fingers all hurt after doing old tint from holding the blade for so long.

 

[Jtrem]

I've removed my window tint before. It can be tricky. I even did it the right way and still lost some of my defroster lines =/ $80 for a Pro to remove it maybe worth it.