Hello everyone

After driving at night in my well-tinted Fabia for a while now I've come to the realisation that the two side front windows are illegal, and as well as that visibility is shocking at night, to the point of almost not being able to see a thing... AND, when driving at night I HATE the tunnel vision I feel I'm getting when I can only see out the front screen. I'm going to leave the tinted sunstrip as that looks cool and helps with the sun. I'll also be leaving all the rear tints too.

SO, the question is it is easier for me to try and use a hairdryer to remove the tints OR to take the glass out of the side doors of my other Fabia and put them in instead. I don't know how easy a door glass swap is, but I'd sooner try that than spend hours with a hairdryer, and then have the gunk on the glass to wash off too. K? Ade? - A "door glass swap" process would be ideal.

To remove the tints:

1. Get brick

2. Put through front windows

3. Call Autoglass

4. Pay

It's one fee whether its just the windscreen, a side window or all the windows

the swap should be straight forward. I did it in my old Polo when some thieving scumbag broke into it by smashing the glass.

Plus they are illegal and if you have them your insurance is void. I'm getting my fronts taken off on Saturday :(

Steve

Whats the crack with window tints at the moment then !?

Is there a limit to how dark they can be before the fuzz will pull you over or is ANY tint illegal now !?

Thing is a mate of a mate does window tiniting and does a blinding job too, i can get the Octy done but i dont want to go there and get done for it, i was only thinking of a mild smoke though...

70% light transmission is the new law I believe, for front windows. But I'm not sure. The fact that I feel blinded when I get out my car in bright weather leads me to think they're not reaching that threshold... :(

(Post deleted. Advice given on current regulations will be out of date when vehicle glazing regulations are changed retrospectively).

Any front tint is now illegal.

Steve

Taken from http://www.pentagonglasstech.com/news_legal_update.asp

Where such a vehicle is stopped and the window tints applied are such that the Visible Light Transmission level, when measured using an approved device falls to below prescribed levels, the following enforcement guidelines have been agreed with, and recommended, by the Government.

Above 30% Visible Light Transmission (Less Severe Window Tints)

The owner or driver of such a vehicle would be required to have the tinted film removed from the windows under the direction of either a Rectification Notice or a Delayed Prohibition Notice. A period of grace will apply for a limited number of days (normally ten) during which time the vehicle may be driven whilst the rectification work is to be completed.

In either case, the vehicle will need to be inspected by either a Police Officer or Vehicle Inspectorate Officer to confirm that the glass has been restored to a compliant condition. Prosecution is unlikely in such circumstances provided the vehicle owner complies fully.

To me, the more important bit is that if your car is involved in an accident, your insurance co. can void your insurance as the car is not fit for road use. They will use any excuse not to pay out, thats why I'm getting mine removed :(

Steve

Bit of a set-back on the glass front. I was inspecting the passenger door glass and found a bloody great 12" long scratch right up the middle of it. SOOOO, this means its time to break out the hairdryer, stanley knife, white spirit, and peel the films off each bit of glass myself... :( (which I'm hoping will take no time at all...)

dont forget the feu orange :p

when you pull the tints off itll stink to high heaven :(

Well - if I start seeing pink elephants whilst warming the film up, I'll take a break...

Anyone know of a guarenteed easy way of doing this, or is my hairdryer technique gonna be the only decent method?

:confused:

Jason, maybe you should phone a company like Pentagon? Just tell them you've bought a car with what you believe to be tinted windows. Now that you've learned that it is illegal to drive around with them you would like to remove these and are looking for advice. Who knows, they might offer to do this F.O.C...

Q - Try

Did you actually ask for advice or did you just ask them to quote?

I asked them for advice on removal only. They warned about needing very special solvents before quoting me

Jason be careful with solvents, you could damage the seals at the bottom of the window and even the paint!

Jason be careful with solvents, you could damage the seals at the bottom of the window and even the paint!

I shan't be using anything stronger that petrol or white spirit, like when I had to remove the gunk left over from my de-badging episode. I won't be splashing it about willy nilly.

Just had an email from much more local tinters (highly recommended ones too. ) - Will remove each bit of tint for a tenner a piece, providing I pay the

I shan't be using anything stronger that petrol or white spirit, like when I had to remove the gunk left over from my de-badging episode. I won't be splashing it about willy nilly.

Just had an email from much more local tinters (highly recommended ones too. ) - Will remove each bit of tint for a tenner a piece, providing I pay the

So If I've got my maths right, you'll pay

Yours maths is spot-on howard' date=' and I've asked to look at examples of tinting first before I buy some, and check they're deffo legal. (gonna go really light, just a smoke perhaps)

Apparently there's "reflective security films" on the market which are reflective on the outside but barely provides any tinting from the inside. This would be the ideal solution for me I reckon.

[/quote']Wouldn't the reflective one look a bit odd on the fronts and not the rears? Sorry, not wanting to dissuade you in any way - just curious!

Wouldn't the reflective one look a bit odd on the fronts and not the rears? Sorry, not wanting to dissuade you in any way - just curious!

Not a problem as the existing rear tints are damn reflective anyway (see piccie in sig, you can kind of tell). They're obviously bugger dark as well, but don't matter as they're not a problem when driving. I thought it would look more weird having less reflective glass at the front, and more so at the back... may be thats just me.

(I saw Ffelan's Mum's merc truck thing last weekend and it looked OK with black at the back and clear at the front, just a bit 50/50... know what I mean?)

Jason,

Brick through the window time, and a call to your insurance company should sort the offending tints out.

Alternatively, why not get silver reflective tints?