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tint, tails, and airbags

idrivejunk

idrivejunk

Active member
Hey GPf-ers I have some odd :th_lightbulb: ideas to ask about.

TINT-
Considering tinting my own 99 GTP coupe. Wanting somebody to direct me to high-quality tint. I want it to look black and do 20% rear, 35% sides. But I have two wrecked coupes that are already tinted nicely. Also work in a body shop where we get a decent rate from a glass installer. Should I just start swapping glass over or should I get some new tint and go for it? I've done some decals but never tint and that defrosted back window looks like it may present a challenge for a noob. What can I expect to pay a professional for a guaranteed job on all of it?

TAILS-
Are any of you aware of any mods for stock 97-03 GP tail lamps? Besides tinting. I have some poor boy notions after taking one apart. Theres a normal rectangular tail light behind the crappy stock lens. I DO NOT want LEDs or LED bulbs, just so ya know.

AIRBAGS-
Where can I begin the answer seeking process to find out the legality of modifying the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint system?

I'm not a federal agent and thats not a trick question. DRLs are a safety feature that is legal to defeat. Passenger airbags in many vehicles are switchable. I run with no passenger seat and am considering further modifying the passenger area of the interior including removing much of that side of the dash. No airbags at all would be fine with me and I speak from the standpoint of an experienced collision repair tech and as a driver who has been in at least nine significant collisions. My faith lies in the seat belts.

Maybe I should start with my insurance man for that question. After all, I have to have that. But I thought it might have come up here, on some wild build with a TV in the dash or something. Couldn't find anything searching.
 


as far as tail lights go, I'm not sure what you mean by "mod" or if you would consider it tinting, but I came across this VINYL KIT a while ago. I would have gone for it if my stock tails weren't super foggy and cracked to hell, I think it looks quite good
 
The tail light question (and thanks, had not seen those!) is to find out if anyone has done ANYthing or if any other products are offered that I don't know about, for stock tail lights.

The alternatives for cracked and faded lenses are all too expensive and stockers that work fine but leak and look bad are so plentiful they are free. Attaching fabricated lenses is my root motivation, I think I can whip something up but am kinda short on ideas of how to make it look. Just thinking of saving myself some money while siezing the opportunity to make something cooler as well. Inside an hour, you can remove the nasty outer lens and black mask and have a bed where you could bond a new lens on. Deciding on shape would be the fun creative part.
 
Heres what I mean. Called it rectangular in the original post, meant triangular oops. That lens snaps out of the housing. The outer reflector strip also snaps out. Maybe I need to see if GM offers replacement lenses only.

IMG_04691_zpse030373c.jpg


I am a little disappointed that after over a hundred views nobody can tell me what a tint job on a GP coupe should cost, or what tint is a quality product.
 
I bought my car with tinted windows o I couldn't tell ya. If you could fab up a clear lense for that tail light they really don't look half bad.

Sent from the Milky Way
 
Yeah last car I had done was Grape. Different and long ago. Both my others were tinted when I got them too. Help me think up how to make a cool lens. What would look good? Molding something from acrylic plastic is my rough idea. Along with real paint and clearcoat. Easy enough to pop fiberglass molds off the old lamps before the destruction begins.
 


I was thinking that or if it was possible to clean up the old lenses and remove thst silly looking black bars from it. If you can mold it without costing yourself an arm and a let it might be worth a try. i see just maybe having to black out some parts of the lense to cover some unpretty looking parts or attempt to pretty them up like what looks to be a tab at the top center.

Sent from the Milky Way
 
Yeah if I can just duplicate the stock lens I could paint the black mask on the backside (or get creative with it) to look like the factory black plastic part which covers all the edges. Hobby store resin is what I'm thinking of at the moment (like something you might make a pond from for an electric train diorama) to make a lens. I could sand it all to look like I want, paint the mask, install new lens, and clearcoat lens, seam, and all with three coats of refinish clear. Then buff that and it should look like new and last a hell of a lot longer.
 
Tint depends on the installer and brands used. I've seen/heard anywhere from $140 up to $300 (extremely high quality ceramic tint) for it done on a coupe.
 
Thanks! I'll have to surf up ceramic tint. Not that I need the best, just don't want junk. Was hoping 3 bills wasn't the going rate for normal stuff now so it sounds like things haven't changed much. $200-240 is about all I'd want to pay. I have a couple good dudes to use but wanted a current price reference of some sort before I make the calls.
 
Tint prices depend more on area where you live. I can go get mine done for $150, but 100 miles east you could be looking at $300.
 


No kidding? Thats wild, I wonder why. My thinking is that for $250 or more I'll just do some window swapping. I bet the glass guy would swap out rear and quarter windows for like $150-180 then I could do the doors myself. Sometimes too many options just confuse me. Crap thats an old man statement if I ever heard one.
 
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Did a little research on ceramic. I think I'm ready to call a tint guy (not just now, saving for it) and ask about 25% ceramic on the rear window and good dyed 35 for the sides. Coolio.
 
i did my own tint. i went to a shop to get the back window done and was quoted 150 for just the back glass. i was like see ya. i then found this co on ebay who sells pre cut tint. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Grand-Prix-4dr-97-03-PreCut-Tint-Kit-Any-Shade-/130565428853 i got my 20% back window and my 5% brow from them. i watched a load of vids and had at it. back window is a two man job, i wish i had some help to hold it up while squeegeeing the liquid out. you will need a heat gun to shrink the tint to fit.

im gonna order up the 4 doors from these guys and redo the door windows, but this time im taking the glass out and then tinting them. framed windows are a pita to get tight in the slides. every vid you will find on youtube is of a no frame window, and those are cake lol.

oh, pre cut dont mean its already cut out for you. but rather its perforated in a outline of the window. you cut the dots and trim to fit.

oh, most important, split the tint from the backing film just a little bit in a corner, so you know what side is the tint to window side. this is where your brain can play with you, cause you trim it to fit the outside of the glass first, then pull the film off and wet it then apply it on the inside.

my window i just bought a roll of tint and had to make my own cuts all around, the first one i started on was the drivers back door, well that tint i cut out wound up on the pass side lol see how that works? lol

watch vids, its what i did. for my first time ever it came out ok, not perfect, but looks good, no bubbles or nothing, thats what the heat guns for.

oh and the back window and brow are a few years old now, still black, not turning purple at all. as they claim it wont. they are a shop in FL that used the same tint on customer cars. yes i went as far as to google them, ( google maps street view, yes its a real shop) then called them up. for the price they sell tint for i thought it could very well be pure crap. but it turns out its just a damn good deal.

take your time, clean the glass very well razor blades and -000 steel wool for the back window defroster lines. clean it like you would sand wood, with the grain. the black edges of the windows, scrub the crap out of them with steel wool or the tint will not stick well.
 
Yeah the sides wouldn't be too bad, but if I do that defroster rear its gonna look not perfect. Appearance "points" go away fast if it ain't perfect. Those are good tips and I scoped the link, I appreciate it. Cool how they even mix n match. I prefer to buy local but don't know where. Figured I'd ask about availability and where to buy when I call the tinter. They usually look at their shelf and go "Well, I've got some of thiiiis..." right? But for a couple hun why not let an experienced guy worry about the bubble wrap look? I think they sort of under price tint labor so why not let em?
 


Honestly ... have done it a few times already but never to my own satisfaction ... shhh ....

The shiny black coupe just looks so good that I want a primo job done. Did you put clearcoat or fingernail polish or anything at the edges of the film after install or is that a bunk tip?
 
nothing like that at all, just tint and soapy water. it was pulling up and not sticking like the rest of the clear glass, thats when i found out i needed to scrub it real good.

the windshield has these little bumps in the black factory crap, that also needs to be scrubbed really good with steel wool or the brow will fall off.

back window, day it was done. that circle is the power lines over head reflecting in the window. i think it took a hour of shrinking to get it to lay right on the outside.

tintbwindow.jpg


the brow, same day. i took the button off the windshield for the rear view mirror and then glued it under the tint.

brow-2.jpg


that pesky back door that was first, but ended up being second lol

Aug21_00021.jpg


first ever tinted window lol i scratched the hell out of it last year too.

Aug21_00032.jpg


and these pics are all pre buffer, man does it look like a pos big time lol and those wheels and the pin strip, yuck!

its amazing what some TLC and some time can do.

same tint, over 3 years old in these pics.

blackbox2_zps3293c35e.jpg


and a winter shot while im whoring it up so good lol

newwheels8_zps13ae634b.jpeg
 
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