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Window Tinting

18K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  cmpcpro 
#1 ·
Hey guys.. I have been reading all about the window tinting and how water down the doors ruin the door modules.. I can't believe these cars.. they must be the most expensive junk Mercedes ever made! The tint shop was laughing at me today.. the guy said, we tint cars all day long and water goes down the doors and never have any problems.. he couldn't believe this car can't get wet..

I went to my buddies place who is a high end shop and they have a 20+ year expert who also laughed at me. He said he has done alot of my cars and that you don't have to take the door panels off to install the felt and that the water won't be an issue.. I ofcourse feel otherwise after coming here.. I am wondering.. do just the front doors have this issue? Will the back doors be okay? Is there a method I should ask him to use that doesn't use much water? Does he just need to avoid the front part of the door where the seat controls are or can the whole door not get wet? He is trying to say people with some pump or something is what is bad, but he just uses a spray bottle, but I watched them do a brand new Lexus and there seemed like alot of soapy water going into the door to me..

I can't believe there is an issue with this car and window tint..
 
#2 ·
it's pretty easy to pop off the wood trim & the pull handle cover, then remove a few screws around the seat switch trim, then the whole switch module assembly pops off the door. this is what you have to worry about getting wet, pop it out & protect it from the water & it'll be fine.the rear has a module in there too, just as easy to pop out. you can then leave the rest of the door panel on if you don't want to remove it completely...
 
#3 ·
what i did or i should say the tint guy did was remove the whole door panel and then installed the tint this way he covered the whole inside of the door so no water or solution touched anything and its easy to remove the whole door panel. i think this is the best way of doing it
 
#4 ·
honestly to me, the real "best" way is to just pop the glass out where you can, especially the moving windows. once the panel is off it's usually just 2 more screws to remove the glass itself. I remove the glass & tint it on a bench, then run a blade on an angle around the perimeter for flawless edges. my tint looks like it's part of the glass itself with this method because you don't have that gap around where the glass rides in the rubber, which is impossible to tint with the glass still in the door. this also avoids chances of the edges lifting or pealing... it's tinted all the way to the edge & the edge of the tint is inside the rubber. this also makes it a DIY type job, as all the hard part in tinting is in trying to tint it while still in the car... tinting it on a bench with the glass out is way easier to get perfect results

the only way for tint to be perfect with the glass still installed is if you have the tint cnc cut on a plotter for the correct pattern of the glass... then it's not unreasonable to do a really nice job without removing the glass, but most places don't have a plotter & computer set up for this. otherwise tinting the glass in the car is a compromise at best, takes a lot of patience to just get ok results... the average quicky tint job is usually less than great... of course the stationary windows are not going to be so practical to do this way, so the backglass will still need to be done in the car, but luckily those edges are not going to be anywhere near as visible as the door glass edges...
 
#5 ·
Yes, I'm sure the tint guys laugh. You won't have the problem until after you leave their shop, and they will never admit culpability.

But after I had the windows in my '00 S500 done, indeed, I had problems with a rear door control unit - problems that had not existed before. And yes, water was plainly leaking from under the film after installation.

So let them laugh. But protect your car.
 
#6 ·
Well they did it tonight.. they were very careful with the front doors.. they almost did a dry tint! The back doors on my car don't have the adjustable seats.. does that mean they don't have module's? Also, what do you mean I won't have a problem until after I leave? If they got wet they will short out right away.. and I checked everything before I left.. luckily they are friends of mine and said they would take care of anything that happened.. Actually they are a very high end shop, but I have really really bad luck.. always.. anyway for the first time in 9 years they cut a leather seat.. and yes it was mine.. they put a small razorblade type cut in my pristine back seat.. it didn't go all the way through and it's maybe an inch long.. the seatbelt covers it up but I ofcourse want it fixed.. at first I wanted a brand new seat, mine is perfect, but when I noticed it didn't go all the way through I figured they could glue it.. will find out tomorrow morning, but when I squeeze it together it completely goes away, it was that clean..
 
#7 ·
I figured i could thrown in my .02 here since i had to deal with this. I had my car's windows tinted and indeed the tinter used too much water but like SkyLaw said i did not notice until i got home (i locked the car and the passenger side mirror did not fold in like usual). After some research on here i approached the tint shop and explained the situation, they had me take the car to a mercedes shop nearby where they took off the paneling and found just a little bit of dry soapy water sitting on top of the Door control module. The tinter did what was right and paid for a new door control module to be installed, he did the right thing even though it cost him about $600.
 
#8 ·
Well mine are working fine still.. just trying to figure out how to repair the seat.. they will pay for it but everyone wants $500 to replace that section.. but the seat is in pristine condition besides this..
 
#11 ·
Well here are some pictures with the new wheels, tires, headlights, taillights, and window tint..
 

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#13 ·
Well let me tell you, it makes a world of difference.. They are harder to do.. they have to use a quarter of the water they normally use, and they can't use a heatgun because all the glass is double-paned.. So far I haven't had any problems but I made sure to get the places guarantee to take care of any problems..
 
#17 ·
Not at all, there are alot of w220's with tinted windows here.. the shop I went to swears up and down they have never ever had a problem and they have pictures of probably a dozen of these cars done.. almost every shade combination.. but just to be sure I made them agree to using very little water and the water they did use they squeeged away from the front of the door.. my windows came out great, I am on day 3 or 4 and everything still works..
 
#18 ·
I think the verdict is to be sure you're working with someone who knows that they are doing, and listens to the cautions cmpcpro mentions above.

And, don't use metallic tint - unless you don't mind losing radio reception, especially in the AM band, and reducing your cell phone range somewhat if you're using a Bluetooth phone.
 
#19 ·
When I tinted my windows my tint guy informed me of the risks.
Said he had to eat the cost to fix 2 W220's before he found out from MB
that it will happen every time if you use too much water!!
He has since then tinted more W220's including mine with success but now
requires you sign a waiver of responsibility just in case.
This is a REAL problem, not a myth. And I might add, an expensive problem.

If your going to tint your windows, I would make sure the tint shop know's of
the problem or has hands on experience or is willing to pay if damage happens.
 
#20 ·
most of the water doesn't drip from the actual tint job but from the window cleaning when they spray and squegee it/razor clean. you need to use plenty of liquid and a few passes to ensure window is clean else you get dust specks embedded in the film.

tell them to jam a paper tower at the window rail to absorb that and you are good to go.

if you use higher concentration of lubricant you don't need to drench the glass during install.

so mention these two things and it should not be an issue unless they dont follow instruction (and if they dont, why are you in that shop to begin with?)
 
#22 ·
Well 6 years ago when I made this thread I let a local expert tint my S430 and they used very little water and it turned out great. I guess you just need to make sure you go to a place that's good and you are very clear to them on what is known to happen when you use too much water. My 2006 S55 doesn't have tinted windows and personally I have no plans on tinting this car.
 
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