Removing the solar films

One of the things I’d been meaning to do – and was keen to get round to because of the aesthetic improvement it would bring – was to remove the sunshades from the Syncro. They were in a dreadful state; it was an eyesore as they were half peeling off. It looked rather as if someone was having a shower inside 🙂

For this, I needed a heat gun and a scraper.

All I could do was hope they weren’t stuck on too tightly and wouldn’t be too much of a faff. I started with the rear window as it’s smaller, but it didn’t look promising – although the heat gun was making a dent, the film was coming off in tiny bits. It certainly looked like it was going to take me quite a while for each window.

It’s quite a job, but once you’ve finished a window – removing all the film, glue and grime – the result is well worth it.

The surprise came when I got to the third and fourth windows, as I soaked them with Cristasol mixed with ammonia and left it to soak in for a while. Then, trying to start from one side, I peeled off the solar film and pulled it carefully, managing to get it off in one piece.

This saved me a lot of work, and all the effort I’d put into removing the previous ones was more than made up for by these last two.

Before:

After:

Now I’ll be looking to fit some new ones, as they’re great for thermally insulating the van and providing greater privacy. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d be delighted to hear them in the comments. In the meantime, I’m weighing up options for approved solar films on Amazon