Anyone replaced a tinted windshield lately?

MrMark52

MrMark52

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 24, 2019
Messages
325
Location
North Texas
Well, after doing something stupid while attempting to use the Rain-X kit to repair a ding in my windshield, I now need a new one.

Anyone done this lately, and if so, cost?

Mine is tinted as opposed to clear glass - tinted is needed here in Texas (and I don't mean after-market tint!).

Been cruising Craigslist, 5miles, Letgo, OfferUp and seeing numbers



And a word to the wise, resist the urge to thump the glass from the inside while trying to repair a rock ding/crack - that crack will spread like fire on gasoline to the edges of the window. :cry:
 
TJs never came with tinted windshields to my knowledge.

I can tell you however that typical windshield replacements tend to be around $200-$400 in my experience. I've had a few replaced, though they weren't on a TJ.
 
I just put in a windshield for $150, tin would have been $50 more, always ask about paying cash, you will pay as much with insurance if not more due to increases in rates and copays...
 
Yep, my build sheet says the same thing "Tinted Glass". ANd when you look at the DOT label on the window, it says "Solar Tint", although I am not sure it is the original windshield.

You can see a tinted band across the top, and if you look through the glass at an angle you can see some slight tinting.

I'm doing a search on "Solar Tint" now.

Oh, and I found a guy who started out at $120, but when I told him I wanted as close as possible aftermarket OEM glass, he bumped it to $200 and said he could "make it so the cops won't bother me". Heck, I'm not wanting anything that dark, just as close as possible to OEM.
 
Mr. Bills said:
The build sheet for my 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon lists the following:

GBBS "Tinted Windshield Glass"
Click to expand...

Does it appear tinted to you? On both of my TJs my windshield (which was a factory Chrysler windshield) appeared clear to me. Maybe it's so lightly tinted I just couldn't tell.
 
Every windshield since probably sometime in the 1970s (I wish I remembered exactly when) has been tinted, mainly due to AC.

Solar glass or solar control glass stops some heat from UV rays. It's not really visible as "more" tinted. It does increase the cost by at least 50%

"Solar Tint" could be a glass supplier bragging about the solar control and the tinted band across the top. It could also just be what they call that tinted band so you think it has solar control.

As far as windshields in general go, The cheapest you can get has at least a 75% chance of being the worst, in either the actual glass or the guy that installs it. Unfortunately using the most expensive, usually Safelite, you run the same risk.

Your best bet is to find a local glass company where the owner has actually done automotive glass himself and maybe still does it. Glass Doctor, which I owned a franchise, has some pretty decent places, the smaller the better, if one is close to you.
 
Gr
JEEPCJTJ said:
Every windshield since probably sometime in the 1970s (I wish I remembered exactly when) has been tinted, mainly due to AC.

Solar glass or solar control glass stops some heat from UV rays. It's not really visible as "more" tinted. It does increase the cost by at least 50%

"Solar Tint" could be a glass supplier bragging about the solar control and the tinted band across the top. It could also just be what they call that tinted band so you think it has solar control.

As far as windshields in general go, The cheapest you can get has at least a 75% chance of being the worst, in either the actual glass or the guy that installs it. Unfortunately using the most expensive, usually Safelite, you run the same risk.

Your best bet is to find a local glass company where the owner has actually done automotive glass himself and maybe still does it. Glass Doctor, which I owned a franchise, has some pretty decent places, the smaller the better, if one is close to you.
Click to expand...
Great explanation! Many Thanks!

Found a guy who said he could do it for $125. The only real difference that I can tell between what was on the Jeep and what he replaced it with was that the new window didn't have the eyebrow tint.

When he started removing the old windshield, he pulled the rubber surround and suggested that it be changed as well. Another $15.00. I told him to go ahead and replace it on the basis that if it was original then it had probably seen better days. And from the YouTube videos I had seen, I could see where new surround gasket might be more pliable to provide for a better seal and minimize ingress of water under the gasket (which could eventually cause hidden rust in the window frame).

35-40 minutes later, all tags and stickers replaced, mirror installed and window taped in corners (to help hold surround gasket in place until the activated adhesive sets) and I've now got a new windshield. Standing 20 feet to the side/rear of the jeep, looking through the drivers door window and the windshield, and with some light polarization occurring between the windows, I can tell the new windshield has some slight level of tint.

I had also found another guy who said he could get the exact same glass that was on the Jeep, based on the DOT stamp in the corner of the window. $200.00. Just an FYI. YMMV
Thanks!
 
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