Pictures On The Rav

[Andyf3854]

This is my wife's XT3 on a 54 plate that we have had for two months. It had a few niggles when we got it but they are slowly being sorted and I am really starting to love the car (we had it for the snow and it was a lovely feeling driving past people wheel spinning up hills!)

As we have a 9 month old baby I decided I needed the windows tinted to keep the sun off him but I didn't want/couldn't afford to pay the £250 we were quoted so I got a roll from eBay for £11 and had a go myself. I am pleased with the results, although they are not perfect they look fine from a distance and reasonable up close (although I need to do one again as it has a cuple of creases in it!)

Anyway, here are the pictures;

and in this one you can see my car, an MG ZS 120+ which has just cost me nearly £1000 after the head gasket went after 42K miles!

[thatman]

Looks a good job Andyf3854,

just how hard is it to apply the tint to the back windows

and what tools do you need,

and what shade tint did you use?

would like to do my Rav.

cheers

thatman.

[jedi134]

yup! i`m interested inthe tinting too, hwat equipment is needed? and do you have to cut the tint stuff yourself?

[Andyf3854]

I went for the 15% tint (which means it lets in 15% of the light) as it looks nice and dark from the outside but still gives great visibility from the inside (even at night).

I had to do the rear screen in 3 pieces and try to line the joins up along the heater lines of the screen. This is easier said than done and I ended up with a couple of creases and bubbles. I had to cut the film to the size of the windows first which is hard. The main thing is to make sure the glass is spotless as any dirt will become a bubble. Although mine look fine in the pictures they do have some small bubbles where dirt got trapped (despite cleaning) and I need to redo a side window as it creased. The rear screen was a real pain to do, if you have a heat gun then you can shrink it in the right place so it follows the curve of the glass and then you can do it in one go.

I am pleased with the results as it cost a fraction of the price to have it done properly and unless you look closely then it looks fine (except the rear screen!)

I did a 'how to' for an MG ZS forum which I shall post up in another thread.

edit - THIS thread

[igormus]

Andy

it is abnormal to have such shining :)

excellent one -- well now you'd disclose your polishiinig secret with us.

Cheers/Igor

[Andyf3854]

Andy

it is abnormal to have such shining :)

excellent one -- well now you'd disclose your polishiinig secret with us.

Cheers/Igor

I just did a normal wash with some cheap car shampoo then polished it with Autoglym super resin polish (I think it's called!) I have a clay bar which I have used on my car in the past which leaves the paint super smooth so it polishes up nicely (see below) but didn't use it in this case!

[shcm]

Super job on both Andy.

Also, top work on the "How to tint" post. Didn't reply to it directly, 'cause in my humble opinion, I think Mr Moderator needs to pin it in our Hints and Tip section, but he is probably too busy cleaning up after elephants at the moment

[Andyf3854]

Super job on both Andy.

Also, top work on the "How to tint" post. Didn't reply to it directly, 'cause in my humble opinion, I think Mr Moderator needs to pin it in our Hints and Tip section, but he is probably too busy cleaning up after elephants at the moment

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[thatman]

Thanks for sharing that valuable information with us all Andyf3854.

i will defiantly be having a go when i get some spare time.

cheers

thatman.

[dave.m]

Very nice

And rekindling memories of my last Rav, which I still miss and looked identical to yours

And here's a nostalgic photo

[rambler]

hi ya

many years ago i had a 'g' reg ford orion,had blacked out windows in that,to stop 'others' from seeing my two 15" bass sub woofers mounted just behind the rear seats,(the seats were always folded down for max bass )

i can still remember that entire car shaking with the bass

and its was a real pain the apply the black out film,took hours,but i had to use soapy water on clean glass,apply the film cut to size and then squeegee the film on.

especially as orion rear windows were very curved.

and by the way.....nice job

[Andyf3854]

Dave your Rav looked lovely, I wish mine had the running boards. There is a blue D4-D at work with boards and a spoiler that looks really nice (especially with the bonnet scoop).

Rambler, I love the Ford Orion, a couple of people at my old school (or should that be old skool?!) had one, one was green with dark green 'tiger' stripes and the other was white. Both had the RS body kit on them and looked stunning. I think that is why I like the 4 door saloon shape and got my ZS (which has a 12 inch sub in as I like bassy music - but not to the point of the car shaking!).