Annie, my son has owned and operated a Tint Shop for 18 years now. He
does installations on vehicles, homes, and commercial buildings. His
recommendation - and what he uses and has used all these years ----
Johnsons Baby Shampoo. Nothing more. Add 2 tablespoons of shampoo to a
quart of water, put in in a spray bottle, and spray away. Wipe down with
a soft cloth like an old T-shirt.

I asked him about how to remove grit, and he said to put rags or paper
towels at the bottom of the window, and starting at the top, simply
flood the window by spraying with the shampoo solution. It helps wash
the grit free without having to rub the tint. Once done, going over it
with the soft T-shirt finishes the job.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver - w/Tint

Coyne, Annie wrote:

>The windows of the 88 Westy I inherited from my Arizona-resident father have
>deeply tinted windows.  Great for privacy and heat reduction, though backing
>up is a real pain.  I recall seeing a recent thread which discussed film
>tinting - if memory serves, the author has a son in the business, and he
>provided some good pointers.  Try as I might, though, I cannot pull the post
>up in the archives.
>
>In any event, the author mentioned something about cleaning film-tinted
>windows - not to use an ammonia-based product, as I recall.  But - what to
>use?  My van is in great shape, but the windows are NASTY - it sat idle for
>a few years, and they are really grimy.  No matter what I use to try to
>clean them, though, they just get grimier, almost gummy. It seems as if I
>might be breaking down a layer of the film itself - I can't believe all that
>gunk is just dirt.  I've tried three different commercial glass cleaners,
>and even old-fashioned vinegar and newspapers (which worked great on the
>plain glass, but was no help on the tinted side).
>
>Anybody have any suggestions? I'm almost ready to pull the tint off
>entirely, reasoning that it's not so sunny here in Wisconsin - but it seems
>to be in relatively good shape, except for the gunk.
>
>Thanks in advance - Annie
>
>
>