I'm booked in to get the windows tinted tomorrow morning (maximum legal tint in Nanny State South Australia is a measly 35%), and I am wondering about the door glass. When you open the door the glass drops about 10 mm, then when you close the door it goes back up again. So how is the installer going to get the tint all the way to the bottom (visible part) of the glass when the door is closed? I don't think they can apply the film when the door is closed. Put another way, how can they avoid a thin untinted strip on the bottom of the glass when the door is closed?

 

I always take the glass out of the door when I do it, but installers prolly have an easier method.

 

Congratulations on the new wheels! I had all sorts of dramas with tinting my XKR which led to multiple return trips to the tinter so I got to see a bit of this and had to deal with some things.

With the door windows, they take the skin off the door to work on them and the rubber strip out. But you dont want the window popping up and down when you get into and out of the car for the first few days, because it can peel at the top edge and the bottom edge. So after much drama I left the window down about 2 cm, that way it wouldnt move when the door opens and shuts.

There was drama with the rear side windows as well, though I took them out and left them out for a few days when I had them retinted. In the XKR they are pretty easy to get in and out, and the bonus is that you get much more exhaust noise when they are out.

I'm not sure how they tinted my f type, it came with tint on. It is an awesome job, just perfect. Now I'd pay extra to have it done by whoever the dealer recommends, the ********* that did the XKR cost me about 5 hours in stuffing around afterwards and I was never happy with the job (I'd gone to them thinking that 3M was the way to go, apparently not these days).

 

Thanks Bruce, and especially for the tip about leaving the windows down a couple of centimetres until the film sets properly.

 

The tint went on yesterday morning, and the installer said they had experience of windows which did the same as the F-Type's, and he/they knew what to do. Although the job took an hour longer than they expected, apparently the window movement still caused a slight hiccup!
A day later to allow the tint to dry fully and it's all good, the tint looks brilliant and perfect, very happy with it.

 

I just had mine tinted this week. My tint guy had no issues with the windows. Basically he activated the window to the raised position by simulating the door being closed by manually activating the switch.
Wayne

 

Genius! I've been wondering how to clean the bottom edge of my glass without closing myself in a hot car!

 

Yep, when I had a chat to the installer before he started work on it he explained that this is what he would do.
But they still had some problems with water along the bottom edge of the passenger window taking forever to dry.