Tinting your windows can reduce glare and keep the interior cool when the sun’s out. But bubbles in the tint can ruin a window job. Not only do they look unsightly, but they can also interfere with your visibility. Fortunately, there are ways to get rid of them. Follow our three tips to remove bubbles from windows and create a smooth, bubble-free window tint.
Apply Heat
Before you start removing the bubbles from your tint, it needs to be flexible. If it’s not, it might split or break when you pull the bubbles off. Similarly, the adhesive attaching it to the window needs to be flexible too—heat-sensitive adhesives are a good example of this. There are a number of different approaches you can use to heat up your tint in preparation.
On a warm day, you can use the sun to help remove the tint from your windows. Sunlight can be a lot more effective at warming up the tint film on your windows than your heater will be. Sunlight will also warm up the adhesive underneath the film. Make sure it’s at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit and that there is no shade to block the sunlight from heating up your window. Then let it sit there for an hour or two while the temperature rises.
A heat gun is usually the best for removing that film. Just turn on the gun and hold it near the windows. Or, you can use a hairdryer. Just make sure you have a long enough cord to reach your windows Heat up the window you want to work on for a few minutes. Don’t try to do all your window all at once. You’ll probably see that after you work on one window, the others will have cooled down again.
Utilize Soapy Water
The next step in making sure the film is flexible enough to be worked on is to use soapy water. A bottle of water and some liquid soap makes a good workspace for this step. The bottle needs to have a fine spray setting, as you’ll need to mist the surface of the plastic. These are inexpensive and are available at most hardware stores.
Put three-quarters of the bottle into the water, then add liquid detergent. Add the liquid before you put water in to avoid filling the bottle with soap suds that overflow when you add the water. It’s a good idea to prepare your bottle of soapy water for your film before you begin to heat up the chemicals. This way, you’ll be able to avoid losing heat while you search your house for a spray bottle.
As soon as you’ve heated the window to a suitable temperature in order to make the window more flexible, apply soap to the window. Spray it liberally on the surface of the glass. The heat will play off of the water, making both the tint film and the underlying adhesive more flexible. This will make your job much easier.
Pop the Bubbles
Now that the bubble’s film has been heated, it’s pliable. You can start attacking the bubble. To do that, you’ll need a sharp pin. You can use a safety pin for this purpose since it has a larger surface area than a regular pin top. With the added surface area, you’ll be able to get a better aim. And as we will see shortly, in this case, that makes all the difference in the world.
Use the pin to make a hole about an inch from both ends of the bubble. You can worry about poking holes in your carefully applied tints because these types of bubbles seal themselves up again as long as the tint is fairly new and pliable. It’s worth spending plenty of time on the earlier steps to ensure that your tape and bubbles are flexible enough for this method to work.
The technique for removing the window tint is important. Be careful when poking the bubbles, and direct the pin directly into the centre of the bubbles. If you pierce the film at an angle, it will be very easy for it to tear.
Conclusion
We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping you get rid of bubbles in your window tint. While this may seem like a daunting task, it can be quite easy as long as you know what you’re doing. Be sure to keep everything you’ve learned here in mind so that you can make the most informed decisions that will keep your window tint in good condition.
Find a window film supplier near you, and protect your family and your property. Premier Film Distribution is one of Australia’s licensed 3M Window Film Distributors for quality products. Order online to receive exclusive wholesale rates from the best brands!
