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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Courtney Pochin

Man gives his car 'tinted' windows using three household items and it cost less than £10

As much as we might like the finer things in life, it's a sad truth that we often can't afford them or have to spend ages scrimping and saving.

But if something you've always wanted was a car with tinted windows, then you might be in luck.

A TikTok user has claimed you can add a tint to your own car using just three common household items - maple syrup, charcoal toothpaste and cling fim.

In a video which has been viewed more than 46 million times, Russell Brown, who posts under the name @louisb21 shares his "car tint hack".

They start by using maple syrup (louisb21/Tiktok)

He begins by putting some maple syrup in a bowl and grabbing a paintbrush.

The syrup is painted onto the outside of the window (protective tape has been stuck around the edges to avoid too much mess).

Once all the glass is well and truly smeared in the sweet stuff, he goes in on top with a layer of the toothpaste.

When the whole thing is covered, Russell applies cling film to the top of the window and says to leave it for an hour before cleaning it off.

He uses a window cleaner and cloth to remove the sticky residue and the finished result shows the window is slightly darker than the others on his car - and has a mirror-like quality to it

Next comes a layer of charcoal toothpaste (louisb21/Tiktok)

.

They claim it leaves a tint (louisb21/Tiktok)

As the video proved so popular on TikTok, the life hack fact-checkers over at @partyshirt decided to give it a go to see if it really worked.

They tried it out on their car for themselves and agreed that the method really did provide some kind of tint.

"Here's the window that we tested it on," they said. "You can see our reflection here, crazy.

"I don't know how dark the tint is, but there definitely is a tint on the car.

"It's not probably body shop grade but it does sort of work."

Those who wish to try it out for themselves should be aware of UK laws surrounding tinted windows on cars.

The government's website says: "The rules for tinted front windscreens and front side windows depend on when the vehicle was first used. There are no rules for tinting the rear windscreen or rear passenger windows.

For vehicles first used on 1 April 1985 or later, t he front windscreen must let at least 75% of light through and the front side windows must let at least 70% of light through.

The rules are slightly different though for cars first used before 1 April 1985 though. Here the front windscreen and front windows must both let at least 70% of light through.

The police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) vehicle examiners use light measuring equipment to measure window tint.

If your windscreen or front side windows are tinted too much you could get a prohibition notice stopping you from using your vehicle on the road until you have the extra tint removed or you could recieve a penalty notice or court summons.

For more information on this, visit https://www.gov.uk/tinted-vehicle-window-rules

Do you have a life hack to share? Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk

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