How To Tint An Eyebrow

Give your ride some personality with an eyebrow!

Adding some tinting to the windshield of your vehicle can really add some style. It also greatly reduces glare and the need to constantly adjust your visors.  This process is relatively easy and very affordable. For this mod, I purchased a roll of five percent tint from my local auto parts store for $9.99. Be sure save all of your extra tint and cutoffs for our next project!

***As always be sure to check your state regulations before applying any tinting to the vehicle***

1.Preparing the surface-  This is a critical part of the tinting process. Using glass cleaner, thoroughly clean and dry both sides of the windshield in an area larger that where the tint will be applied. Then spray the interior side of the windshield again with glass cleaner. Holding a flat edge razor tilted back to you about 45 degrees (see picture), gently scrape the windshield, keeping it wet around the blade at all times, to remove anything that was too stuck on for the glass cleaner. If your windshield has some raised black painted areas, just scrape around them and don't worry about them..  Once you have fully scraped the inside of the glass, clean it once more to remove anything that is left from the scraping. Just to recap- wash inside and out, scrape inside, wash inside.  Now the glass is ready for the film.
 

2. Get the rough size: Cutting the film. Using a tape measure, start by taking a rough measurement to cut our tint down to a length longer than the windshield. Also determine the width you would like your eyebrow to be. I went nine inches on mine, which is pretty big, so I wouldn't recommend going much larger. Find a nice flat surface to roll the tint on. Measure it out and cut the measured length and desired width. You should now have a long strip of tint.

3. Cut tinting to shape:  Before we do anything with the tinting we need to determine which side of the tint is to be applied to the glass. To do this take two small pieces of transparent tape and stick them both on one of the corners of the tinting facing each other and sticking them together. When you peel the two pieces of tape apart you should see the tint start to separate from a clear plastic. The side attached to the clear plastic is the side to be applied to the glass (I usually mark it with a piece of masking tape). Now, standing outside the truck with the plastic sheet side facing you, tape your strip of tinting over the windshield. When you do this you will want the factory cut edge facing downward (this way you have a perfectly smooth line along the bottom), the bottom of the tint straight across the windshield (where it will sit when installed to look straight), and the top and sides to be out past the windshield. Once you have the tinting lined up be sure to secure it in multiple places with small pieces of masking tape. Using a sharp razor blade, Cut the tinting along the inside edge of the weatherstripping across the top and down the sides.Check to see if you will have to cut a notch around your rear view mirror mount. If you do, mark the tint where you need to cut and take a little off at a time until you have the proper cut. You should now have a strip of tint that is the correct shape.

4. Apply the tinting: If you have an extra set of hands around they would be nice for this step. Spay the inside of the window to be tinted with your soap & water mixture.  Using the "tape trick" begin to separate the film from the clear plastic sheeting. As you separate the two, soak the emerging side of the tinting with your soapy water mixture. Be careful not to fold or crease the film. Once all the plastic is removed place the tinting on the soapy glass (using caution not to fold going over mirror) and spray the other side of the film. Now, begin by lining up your smooth factory cut bottom edge straight across glass. Use your plastic card to smooth this whole bottom edge. Remember to keep the tinted soaked where you are smoothing and to be gentle so you don't scratch or rip the film. Check to make sure it is straight, if it isn't you can slide the tinting around to where it needs to be. Once you have your bottom edge straight with the bottom couple inches smoothed, begin smoothing the rest of the tinting. Try to push most bubbles up or out the sides. You may also have to do some minor trimming with a razor blade around the upper corners and/or mirror mount. For bubbles giving you trouble leaking back behind the tint, push it out and hit it lightly with a hairdryer do dry the liquid you are pushing out. Another alternative is to pop a problem bubble with a pin. I prefer the first method. Once you finish smoothing....Congratulations, You have an eyebrow! I would recommend not washing the windshield where the tint is for at least a week.

Finished Product:

Final Thoughts: This was my third time ever doing an eyebrow. I do have to say that I love the looks of these from the inside an out. One really great benefit is not to always be fidgeting with my visor while I am driving around. Also you won't have to duck down to see traffic lights like you would if you had a vinyl decal (which I had on a past vehicle). Great project for anyone looking to get some bang for their buck.

As always, thanks for checking out my project and feel free to ask any questions or just tell me what you thought about this project.

What next? How about giving this truck an some cab lights...(I know there in the pic already, but it was a great project)

In my next post I will be covering adding cablights (lights on roof) to my 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic. Be sure to check back!