I went with a friend who does vinyl graphics for cars, and he knows a guy who has been doing tinting for years. I spent $250 for the car. He used really good tinting film. I went with 35% all the way around. However when I look out the back window now, it seems like the view is rippled...I looked closely at the film on the back window and it's kinda dimpled.

Has anyone else had optical clarity problems on the back window? I was thinking that maybe it was a batch of defective material, or maybe its the "rake" or incline of the rear window that is causing the rippled effect??

Has anyone gotten their 2009 Accord Coupe tinted and had a problem with optical clarity in the rear window? What brand of material did they use? 3M etc?

you might have to let the tint cure for a few days.....but give the tinter a heads up about it.

There should be no problem whatsoever with how the film attaches to the glass. Tint film is not very thick whatsoever and has no problem adhering to something just because of how angled it is. If it is dimpled, it could potentially be water underneath that was not properly squeegied out.

If it was just recently done (i.e. today), let it bake out in the sun for about a week, and any small bubbles that have water underneath should evaporate away. Don't try to push it out yourself, you could cause a fold in the film if you do it wrong.

if you see little individual circles in the film that's just water. You'll need to wait 24-48 hours for the film to dry and properly adhere to the window. Just give the tinter a heads-up and if you're still unsatisfied with the job (and for $250 you should be VERY satisfied) ask him to redo the problem windows

give it a week in the sun...I'll bet it's fine...

you might have to let the tint cure for a few days.....but give the tinter a heads up about it.

Its been on over two weeks. The tinter saw it and will attempt to fix it..sigh....hope it was a bad batch of material.

If it's the rear window that's giving you problems, it will be a pain in the butt to replace if it gets cured and stays on for a while with bubbles. Taking off rear tint is the most problematic place because of the defroster lines. Tearing too hard can damage the lines and cause them not to work anymore. So if it holds bubbles past 3 days, take it to the tinter asap, so it doesn't get completely dried down with the glue.

Edit: Just saw your post. The tinter should be able to lightly slice the tint along a defroster line and push the air out. It's not usually a big problem, but can be fixable.

If it's the rear window that's giving you problems, it will be a pain in the butt to replace if it gets cured and stays on for a while with bubbles. Taking off rear tint is the most problematic place because of the defroster lines. Tearing too hard can damage the lines and cause them not to work anymore. So if it holds bubbles past 3 days, take it to the tinter asap, so it doesn't get completely dried down with the glue.

He said that he can take it off the rear window, and use steel wool to take the stubborn glue off.Will that ruin the defroster lines? I am really worried....

He said that he can take it off the rear window, and use steel wool to take the stubborn glue off.Will that ruin the defroster lines? I am really worried....

Are you sure this guy know what's he's going? There's a simple solution to remove the rear tint. It involves a hot sunny day and a black plastic/cloth covering the inside of the glass. Steel wool on glass... come on now.

Are you sure this guy know what's he's going? There's a simple solution to remove the rear tint. It involves a hot sunny day and a black plastic/cloth covering the inside of the glass.

He claims to have been doing this for over 10 years.. When he mentioned steel wool....and scrubbing over the defroster lines....dunno.....I have the appointment tomorrow at 9am....

Steel wool if used harshly, yes, will hurt the defroster lines.

I have always used 409 with a large cut trash bag sealed up on it for hours on end in order to get old tint soft enough to peel off. Steel wool is never used with us, and we use a 1" blade to scrape off glue inbetween the defroster lines.

Are you sure this guy know what's he's going? There's a simple solution to remove the rear tint. It involves a hot sunny day and a black plastic/cloth covering the inside of the glass. Steel wool on glass... come on now.

And ammonia based solution which helps loosen the adhesive.

brother used a steamer and steamed it for a couple of minutes and it peeled right off in a whole sheet

I got Llumar Formula One Pinnacle 15% on my rear windshield (yes, same '09 model as you). The first thing I noticed at night was some "blurriness" with headlights. The lights streak vertically into a thin line. I asked the installer at the tint shop and he said this was due to the way light reflects off the tint when it goes around the rear defroster lines and there is no way to get rid of it (besides removing the tint). Have not had the same problem on the other windows.

Though it is annoying, I've gotten used to it. During daytime, it's no big deal, but you really have to be looking for it to notice any minor distortions.

I let the tint set a few days before cleaning the windows. Cleaning off some of the excess residue left by the tinting solution helped a little too.

The first thing I noticed at night was some "blurriness" with headlights. The lights streak vertically into a thin line.



Exactly!!!! This is what I have a problem with! Oh man, this sucks... :-(

wow you spent $250 on tints? how would u like to buy the brooklyn bridge? i'l give u an awesome deal. $250 bucks.

wow you spent $250 on tints? how would u like to buy the brooklyn bridge? i'l give u an awesome deal. $250 bucks.

Dont be an ass...please.. You dont know the total situation..

Dont be an ass...please.. You dont know the total situation..

i tease.

the tints will dry out and look good. give it a couple of days, and try to park it in the sun a lot.

chances are, for that kinda money you probably got some really good materials.

if all else fails, i would go punch the guy in the mouth.

Update on my tint problem.. Well what I had was a batch of bad tint. It was giving me an "orange peel" effect, or a wavy pattern. When headlights at night would hit it, they would be vertical streaks. When viewing objects in my rear view mirror, something like the guardrail of an over pass which would normally be straight, was a wavy line.

The tint was Llumar 35% tint. The gentlemen who did my tint has been tinting for 20 years. He claims it's the best material out there and will not turn purple or blister. Also when he said he would use steel wool on my rear window, he was kidding.

His company website is: www.tinttou.com (http://www.tinttou.com)
Tint to U mobile tinting :thmsup:. If your in the Chicago area and want/need a tinting job. I highly recommend him.

After I noticed the "orange peel" wavy pattern, he also did some research and re tinted my rear window. He stands behind his product and is passionate about tinting. He retinted my rear window, and its in the drying phase now...it looks 110% better!

I'm glas your happy with your tint now, you never did post a picture of the ripple or the finish job so I have a cartoon image of what happened to you in this situation, glad its sort.

I couldn't tell exactly what kind of problem was occurring as well. Llumar typically doesn't have a bad batch of film, unless it's been sitting in a distributor's warehouse for an extended period of time, in which the film can dry up excessively.

Glad it came out great. Llumar is a great product, and we use the same. I'm glad he didn't use steel wool to remove. Most professional tinter's know of better methods, others just don't care about the damage they do to other's cars.

just outta curiosity, how did you calculate that the tints are 110% better? what makes u think that they might not be 111% or even 112% better? kidding. all kidding aside, glad it got fixed man. enjoy ur tints, tints are totally necessary.

Does anyone in here have a problem with their rear window after a tint job? Mine seem to glare at night once light hits it? Is that normal or a bad tint job?

After I noticed the "orange peel" wavy pattern, he also did some research and re tinted my rear window. He stands behind his product and is passionate about tinting. He retinted my rear window, and its in the drying phase now...it looks 110% better!


Good deal! Just curious if you still have that pesky headlight streak?

Good deal! Just curious if you still have that pesky headlight streak?

Not as much as before, but there is a little streak that occurs when headlights shine on the defroster lines.....but otherwise, the "orange peel" wavy patter is gone!

I just got my windows tinted last night, 35% Suntek Carbon all around. Same thing, got in the car and was driving home, it was dark out, look out the rear view mirror and the cars lights behind me looked like 5-6 horizontal light lines one on top of the other instead of just one. I talked to my friend who got his tints done elsewhere and he said that they cut each individual piece and placed them inbetween the defroster lines so that wouldnt happen. Should i be concerned, do you think that it will get better?