Maintaining Your Car Window Tints – how cleaning tinted windows is different from cleaning normal car windows
Cleaning newly-tinted windows is a simple process as long as you know what materials and cleaners to avoid. You have to be extra careful on cleaning your tinted windows if you want your tint to last a long time, still looking good as new.
The main difference of cleaning tinted windows from cleaning non-tinted windows is the things you should use, and the things you should avoid. Knowing what products are bad for your tinting will help prevent you from accidentally doing damage to it or reducing its life. As a general rule, never use windows cleaners that contain ammonia, and stay away from wiping the windows with cloth made from rough materials.
With these tips, you’ll clean your tinted windows while still maintaining its quality:
Leave it as is for 48 hours
If you have only just had your car window tinted, you can help maintain it by leaving your windows up for 48 hours (2 days) after the tint installation. This is to make sure that the films are fully adhered on the glass and will not peel off when you roll it down.
The urge to clean it may be strong for it will be cloudy, hazy, and you may see little water pockets forming in the tint, but it’s normal. Let it do its magic and clean it after a few days.
Make sure its dry
Before starting, inspect every part of the windows and make sure the tints are fully dry. Basically, you do not want to risk pulling the tint loose by splashing water all over it. Once your vehicle has been tinted the windows will have been lightly wiped down, it is probably the best time to give it some proper cleaning.
Prepare your tool bag
The main difference of cleaning tinted windows and those that are not is, tinted windows are more delicate, given that the film installed is thin and can be easily removed if you’re not careful. You’ll need to use gentler cleaning products on your tinting to preserve it, and under no circumstances should you use a cleaner with ammonia in it.
Here are some things experts’ advice you use in cleaning your tinted car:
- Soft paper towels
- Microfiber cloth
- Ammonia based products can reduce the darkness of your tint or cause its material to become dry, brittle, or otherwise imperfect.
- Window cleaners WITHOUT ammonia
- Ammonia based products can reduce the darkness of your tint. It can also cause the film to dry or become brittle
- Bucket or water spray (depending on how dirty your car is)
- Water
DIY IT!
Having a hard time looking for ammonia-free window cleaners? Try to look around your kitchen and make your own from scratch!
Here’s what you will need:
- A few drops of liquid baby soap
- Distilled water
- 2 tablespoons of Isopropyl Alcohol (91% is preferred, but you can use the ones with lower percentage)
- Spray bottle
How to do it: Just mix everything!
Take your empty spray bottle and rinse it to clean out any dust or residue from anything previously used in it. Then add the rubbing alcohol to the spray bottle along with the baby soap. Fill up your spray bottle with distilled water, screw on the cap, and swirl the contents to ensure a thorough mix.
Clean it, gently.
- It is ideal that you use two cloths: one for wiping away dirt and one is for drying.
- It’s perfectly alright to use an ammonia based cleaner on the outside of your windows where there is no tinting, but even drips or spatter of ammonia based cleaner can harm your tint.
- Avoid saturating the edges of the tinting with the window cleaner. This can result to losing its stickiness and easy peeling away from the window. Just wipe the windows with a damp cloth and work your way.
- For stains that are tougher to remove, soaking it in the cleaner for a few minutes will help.
- Do wiping strokes that are opposite on what you did on the outside of the window. This will make it easier for you to see where missed spots are located.
- It is advisable that you use distilled water instead of facet water. Hard water leaves behind white coloured scale and calcified spots on surfaces. Simple buy a gallon of distilled water from your local grocery store and put it into your bucket to use for rinsing your cloth.
Have it checked by professionals if you spot bubbles or irregularities after drying
Never try to fix them yourself using home products that can be counterproductive and ruin the tint instead. this can cause lines and other imperfections in your tint. You may find tips online on how to handle them, but bringing them in to those who professionally install it would be the best and safest option.