Hey guys! Decided to come here to ask if anyone’s done their own tint on their c5?

little background i’m 20 years old in automotive school. I’ve always taken my cars to get tinted in the past but as i’m getting more knowledgeable mechanically, i’m thinking about having tint as something i do in my garage as well.

Just wanna know the difficulty of it all and any advice.

 

If it a hatch with the crazy compound curved glass good luck! I live in Florida where there are tint shops on every corner. Most of them will not TOUCH a C5 rear hatch glass, I was told by many shops it is considered the most difficult piece of glass to tint, of every car made. The ones that will do it charge out the nose and still give the disclaimer about the matrix dots on the top of the glass.

 

Side windows are pretty easy, but the rear hatch is hard with one piece. I’d hire a shop for the rear hatch.

 

C5 is one of the harder cars, no doubt.
A few years ago I bought tint film with the intention of attempting DIY tinting. I'm quite mechanically inclined and was over 30 years old at the time. Well, I couldn't even tint the windows... had watched many videos and was familiar with the technique, but just couldn't do it. And the back window is much harder, plus I got my windshield tinted (Llumair Air80) which also has gotta be quite challenging.

 

I do all my own work with the exception of two categories:

Tires and tint.

 

Take it to a professional and get ceramic tint................you won't regret it

 

I ordered a roll of quality tint and tried to do it myself, but gave up and took it to a shop after about 10 failed tries. I have a vert so I don't have the impossible rear window, but there is also a curve to the side windows that requires a heat gun to fit right. I have a heat gun, but just always wound up with a wrinkle or tear and would have to start over. And even the vert back window was hard because it's hard to maneuver back there.

 

I have an appointment to have mine done in a couple weeks. I have Xpel ceramic on my Jeep Grand Cherokee which is a glass fishbowl, the heat reduction inside is amazing. Going with the same on the Vette, 5% on the hatch glass and 35% on the door glass.

 

Good luck if you attempt to tint the windows yourself. I take mine to the pros.

 

What are you getting quoted to ceramic tint a c5? Most near me were around $400, which seems like a lot for 3 windows.

 

I wish it was only $400. Of the only 2 shops around the Sarasota/Bradenton area that would do it in one piece the lowest quote was $700 just for the back glass.

 

I got lucky and paid $350 including the front windshield for mine. Found a local mobile guy who was really cool.

But he definitely told me when he was done that he felt like he underquoted the back glass. lol

 

I live in Jacksonville and got the ceramic installed on hatch & both widows for $450. Very pleased with the results! Might be worth a drive up.

 

 

9 hour road trip to save $600 bucks.... Hmm, now you have me thinking.. I have been tossing around the idea of driving the Vette to Michigan for Easter, this may be a good detour.

 

I had mine done (2000 vert) professionally at a place in Davison, MI., called Auto Add-Onz. Long gone now from a retail outlet. Maybe still online, don't know. It is a plastic type film, and it stops about 1/16" from the edges of the side windows and rear window. They did a great job, and it still has no flaws, bubbles, or peeling. Been on for.......19 years this summer!!!!!! Still looks great. Cant over emphasize how important the skill level of the installer, or the quality of the tint material itself is.........

 

Davison, ahh that brings back memories! Not real good ones however, I dated a bat **** crazy girl from Davison years ago. Wild thing for sure, but certifiably crazy!

 

I have a 2000 vert. Bought a set of precut films off eBay a few years ago for like $30.

After a series of mis-shipments (seller sent me coupe tints instead of vert tints) I ended up with 4 films for the doors and 2 for the back glass. That meant I had several attempts to get it right.

I tried the driver door first. Watched a few you-tube videos, got a heat gun and a cheap tint installation kit from Amazon. Used baby shampoo and water for lube. It went… ok. I had a wrinkle near the side mirror, because I was dumb and tried to tint with the door panel on. Drove around with one window tinted for a while, due to life getting in the way.

Fast forward a few years… yes years, lol!

Now retired. Decided it was time to finish this project or admit defeat and take it to a pro. Decided to completely gut the Bose system as well, so the door panels were coming off anyway.

On my second attempt at the door glass, I learned that tint can only be shrunk in one direction, horizontally. So for a compound curve, you have to set a horizontal anchor line in the middle of the glass, then shrink the top and bottom to mold to the glass. This is done on the outside of the glass with the protective liner still attached to the film. I burned/warped the second film trying too hard to shrink certain spots. Then I realized, the top and bottom need to be shrunk evenly across the width, not just where the “fingers” pop up. You can get much more contour that way.

The third attempt on the driver door went great. No bubbles, no wrinkles.

The passenger side took two attempts.

i was feeling great since I got both side windows done with a couple of extra tints still in the roll. On to the back glass, but with only 2 films available. I needed to get this right.

Although the vert back glass is small, it does have a compound curve, so shrinking is required. I was a bit nervous about burning the top around the edge of the glass, but got it molded correctly. The install was tricky because I did it with the top mid fold from the back (upside down). The only snag was the cutouts for the defroster weren’t exact, so I had to cut a slit at each end. Once it got squeegeed out, it looks pretty good.

The precut film fit perfectly except for the defrost connectors.

i think it looks very good, and it cost me less than $40 all in. Plus I learned a new skill. And learned a ton of respect for the guys that do tint.

I also learned there is no way, NO WAY, I would try a coupe rear glass. That is sorcery!

Not sure I’d pay $500+ for tint though.

 

Above post needs PICS!!!!

 

Here you go.

Sorry, no pics of the install.

I paid $26.xx for the films. The guy still sells them on eBay, but they are $32.xx now.

With no experience, it would be a miracle to do it good with one attempt.