Car wash place used ammonica based window cleaner on tinted glass

choijw2

choijw2

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One of car group member took his car to car wash place and they used ammonia based window cleaner on tinted window and it has white stuff all over it.

I am telling him to take it back because its their problem not his.

But still, how do you fix this?
or do you need new tint?
 
I believe the tint will need to be replaced. The ammonia 'eats' the plastic film and that is the discoloration you are seeing.

Hope this helps you.
 
How did you come to the conclusion that the car wash used an ammonia based glass cleaner? Did he see them using it? Or did he call and ask them? I'm just curious.

If a "carwash" made this mistake and ruined my tint I'd be livid. Your friend should make sure to arrive with either his receipt or a printed estimate showing how much it's going to cost to replace the tint.. Then I'd want a refund for the car wash.

Can you imagine how many other peoples tint they've ruined? You gotta be kidding me. Smh.
 
well Im not sure but I think its good assumption, since it happened right after their service.
Who knows, they ran out a glass cleaner and ran to store and picked up some Windex, its small town.
but I don't know how he knew.

BTW they saying, cant pay or refund on anything damaged that is not "OEM"

Smh...
 
choijw2 said:
well I think its pretty good assumption, since it happened right after their service.
Who knows, they ran out a glass cleaner and ran to store and picked up some Windex, its small town.

but problem is they are refusing on refund or pay for anything since tint isn't "OEM"

Smh...
Click to expand...

Seriously? Oh man that's infuriating.. Well there's 1 [legal] thing he can do to get back at them, he can let their management know that he's a top rated user on Yelp and every other review site people care about and he's going to spread the word about that car wash and their lack of customer service and accountability.. And so are all his friends, and their friends too. And while he's at it he can be writing down names on a notepad for his detailed review. Lol.
 
Yeah its sticky situation.

Anyways I wondered if there is any way to fix this without replacing tint, but guess not.

2 years ago, I would've made same mistaking, using ammonia glass cleaner on cars loll
Still much to learn.
 
No offense Choijw2, but how could you be in the detailing business for two years and not know that. I am into this only as a hobby, but have known this for at least 20 years. When I got my first tint done on my 1986 Shelby Charger, the installer warned me of this. Like I said no offense.
 
I do this as a hobby as well even tho I have LLC. This started as people started notice my work and ask me to prep their cars for festivals and shows, and that started half years ago, but its still not a full business, Im just a weekend detailer.

and What I meant was I picked up my first polisher about 2 years ago and back then I did not know much so I would've made same mistake, not "I didn't know about this untill now"

btw non taken.
 
Hello all, I'm the friend with the messed up tint >.< First of all thanks so much for helping out, I'm mostly a mechanical guy and have yet to dabble in the dark art of detailing. I know car washes are usually the worst but I got my Speed3 used and haven't had an opportunity to get anything done with the paint yet. So here's some extra details fwiw. The tint is approximately 4 years old, and was in very good condition prior to taking it to the wash. It had some scratches but overall was shiny and smooth to the touch. Upon getting my car back I noticed the windows now had a "dusty" texture to them, but still looked normal. I was already home at that point and figured some mild soap would get the stuff off. Fast forward a week of sitting in the sun and the layer is now distinctly visible, it's mostly a splotchy white greasy looking film but at some angles has a reddish tinge to it. Despite looking greasy, it feels dry and has the texture of an old chalkboard. Water and non-ammonia based cleaners let me move it around, but it doesn't really come off, just gets sticky and smears around. It takes a significant amount of pressure to even do that. It's spread evenly across all 4 side windows, but the rear glass and sun strip on the windshield are still in perfect condition. I had not touched or cleaned the windows for a long time before that, and it was the only car wash I have ever used. The fact that it happened immediately afterwards makes me certain it was something they did. I have gone back and they swear up and down that they use non-ammonia cleaners, but there must be some other chemical that caused the reaction. My suspicion is that a newer employee may have accidentally grabbed the wrong bottle. Anyways, I'm a broke ass college kid and can't exactly afford to just get it re-tinting, so I'm hoping SOMETHING will at least get it back to decent shape. Thanks in advance!
 
BTW they saying, cant pay or refund on anything damaged that is not "OEM"

Smh...[/QUOTE]

What that sounds like to me is that is what the sign says probably before you pull into the car wash meaning if something after market gets ripped off the car while you're going through it's not their problem. I used to work at a carwash and we had that policy too. But we also did detailing in one of our bays and if I messed up somebody's tint by using a product not made for it you better believe that was my mistake and I would be responsible. I would have turned my car around before I even got home and went back there!!
 
In retrospect I absolutely should've gone back immediately, but I didn't and now I guess I'm gonna pay for it. At the time it didn't really seem like a big deal, I honestly thought the cleaner itself had just dried and left some residue behind. By the time I realized the tint itself was messed up it was too late to prove it was their fault. I've been back twice and they flat out claim it wasn't their fault and they had nothing to do with it
 
Skcor said:
Hello all, I'm the friend with the messed up tint >.< First of all thanks so much for helping out, I'm mostly a mechanical guy and have yet to dabble in the dark art of detailing. I know car washes are usually the worst but I got my Speed3 used and haven't had an opportunity to get anything done with the paint yet. So here's some extra details fwiw. The tint is approximately 4 years old, and was in very good condition prior to taking it to the wash. It had some scratches but overall was shiny and smooth to the touch. Upon getting my car back I noticed the windows now had a "dusty" texture to them, but still looked normal. I was already home at that point and figured some mild soap would get the stuff off. Fast forward a week of sitting in the sun and the layer is now distinctly visible, it's mostly a splotchy white greasy looking film but at some angles has a reddish tinge to it. Despite looking greasy, it feels dry and has the texture of an old chalkboard. Water and non-ammonia based cleaners let me move it around, but it doesn't really come off, just gets sticky and smears around. It takes a significant amount of pressure to even do that. It's spread evenly across all 4 side windows, but the rear glass and sun strip on the windshield are still in perfect condition. I had not touched or cleaned the windows for a long time before that, and it was the only car wash I have ever used. The fact that it happened immediately afterwards makes me certain it was something they did. I have gone back and they swear up and down that they use non-ammonia cleaners, but there must be some other chemical that caused the reaction. My suspicion is that a newer employee may have accidentally grabbed the wrong bottle. Anyways, I'm a broke ass college kid and can't exactly afford to just get it re-tinting, so I'm hoping SOMETHING will at least get it back to decent shape. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Ok so you tried to clean it yourself after the car wash issue appeared? You said you used a mild soap what did you use?

At this point you cannot hold them responsible because you used something after them.

Here is what I would do at this point......use a tint safe window cleaner in a small area and see if you can get it back to normal...... don't do the whole window,just a small area. If it that area comes back to normal than continue on the whole area( just like doing a test spot).

If your test spot doesn't come back to normal then IMO your tint is toast and needs replacing. You can try to blame it on the car wash but you were the last one to touch it and if they find that out they can refute that.

Not trying to put blame on anyone here but trying to help.
 
Nah I used water and tint-safe cleaner but neither did anything. And it wouldn't have anything to do with their responsibility because I could easily just claim I hadn't touched it. But of course it never got to that point anyway
 
Skcor said:
Nah I used water and tint-safe cleaner but neither did anything. And it wouldn't have anything to do with their responsibility because I could easily just claim I hadn't touched it. But of course it never got to that point anyway
Click to expand...

I got it.....I would go back and talk to manager again.....be civil, but be persistent! ( Sometime the squeaky wheel gets the grease)

Good luck
 
Suggest methylated spirits and water in a 50/50 mix..

This is tint safe and about as agressive a cleaner as i would / have ever use..

If this doesn't lift whatever is there and the surface is etched in anyway you situation is clear.. remove it and go factory, replace it.. or live with it..

I won't get into what i think of any business or individual that won't take reposisibility for their own actions.. but its a large part of whats wrong with the world today...
 
I will try the 50/50 mix, thanks again all for the advice!
 
Accidentally cleaning it with Ammonia based products just once isn't going to cause determinantal damage. The damage from Ammonia is that it deteriorates the scratch coating. It however won't do so with just one use. I've had tinted windows for decades and have done it all to windows.
 
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