this is a cheap trick and one that looks sharp with fresh window tinting…if you are fond of your 3rd brake tail light, ignore me, but if you want to create the illusion that it is totally removed after you had your new tint put on and you haven’t the dough to drop for a new piece of glass without the two holes for the rear brake light, then read on…
-Remove the brake lamp assembly and bypass the wiring to it.
-get a good quality tint put on the rear glass, leaving the top 2.5" section of the glass untinted. This is the area of the glass that has the factory glare shield built into the glass and obviously does not take well to tint.
-find a reputable tint shop and have them build and install a vinyl strip especially made for this application onto that top 2.5" section of glass.
-wait a few weeks
-go to a reputable glass shop and have them fill the holes in the glass (from the outside mind you) with black windshield adhesive. this stuff dries hard. keep the car in the shade for about 8 hrs. The key to this is in good adhesion.
Now you have a rear window that is void of those two old holes in the glass where the leaky rubber gaskets and bolts once were.
I did this on 5% bronze tint that contrasts my Honey Beige Metallic paint shop beautifully.
no, I am not sure. Any good windshield repair shop will know this is though. Don’t be fooled by immitations since the holes will leak if not done right or best case leak air through them and fog the interior of the rear glass. It is the same adhesive used to seal the windshield to the steel.
Crappy weather and a dirty car have limited my desire to take pictures of it I will get them up soon. I mean it is so dirty right now that a picture of this area that we are talking about wouldn’t even come through properly. And it’s in the garage. go figure…
how good would you rate the look of it? 1-10. like if your 10 feet away, does it look like gsr hatch glass? thats what i’m going for, just a MUCH cleaner look.
you cannot tell that there are holes in the glass @ 10’ if you add the vinyl to the top section as indicated. If you are within 2 feet from it, it is obvious that they are filled. I would say that it is a 9/10.
Furthermore, use 4 layers of blue paint tape on the inside of the glass when the tech fills the holes for you. Then both sides are smooth.
Best thing about it is that if you want it replaced in say, 6 years, just dig the stuff out and have it done again. streetracer0097, you can always have the tint shop cut out the top section of the tint and add the vinyl.
NOTES:
Regarding tint, don’t go cheap at any time when doing tint unless you want to lose the rear glass defroster grid. My first tint was on the car for 8 years and a thoughtful tint guy got it off in 1 hour with heat.
And you know what is lame, my 96 Civic EX has the 3rd brake light even though I have the factory spoiler. I removed it to clean up the view.
Its called urethane. if you do it yourself you want to get a primerless urethane. i work at a glass shop and we use a urethane called Essex 418 wich is primerless. You should be able to get this for under $10. Clean the holes with glass cleaner, tape the holes from the inside, with a caulk gun spread some in and use a ice cube smooth it out. the urethane wont stick to it. when this dreis it will have a shiny black finish. We do this on old hot rods. It will fully cure in 3 days and no high power water for three days as well. If you decide to get a new windshiled for your Ac demand oem quality glass. Ask for PPG or LOF, these are thicker than cheaper glass. For the Teg they come in blue tint with or with out a blue shad band. Oh ya if you make a claim assk them to wiave your deductable. If anyone has any glass questions just ask.
We need more information than this.
I am guessing here, but I assume that you had old tint removed and new tint put into its place? Did the rear defroster work prior to the tint job? Or are you saying that you plugged the brake lamp holes and it suddenly does not work?
If a jackass haphazzardly removed the old tint, you could very well have been left with little to no eletrical connection between the gridlines and hence a useless defroster.
There is a fix if this is the case, but it involves a careful application of a new material, to connect the dots so to say…the name of the product has escaped me.
Here is an up close pic of mine since I see that I never posted anbything. It’s has been in for over a year now, with no leaks or complaints.
Notable in the closeup picture is the presence of the vinyl sheet that goes across the top section of the glass and down over and slightly below the third brake lamp holes…
This might help someone see what I have done.
I will get them up soon. I mean it is so dirty right now that a picture of this area that we are talking about wouldn’t even come through properly. And it’s in the garage. go figure…
