Remove Anti-Glare Protective Coating??? [Archive] - The PC Guide Discussion Forums

jabarnutcase

11-17-2004, 01:14 PM

Yes, you read it right folks.
I'll try to keep this brief...Those of you that know me also know that's hard.

My 4 year old Viewsonic 17" Aperture Grille CRT has been a GREAT Monitor with Super Graphics...I have others, but this has a special place in my heart. (Touching story already, huh?) :rolleyes:

Anyway, I saw a small streak that looked like a small drop of clear liquid that I thought may have spilled and "run" a little bit.

To my absolute horror, when I went to clean it off with my usual cleaning solution, I realized the area became even bigger and I was in fact wiping off the protective Anti-Glare Coating....Permanantly. :eek:

Now, I have an area about the size of an Egg Yoke where the coating is gone.
That area is now MUCH brighter than the rest of the screen and obviously something that I can't tolerate. (I doubt many people could).

Bummer. :(
Now before I hear a lecture about what NOT to use on a Monitor Screen, I've already researched that to the hilt many times in the past.

I've been using this "iklear" (Apple polish..as in Mac) :rolleyes: for YEARS......Highly recommended way back when by TechTV and others. I'm also aware of certain products that can permanently harm your display.

Now to the point. (Guess I've already failed miserably in my effort to keep it brief) :p
I see no hope whatsoever in somehow replacing the warn off "coated area" with a new coating material.
What I'm wondering is if there might be something that may REMOVE THE REST of the coating, so the entire screen at least looks the same. (I know, sounds crazy).

The area where the coating was removed is really bright. (Boy, I see what an Anti-glare coating does now).
My thought was that if I could remove all the rest and turn down the brightness a bit, I would still have a nice usable Monitor.
Seems such a shame to have a Monitor with a great Display with a bright white "blotch" on the top portion of the screen.

I know what you're thinking....just use the stuff that removed it in the first place! Hehe...no go, that's why I've used it for four years. Because it's "safe". :rolleyes:

My searching turns up nothing. (Either to "refurbish" the missing coating, or remove the rest)

Any ideas or solutions besides target practice with my 9MM?
I think I'm going to cry now....what a waste. :(

jabarnutcase

11-17-2004, 05:06 PM

jabar....you must be so desperate to make that Monitor usable you would probably try just about anything huh?

Yes, just about anything.

Try some paint thinner! I mean, what have you got to lose? The thing is toast anyway!

No go...believe it or not, already tried that....didn't do a thing.

Hmmmmm....and I take it you tried rubbing REALLY hard with the "safe" liquid that started removing the coating in the first place, right?

Yep....didn't do a thing. Made the rest of the monitor shine beautifully, but wouldn't remove any more of the coating.

If it were me, I would even try some of the stuff they say NOT to use, like certain alcohol based products.

Tried that too...just makes no sense at all how that one area got ruined but no more of it will come off.

Boy. Sorry jabar. I've run out of ideas. :confused:
With a little luck, someone else will come along with a suggestion that may work. :rolleyes:

That sure would be nice. I REALLY hate to trash the thing.
I just can't look at it the way it is though. :(

(EDIT) OK, I know I'm being downright silly now....but I'm obsessed!
I'm thinking surely I'm not the only one that this has happened too.
Actually found one possibility in the Link below.
(Scroll down to the letter: May I take your coat(ing)?

Interesting....I may go buy some rubbing compound tomorrow.
This is serious stuff! A solution may help someone with a similar dilemma in the future!
http://www.dansdata.com/danletters073.htm

Lets use our investigative powers! :p

Fruss Tray Ted

11-17-2004, 08:19 PM

JB,
Save yourself from going to the hardware store (No, not the one with pc's. The one with Nuts and Bolts. Not the program, the screws :rolleyes: :o I didn't mean that eyeither..). Rubbing compound was named for the result of rubbing one's eyes in trying to see a monitor that has had rubbing compound tried on it (been there, done that). Done well or not, it will make you think you need a cataract operation and you'll bug your doc into hysterics trying to fix your monitor err eyes! :eek: ;) :D :p

The etchings or ink on the front of my monitor show ViewSonic 17 What's your serial number?

I use water and paper towels. There's no hi-tech cleaners here. Oh yeah, dish soap. :cool:

jlreich

11-17-2004, 09:00 PM

Hey Jabar. I'm just curious if you ever figured out what it was that was spilled on the monitor in the first place??

Budfred

11-17-2004, 09:31 PM

It seems like contacting ViewSonic and asking what they would do would be your safest bet.... ;)

jabarnutcase

11-17-2004, 10:17 PM

Hehe...yes FTT, maybe the rubbing Compound isn't such a good idea.
If you read the letter in that link though, it apparently worked for that guy.
Interesting also is this from the "article":
It seems that all good quality coatings are applied with a kind of Electro-Plasma process under very precisely controlled conditions, which causes the coating to be deposited in such a way as to create a molecular bond between the glass and the coating compound. The resulting surface is then supposed to be at least as hard as the parent glass and therefore very durable
Makes the coating pretty tough to remove then huh? NOT!!!

And jlreich...like the guy in my link, what I was seeing was a very small part of the Coating missing already and mistook it for something else.
Maybe it was just a weak area on the screen and all the years of cleaning finally took its toll.

And Budfred....It seems like contacting ViewSonic and asking what they would do would be your safest bet....

Funny you should mention that....I sent them an mail even before my post. Don't expect much sympathy though. Even a reply of any kind would be surprising. :rolleyes:

Been quite a while since I fired my Pistol....
Then at least I'll be able to "view sonic" BOOMS! :D

Hey, but thanks for replying guys. Maybe I'll stop talking to myself for a while.

Well, you better!
OK! I will!
Good!!! :rolleyes:

jabarnutcase

11-18-2004, 01:46 PM

Well, only took them a day to respond. Not bad!
Here is the reply from Viewsonic:
Thank you for contacting ViewSonic Technical Support.

There is not a product specifically for taking off the coating, but any type of ammonia or alcohol based products do damage the coating, so you can start with these types of cleaners.

Regards,

ViewSonic Technical Support
ViewSonic Corporation
381 Brea Canyon Road
Walnut, CA 91789

Hehhe....Helpful aren't they? "Been there, done that".

Now if they had insisted on sending me a brand new Monitor, theoretically, they could have made thousands more in sales.....I would have bragged about how great they were to everyone I know! :D

I must say though.....you should have seen that sucker shatter into a Million pieces when it was hit with a 9mm Hollow Point!!!

First shot too! :D :cool: :(

(I had my Son play "Taps" on the Electric Guitar)
If only "Jimi" could have been there.....

Mark Miller

11-18-2004, 05:45 PM

So really, what are going to with the monitor?
Or is it driving you crazy just looking at it.
by the way dell has some great sales going on for lcds
Or they did as of yesterday.
One can only hope.
www.dell.com
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

jabarnutcase

11-18-2004, 05:59 PM

Hi Mark
So really, what are going to with the monitor?
You think I was kidding in post above? :confused:

I live out is the sticks....I can shoot a gun off my back Deck and nobody cares....nothing but Woods for Miles.
Or is it driving you crazy just looking at it.
Precisely why I did what I did...don't even have to think about it anymore! What a relief! :p

I have quite a few Monitors kicking around...The Viewsonic I disconnected the minute it happened. No way could I look at that.
Not even for another second!

Thanks for the link Mark.
I actually have one LCD. I'm more of a CRT man myself though.
(Mostly because of the cost!)
:D

Mark Miller

11-18-2004, 06:35 PM

Rolf,
If I shot off a gun here in any direction including up, I would hit 30 people.
I'm with you though if it's bothering me get rid of it.
My wife on the other hand would keep it "just in case" In case of what I have never figured out
lol :p :p

Fruss Tray Ted

11-18-2004, 07:59 PM

JB,
Remind me never to annoy you when I'm over to your place, heck even when your over to my place for that matter :eek:

I have gone down to my 'target range' on the outskirts of town which is really a gravel pit that the owner allows preseason hunters to sight in their arms and have found blown up pc's, monitors, 20# propane cylinders and lots of other junk. When I leave, I take it all with me and dispose of it properly. I don't want him closing the gate as I cannot sight in my reloads at my home intown. The owner did close it one season and it was a PIA finding alternate places to sight-in. Once it was open again I was relieved. Now I police it even better so it won't happen again. Hopefully...

Me and a buddy saw the propane guys trying to leave without picking up their trash and we called them on it and asked them to haul it off. My buddy is all of 350# so the other guys complied for fear of being sat upon. :D

saphalline

11-19-2004, 04:51 AM

Hey Jabar. I'm just curious if you ever figured out what it was that was spilled on the monitor in the first place??I'm thinking that whatever was spilled onto the monitor in the first place probably "ate" the coating. When you tried to clean it off, you spread it around and took off more coating (but cleaned off the spilled mess also). Further attempts to use your "safe" cleaner failed because it was no longer mixed with the spilled stuff.

That's my theory, anyway.

jabarnutcase

11-19-2004, 07:20 AM

Don't worry FTT....I promise never to come to your house with my Pistol when I'm annoyed.....unless I'm REALLY annoyed. :mad: ;)

And saphalline...that's a good theory. I thought of that too.
Although I just can't imagine what could have possibly spilled. And whatever it was, what I was seeing was definitely a tiny area where the coating was already missing and I just made it bigger.

Still, you may be right. Even though it already did it's damage, whatever residue was left may have been "mixing" with my "safe" stuff.

All in the past now..... :(
It was probably time to put it to rest anyway.

Only after I moved a 17" "SyncMaster'" up to this Computer did it dawn on me how quietly this Monitor comes out of standby compared to the Viewsonic. It's virtually silent.
The Viewsonic had a pretty loud "surge" when it kicked in, (almost dimming the lights a bit!)
Like a giant old TV Set. It may not have been long for this world anyway.

My only regret now is the sorrow I feel for anyone who suffers through this entire thread, having learned nothing from my experience other then to never go near me when I have a loaded Pistol. :p

John0904

11-19-2004, 10:38 AM

Wish I would have seen this thread earlier.

There are several options here.

1. Use a anti-glare filter (http://www.healthycomputing.com/office/buyersguides/glarefilter_buyersguide.htm).
2. Use a product that might restore the anti-glare material such as: Glare Busters (https://www.glarebusters.com/)
3. Remove the rest of the anti-glare material off and use the above suggestions.
4. Remove the rest of the anti-glare material off and just turn down the monitor brightness and avoid sunlight. :)

jabarnutcase

11-19-2004, 11:01 AM

Appreciate the reply John.
However, I doubt very much anything would have helped.
The thought off an anti-glare filter crossed my mind, but would have only been effective if I were able to remove ALL of the Anti-Glare material.

And believe me, I tried everything under the sun to do that.
Remove the rest of the anti-glare material off and just turn down the monitor brightness and avoid sunlight.Yes, as you can see, that was my plan in the original post. I was just unable to remove the material.

A filter without removing the material still would have looked bad. And while "Glare Busters" shows some promise, even that would not have fixed the screen good enough for my liking.
(If I tried to add material to only the bad area, it would have shown I'm sure).

Which brings me back to square one.....completely removing the old material first. I finally gave up.

Sure had a lot of fun putting the thing out of its misery though. ;)

Thanks again for the thoughts.

rond36

11-22-2004, 07:09 PM

The anti-glare coating on a monitor is lacquer based very much like a tinted clear-coat automotive finish

Your wife didn't paint her nails or remove her nail polish at the computer did she?
( If you think she may have, give the 9mm to a friend or neighbor before you ask her about it)

I have heard that nail polish remover will remove the anti-glare coating from a monitor although I haven't tried it. Acetone may remove it too but would dry much to fast to work with, lacquer thinner may work better and it dries slower.

Don't try this at home

The monitor will need to be disassembled
(exposing you to electric shock hazard from charged capacitors)
because all of the above solvents will also attack the plastic case of the monitor

jabarnutcase

11-22-2004, 07:47 PM

Hehe....thanks for the reply rond36.
However, as you can see from above posts, it's all irrelevant now.

The "pieces" of the Monitor are long gone. :p

For the record though.....

1. My wife doesn't even know what a Computer is. She refers to it as "That thing". (Like: "What are you doing with that thing now???")

2. Funny you should mention it. I actually DID try Nail Polish remover, Acetone AND lacquer thinner. (Not to mention everything else under the Sun).

Nothing seemed to work. (And being somewhat of a perfectionist, it would have had to turn out PERFECT anyway for me to be able to use it).

I'll let something drive me nuts to a point, then it's time to get the Pistol out. :D
Not to worry, I only shoot at "things", not people. ;)

My only hope now is that nobody else suffers through reading this entire boring thread. :rolleyes: :p

karlomac

11-26-2004, 12:35 AM

I have a laptop with the anti-glare coating and have experienced similar troubles, albeit mine started with an attempt to clean my screen with Windex. It seemed logical of course, to attempt to remove the rest of the coating with more Windex and hopefully achieve a uniform look for my screen. For some reason though, I wasn't able to remove any more of the coating. It seems that the stuff is really tough. This makes sense though, considering the application process described above. For such a durable substance, however, it seems very strange that it would be so succeptible to glass cleaner, leaving me with fuzzy smudges in several locations. The stuff should be either uniformly strong or uniformly weak. I have a nagging suspicion that in general, the coating is uniformly strong, save for a few radomly chosen locations designated to be weak points. The companies that apply these coatings to their displays must know of peoples' tendencies to clean their screens with Windex. I'm guessing that they might figure that by making the coating vulnerable to breakdown in a few locations, they can make some money in either repairs or replacements. Paranoid?

Budfred

11-26-2004, 02:24 AM

I'm guessing that they might figure that by making the coating vulnerable to breakdown in a few locations, they can make some money in either repairs or replacements. Paranoid?Yes, I am afraid so... Any manufacturing process has a certain amount of failed installs and these are just an example of the ones that got through the inspecting process because they looked like they were okay... No company that hopes to be around for repeat business is not going to intentionally turn out garbage... :p

John0904

11-26-2004, 11:28 AM

My wife doesn't even know what a Computer is. She refers to it as "That thing". (Like: "What are you doing with that thing now???")
LOL. I know what you mean. :D
The funny part is that it's only a rhetorical question too.
If you hint at even trying to answer the question, it is like deer in headlights. Dazed and confused. :)

satman_1

12-12-2004, 08:22 PM

jabarnutcase, just wondering if you solved your problem? i had the same problem as you. my kids put a bunch of sratches in the middle of my screen then last night, as i was cleaning the finger prints off the monitor i made it worse. i now had a hole in the anti glare about 10 cm in diameter right in the middle of the screen. it was driving me nuts. so i searched google and stumbled across this thread. here is what i did to fix my little problem:

- 1 SOS pad (steel wool with detergent in it)
- nail polish remover

soak the SOS pad with nail polish remover and scrub hard for 30 minutes. the detergent in the pad forms a nice abrasive paste with the remover. i now have a nice bright, scratch free monitor screen.

Bonnie

12-27-2004, 05:34 PM

I had the same problem as jabarnutcase.
I read the thread and was ready to Buy a new monitor.
Then I said what the hect and went to work and fixed it.
Nothing would touch the coating.
Then I thought I would scrape it off with a razor blade.
I was shocked to fine the coating was about the thickness of my fingernail.
When I got a little loose the underneith was clear.
So I scraped and tug at loose ends until it was all off.
I was down to the glass. :) I don't have to get a new monitor.
I figured I saved a couple of hundred. :)
But I missed a chance to move up to a new monitor.
Removing the coating can be done if your are carefull.
Bonnie

jabarnutcase

12-27-2004, 06:46 PM

Good show Bonnie! (And satman_1 too).
(Obviously, you both have more patience than I do). :p
And welcome to the PC Guide Forums....although it's possible we may never see you guys again.
(Too bad, this is a great place). ;)

Anyway, the reason for this post is that I am finding this very amusing all of the sudden.
Back when I had this problem, I searched high and low and could find very little information out there.
It's pretty funny that we have had three people now(that I know of), in two different threads find this thread from a Google search.......check it out- First "hit". :p
Remove Anti-glare Coating? (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=remove+anti-glare+coating%3F&btnG=Search)
I knew I wasn't the only person out there with a problem like this!

(The link that is two below my thread in the Google search is pretty funny too (from the "Firing squad Forum").
He mentions reading about "some guy" who had a similar problem and ended up destroying his Monitor.....that guy would be me.
Wow! I'm famous~ (Not hardly) :D

Hey, at least now people will get a "Google Hit" when they run into this problem...compliments of yours truly. :rolleyes:

With a few possible solutions to boot! (Compliments of other people) ;)

ataribaby

01-06-2005, 08:59 AM

This is *the* thread for anti-anti-glare coating... Respect and congratulations jabarnutcase for founding it (but ease off the gun-toting old chap - 'Bowling for Columbine' and all that :eek: ).

I found this thread on google about a month ago - the only refuge for punters with ant-anti-glare problems to unite. Since I solved my problem, I felt duty-bound to register and share the love with you guys. Remember you're not alone. Anti-glare bald spots can happen to the best of us at some point in our lives. But remember Bobby Charlton. The comb-over is not the answer. Don't try and hide it - admitting you have an anti-glare problem is half the battle.

My dad had the same problem. A roughly 60mm patch in the centre of his monitor screen with no coating. He too is fond of his monitor - a 1999 Iiyama BVision Master Pro 410 (you can see it in his eyes when he says he chose the computer especially because of the monitor - quality). We both had the same brainwave - to get rid of the rest of the coating to acheive uniform brightness. So as I was home for Christmas I set to work to restore the old girl back to her former beauty. The anti-glare coating on this monitor is microns rather than the kind of figernail-thickness of Bonnie's. That must have been a b*st*rd to get rid of :p

I tried Windowlene spray (solvent - maybe alcohol - based window cleaner). It shifted a bit of coating but VERY slowly. Then I tried a pricey little number - a citrus based solvent for cleaning CPUs. It smelt a bit better, but same slow shifting power. Then me and dad went commando and hit the garage for hardcore products. White spirit was similarly naff so it looked like solvents weren't going to be the way forward. I was getting worried I wasn't going to see Christmas at the rate the coating was coming off. The screen looked a whole lot worse for having been scrubbed with all kinds and my hands were beginning to stink of rough booze. Still, dad was being really brave about the whole thing (I'd have been bricking it if any of those products had been within spitting distance of my own beloved 19" Samsung 957).

The roughness of the cloth I was using seemed to make the most difference to the rate at which the anti-glare was coming off so I thought something more abrasive might do the job. I'd tried a yellow duster, a rough cleaning cloth and ended up using paper kitchen towel (remembering how rough it feels on your arse when you've run out of loo roll and kitchen towel's all you've got for the task). So I tried a bit of T-Cut - a cream for restoring car paintwork - and that seemed to be a bit faster.

So I went back to the cupboard under the kitchen sink and dug out a couple more bottles - Mr Muscle oven cleaner and Cif Cream kitchen and bathroom cleaner. After hefting the two bottles and looking at my mum for backup (even I balked at the idea of using oven cleaner on a monitor) we decided to test the Cif on a piece of old mirror to see whether it'd scratch glass. It was fine. With a nice even coating of Cif on a flat wad of paper towel, the anti-glare coating was coming off at a reasonable rate. After about 40 min the whole screen was bare glass and smooth as. The corner bits were a bit tricky but just keep rubbing away with an evenly coated flat piece of towel and you can't go wrong.

The monitor's cool now - bright and even. We thought we might have to get a seperate anti-glare screen to hang in front of it but it doesn't need it, honest. After 5 years of use the CRT gets duller anyway, so emoving the anti-glare actually kicks a bit of punch back into a display I reckon. So there you go. Take courage and just do it fellow anti-anti-glarers. You won't regret it.

P.S. as a footnote I just realised that you might not have the same brands available in the states so here's a link to the Cif/Unilever website to get an idea of the kind of stuff I used:

http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/brand_cif.html

Cif cream is a creamy, mildly-abrasive bathroom/kitchen cleaner and feels a little rough in your fingers (as if it's full of tiny particles). It can feel very mildly 'gritty'. At least it smells better than the solvent crap I tried. I'm sure you can find something similar anyway. Good luck and goodbye.

A.B. x

pentachris

01-06-2005, 10:46 AM

jabar, it looks like you've founded the Cult of the Anti-Glare!

http://www.curevents.com/vb/images/smilies/allhail.gif

That was an amusing read, ataribaby. Any other testimonials from cult members? http://www.curevents.com/vb/images/smilies/rofl.gif

jabarnutcase

01-06-2005, 11:46 AM

Heheh....yes ataribaby! Some good info there! Thanks for "sharing". ;)

And you're right Chris! With 873 views so far, it seems a whole lot of people have been "glaring" at this thread.

Nice to know there is always hope.
Now that we have some solutions that actually work, I'm very happy we are able to help people now, and in future "anti-anti-glare" searches.

And for those with very little patience, (and the right to bear arms), even my solution works well.
You don't end up with a working Monitor, but that feeling of....."there!" "I guess we know who's boss now", can be quite fulfilling. :p

Donn

01-06-2005, 12:44 PM

Well, no testimonial here, but just for the record, Jabar--acetone and nail polish remover (used to be anyway) are the same thing.

If it's a lacquer-based compound, and there are probably different one, the lacquer-based I will assume are going to be the thicker one, then you could have used alcohol to take it off--ethanol, not methanol (very dangerous carcinogen and known to instigate brain tumors specifially--aspartame anyone?) and not propanol. I dare say from your description that you had a faulty coating that escaped inspection, and that it was a lacquer-based coating. You didn't happen to pop a can pf pepsi or Coke near the screen did you? That could be phosphoric acid.

The thinner ones could be anything--polycarbonate or water resistant acrylics--maybe some flexible type of cyanoacrylates (glorified superglue). I made a query to a mfgr, if they respond I'll let you know.

Now if anyone is interested in a bzarre type of suicide--you could use hydroflouric acid, which is the ultimate glass cleaner. However you should be in an environmental suit when you do because if it gets on you it goes right to your bone marrow . . . that's terminal usually.

I like the "9mm solution" for cleaning the stuff off, although you could acheive the same results in the city with a Hefty plastic garbage bag and a hammer.

:cool:

Edit: ataribaby could you post the ingredients for the Cif cleaner--does it say potassium hydroxide, or sodium hypochloride, or sodium hypochlorate ? (glorified laundry bleach). Or both by any chance? Does it say muratic acid or buffered HCl?

thanks. . .

malcore

01-06-2005, 12:53 PM

Geez, Donn, I know we're all considered geeks here, but you're really starting to frighten me.

Donn

01-06-2005, 03:06 PM

Why? I ain't ate no chicken heads yet. . . . :p

(does everyone know that the word 'geek' refers to a person in a circus act that eats chicken heads or does similarly bizarre things. . .?)

jabarnutcase

01-06-2005, 09:12 PM

Well, no testimonial here, but just for the record, Jabar--acetone and nail polish remover (used to be anyway) are the same thing.

Actually Donn, that's basically true. However, many modern Nail Polish removers have an Acetone base, but they often add a bunch of extra oils and fragrances for the Ladies....one reason you generally don't want to use it to clean a CPU Die and Heatsink.
Something pure without the extra "sweet" smelling junk (especially anything oily) is preferred.

Oh. And for the record......"Chicken Head Eater" or not, you're starting to frighten me a bit too. :p :D

Steve

01-06-2005, 09:28 PM

(does everyone know that the word 'geek' refers to a person in a circus act that eats chicken heads or does similarly bizarre things. . .?)
I don't know, you'll have to ask he who is north of the south about that... ;)

Donn

01-07-2005, 12:31 PM

It is probably an anti-reflect coating, which is probably a vacuum deposition process. Extremely thin layers of different materials, mainly metals, are deposited onto the surface. The thickness of each coating is measured in microns. Solvents can remove the coating. It is not a lacquer.

Regards,
Astra Products Inc.
Mark Bogin

Oh. And for the record......"Chicken Head Eater" or not, you're starting to frighten me a bit too. :p :D

Starting to scare you, huh? Listen, you shoulda been in my organic chem lab if you wanted to see scared. . . .

'hmmm, ok, this is a ferrocyanic compound, so I have to keep this in an acid solution, or it makes a solid precipitate, right? Or would that be a gas? let's see, that's CN3, so there's an extra valence open around the carbon, so that'll add on. . .. No wait, it has to be in an alkaline solution or the cyano becomes hydro-cyanic, right? Ok, if it's a hydro-cyanic then it can't be a solid precipitate, right? That'd be a gas, right? Geez, I hate these little technical details, probably screw it up on the pop-quiz . . . Hmmmmm, acid or base, solid or gas. . . Wait, I know how to settle this. . .'

"Hey, one of you guys got coin I can toss . . .?"

(edit) Give me the simple life: heads or tails--works every time. . . . :D

Donn

01-08-2005, 03:32 PM

From: http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?p=212448#post212448

Isn't the internet fun? Fishing for all this stuff, right at our fingertips. Klear Screen is 85% water and 15% "proprietary" active ingredients--that's the stuff that picks up the lint and dust. And for this they only want $9.95 for the 4oz bottle with the wipe cloths. There are however a lot of good *consumer* reviews of this product:

http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/search...n%22&t=all&p=40

one specifically

http://radio.weblogs.com/0100524/2003/02/22.html

I'd like to see the bottle and see what the active "proprietary" (we don't want to let you know how cheap the) ingredients are. . . I'm thinking not glass lens cleaner but something like Armour-All--vinyl cleaner. Gimme a couple of days I'll see if we can save on buying it under another name for cheaper.

I also found Kensington Screen Guardian:

http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/search...s=web&g=s&t=all

specifically:

http://catalog.doit.wisc.edu/produc...&itemnum=C21819

and more specifically:

http://www.kensington.com/searchApp/search.jsp

which appears to be less expensive. Still, I'd like to see the active ingredients of both. . . probly buy it by the train car for pennies.
__________________

Scarlett

01-11-2005, 03:29 AM

Just thought I would add this bit of irony. Almost 11 years ago, I bought a 17" Viewsonic monitor and paid $949 for it. I most definitely did not want to use anything on that screen that would harm it in any way! So, I called Viewsonic to ask someone there what I should use to clean the screen. The response: WINDEX!!! The kind you use to clean your windows--not the one for electronics! My instinct told me not to use anything with ammonia, so I used plain water and diapers. It worked fine, and the old Viewsonic is still running, and the display is just as good as it was 11 years ago--but not as good as my new 21" Sony. :) Today, I use the same optical cleaner that I use for my glasses, because they have some type of coating also, and I figured that if it is safe for the coating on eyeglasses, it should be safe for the coating on monitors. I also use it on my LCD screens--works like a charm!

Scarlett

myztikal47

05-17-2006, 04:14 PM

Hey guys, I came across this post from google because I had the same problem with my antiglare, a big patch in the middle was scratched and it was VERY annoying. Anyway I read through this thread and this thing http://www.ehow.com/tips_940.html so I started to trying remove the anti-glare this morning as soon as I woke up. I went at it with comet which removed a nice amount in the middle but it was going so slow. So I got a new scrubbing pad (this was my mistake) and I went at it again, the pad scratched up EVERYTHING!!! It was really really bad. I thought I had scratched up the glass, I couldn't see CRAP with the monitor on. Alright so I became all depressed and decided that I screwed up big time and now it's time to buy a new monitor. But I remembered reading in the ehow tips that someone removed the anti glare by opening up their monitor. I had already taken the monitor down into the kitchen so I could put it in the garage to throw it away, so I said "what the hell" and decided to open it up and maybe salvage it. Well, IT WORKED!!! When I opened it up I saw the there was a thick layer of this sticker type thing that was the anti-glare substance which is what I had scratched up.....using a sharp razor blade I pulled up the corner, and pulled all of it off. In the end, my monitor is now still amazing although has more glare :( but atleast I didn't kill it.

pentachris

05-17-2006, 05:56 PM

mjc

05-17-2006, 10:38 PM

How'd that go...

Playing around inside a monitor is like wandering around an electrical substation, blindfolded, at night without any warning signs posted, anywhere....

myztikal47

05-18-2006, 12:44 AM

Welcome to the forums, myztikal47!

It should be reiterated that you take a big risk when you start poking around inside a monitor. There is at least one place (flyback transformer) that stores enough electricity to kill you, even after it has been unplugged for a couple of years...

http://www.afrotechmods.com/reallycheap/Jacob/suctioncup.jpg

Yea I saw that piece and I remeber my uncle telling me about it, I didn't know that was it, either was I remeber and I didn't want to poke around so all I did was remove the plastic casing and look for the anti-glare coating. I made sure I didn't touch anything but the metal right around the screen, thanks for the warning, I will definatley remeber that piece from now on as it was right in front of my face. Also isn't there a way to discharge that piece somehow? Heres a picture of what I took off, you can see its scratched to hell because of the work I was tryin to do on it, I don't think it's possible to fix it, if I had never taken the monitor cover off and looked I wouldn't spent my life trying to fix the thing and it wouldve never worked....

http://web.njit.edu/~sa69/IMG_2737_resize.JPG

Cirrocco

06-11-2006, 03:32 PM

I have a LaCie electron19blue

I wanted to clean my screen one day so I grabbed the windex and gave it a go.
I thought I had some stuff on my screen so I started polishing on that one spot.
a minute later I realized that I had cleaned the anti-glare (or " anti glare " for anyone coming from a search engine <shameless plug> ) right off the glass.

I did a quick search on the internet and only found this page. this page did inspire me to try something...some of you might cringe at the idea...

I used Comet - scratch free with bleach + wet cloth + a whole lot of elbow grease.
I'm about 2/3 of the way through as I take a break to sign up for this forum and write this message, and it took me 2 hours to get here and my arm hurts like F***. The skin is coming off my thumb, but I'm almost done, and it is NOT scratching the glass.

mjc

06-11-2006, 03:53 PM

The skin is coming off my thumb, but I'm almost done, and it is NOT scratching the glass.

That is why cleaning products often recommend the wearing of gloves...

Kallen

11-14-2006, 02:00 AM

This thread will never die...:)
I wanted to register here because i owe a BIG thanks to you guys for the info.
Especially to myztikal47, for the GREAT info about the film cover (had no idea) and to pentachris for the safety warning (again, no idea), and of course, of Google fame, jabarnutcase for the venue.
So, MONTHS ago, my wife with good intentions used an off brand Windex clone to clean my monitor (Samsung flatscreen 17" CRT). That night, I turn on my system, and there's a scratch in the middle of the screen. (I've noticed the middle seems the most common place based on other posters). So as i rub this area a little, it becomes bigger and I realize it's not a scratch. Irratedly i used more Windex-clone to no avail. Bother me to heck tho. Recently, on a trip to Sam's Club I got this stuff called "Invisible Glass". It seemed to take quite a bit off, but not enough. So 2 days ago i decide to go all out warfare on this thing. I used: Bleach, Shout (stain remover), ammonia, gasoline, denatured alcohol, half can of Invisible Glass...got maybe half off over the entire screen. Then I found this thread (which BTW did NOT show up a few months ago when I searched...). I almost left to go back to my search results, and came across the above mentioned posts about the film covering and the warning. Man, did that work GREAT!!! The bad part was once I got it off there was an AWFUL adhesive on the glass. Took almost 4 hours of scrubbing with alcohol to get it all off. But it was worth it because my display look better now than when I bought it like 6 years ago. BRIGHT and very sharp. Far better.
So now my long windedness is done, thankyou again for all the info here! :)
Keith

Whyzman

11-14-2006, 05:32 AM

Welcome Kallen tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gifForums!

No problem resurrecting jabarnutcase and the infamous anti-glare coating thread... ;)

I'd actually never read through the whole thing until I read your post on the thread's merits...what a hoot! :D

I've not encountered the problem yet, but I sure am glad literal solutions kept coming beyond jabar's 9mm solution. But, who woulda thunk it's a literal film... :)

Kallen

11-14-2006, 11:05 AM

Welcome Kallen tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gifForums!

But, who woulda thunk it's a literal film... :)
Thankyou! :)

And i wouldn't have thought of it myself! But I thought something was off when I tried one of our non-scratch dish sponges, and it scratched the display....I had tested it on the bottom of a glass as hard as I could and it didn't scratch. but on my monitor, with less pressure, it scratched. Then I came here and saw myztikal47 post about the exact same thing..made sense. :)
like I said, when i got to the part where jabbarnutcase used a 9mm, I about gave up onm the thread. :)

Whyzman

11-14-2006, 11:23 AM

Like I said, when i got to the part where jabbarnutcase used a 9mm, I about gave up onm the thread. :)Definitely a bit radical...I'm suprised, though, that he didn't pick up on the film once he put a round or two into it...

I've seen TVs with shots in them and they act more like automotive windshield glass (plastic laminated) than side window glass that shatters...

I suspect that the adrenaline rush jabar received from icing the set must have fogged his inquisitive side once he saw the thing didn't implode, or explode...

Hmmm...which begs the question; Is the anti-glare coating actually some sort of safety feature??

Kallen

11-14-2006, 12:11 PM

Hmmm...which begs the question; Is the anti-glare coating actually some sort of safety feature??
Well, I'm gonna say yeah, but not for the shattering glass. Once i damaged the film coating trying to get the glare coating off, when i hooked it back up and turned it on, there was this nasty arching electrical bolt that would go from top to bottom of the monitor, making me certain i ruined it. And then when i turned it off, it did it again. While it was on during this time, there would be a HUGE buildup of static electricity...And it did this little lightening bolt when it was first turned on, run a while, and turned off. But if I turned it back on or off right away it wouldn't do it, so i figured it was discharge of the built up static electricity. Once I got the film off, it hasn't done it again, and the screen doesn't have any static buildup at all.

Kallen

11-16-2006, 11:07 PM

Is this plastic coating possibly a barrier or diffuser of some kind to protect against radiation from the monitor?

Whyzman

11-17-2006, 02:13 AM

Radiation? What's that? :confused:

Fruss Tray Ted

11-17-2006, 04:52 AM

Whyz,
You don't know what radiation is? Your mom must have let you sit too close to the tv (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_105.html) when you were young... ;)

PrntRhd

11-17-2006, 10:33 AM

Is this plastic coating possibly a barrier or diffuser of some kind to protect against radiation from the monitor?
No, the X-ray radiation is stopped by all the lead shielding in the CRT. Of course all that lead is bad for the environment if disposed of improperly.

Whyzman

11-17-2006, 10:42 AM

Hmmm...folks I meet often comment that I have a "glow about me," which I always took to mean I was an amiable person...

So, now, I'm to understand it's radiation?? :(

Casio Nova

12-30-2006, 03:11 AM

Let me start by saying thanks for this thread, and thanks specifically to the person who took their monitor apart to discover that the anti-glare coating was in fact not really a coating, but a nice semi-thick sheet of plastic glued to the glass itself.

More than a couple years ago I got some scratches in prime viewing area on my Viewsonic PF790 that I bought in 2000. It's been a great monitor, 19" and only now do I realize how great this thing has been.

About a year ago I researched how to remove the scratches and came across some conversations about liquid compounds, scrubbing with steel wool, different chemicals, etc. etc. (you know what I'm talking about) After reading more than enough people talk about wearing themselves out trying to scrub the surface off, I just decided to live with the scratches.

As a Christmas present to myself this year I decided to buy an LCD monitor as an upgrade, doing a ton of research on them and basing my purchase on the quality of the Planar PL1910 19" LCD I have at work. I do a large amount of graphic and web design work as well as photo editing. The Planar has been excellent, but I decided to try out a Dell 2007 20" widescreen just to see how I liked the switch to widescreen.

Ordered it today, don't know if I'll stay with it or not but will get it next week.

Now then, that brings us back to the Viewsonic. Sitting here tonight thinking, "Gee, new monitor on the way, possibly no use for the Viewsonic after this, wonder if I can research a little more about removing those scratches...

Came across this thread and the eureka moment that the coating was removable if you took the monitor apart. Didn't want to go that far, so I simply created a tiny hole with the tip of an X-Acto knife and looked around the house for something non-metal that I could wedge into the whole and open it up.

In the end, a simple pair of wooden chopsticks did the trick. You can see below how I opened the hole up:

1)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020486.JPG

Once you're in there it's rather easy, and I mean very easy, to lift up and separate it. Then you kind of have to act like a surgeon and cut into what you're lifting away to give yourself more room and more direction to move around.

2)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020487.JPG

3)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020490.JPG

4)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020492.JPG
Here's a little more torn away from the corner, you can see where the chopstick has advanced a little further from the starting point.

5)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020495.JPG

Much more pulled away now. You can see some adhesive aspects still stuck on the glass. Quite frankly, this would be the ONLY really annoying part of the whole thing. (But, no worries, I've got good tips below to either avoid that or get rid of it easily. Gotta love trial and error!)

6)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020496.JPG

This is where I got clever. Ran an X-Acto blade horizontally along the top of the screen and vertically down the left, cutting hard enough to go through the anti-glare screen. (Did the same thing above to remove the right side)
Already had it pulled away some from the right so basically just started peeling it back, and it was a piece of cake.

No adhesive left behind, nice smooth pull and it was off. Pretty much pulled it straight across to the right and it was off!

7)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020497.JPG

8)
http://www.mg33.net/misc/monitorfix/P1020498.JPG

You can see the adhesive areas left behind. Started using Windex, then water, then just getting it all wet and scraping with the edge of the X-Acto. Did pretty well to get it loose, no scratches to the glass and probably put about 30 minutes into it before I figured out the following:

A simple white Staedtler Mars Plastic eraser got rid of the adhesive junk with almost no effort. Didn't need a metal sponge, just the eraser and a little water. A lot of back and forth between having the monitor off and on to see little areas that needed some clean up, and I was done.

Total time, honestly, about 1 1/2 hours, and I feel like I have a brand new monitor. To be honest, not sure if I like the anti-glare gone now or not... it did the trick for not getting glare, but I feel like the colors and screen are more detailed without it.

SUGGESTION:
If you're going to approach peeling away the coating, I would fully suggest using an X-Acto around the edges of the monitor. I won't say that you won't scratch it, but if you go along the edge just right you wouldn't see it anways.

After doing that, start in a corner and just wedge the edge of the blade under neath so you can get a tiny portion of the corner up. Then use something to open it up a bit, and grab a pair of pliers and pull slowly. If you've fully cut through all the edges on all four sides, it should be nice and smooth. The only area you might have trouble are in the corners. I see a little bit of the coating there but very, very little.

Anyhow, I hope this helps many of you out who had the same problems. STOP SCRUBBING AND USING STEEL WOOL AND OTHER THINGS TO RUB THE ANTI-GLARE COATING OFF. YOU'LL JUST END UP WEARING YOUR ARM(S) OUT.

Of course, I hold myself totally unresponsible for any problems you encounter, but this worked very well and there's nothing wrong with the glass. Makes you realize just how tough glass is! :D

I'm now left with what I'll do with the Dell... Going to compare them and see what I think. Might just stick it out with this big CRT for a little longer.

azzey

12-30-2006, 05:25 AM

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif, Casio Nova

Ahh... the infamous monitor anti-glare coating thread! I have you applaud you, that was very thorough for a first post! :D Hopefully your instructions and suggestions along with the rest of the thread will help many other troubled users and save some elbow grease.

GlareRemover

06-28-2007, 06:30 PM

Hey everybody, like the rest of you also I also had a monitor with a portion of the anti-glare coating removed. It all happened when a certain special someone decided it would be a really great idea to clean my 17" Viewsonic monitor with some long forgotten cleaner (I believe it was Pledge). Anyway, after a year of just putting up with the resulting "scratches", it eventually got so bad that I couldn't look at the screen without getting a headache (I tried to remove the stuff before, but nothing seemed to work). So this morning I decided to do something about it or to just get rid of the monitor. I searched the net for some possible solutions and came across this board. Seems I wasn't the only one with this kind of problem. After skimming the thread a bit, I thought that most of the solutions were a bit too complicated (taking apart your monitor???).. Anyway, after some experimenting with comet, I eventually gave up because it was taking way too much time. Then I tried an generic ammonia based window cleaner and cheap brillo pad and to my astonishment, it worked really well. It took about 10-20 mins to take off the remainder of the coating.

Here's what it looked like after about 5 mins of scrubbing. You can see the "scratches" that plagued the screen a bit on the side. It made reading text impossible!

http://www.geocities.com/delacochonerie/1.jpg

Here's a better view of what it looked like with monitor off:

http://www.geocities.com/delacochonerie/2.jpg

After a bit more scrubing:

http://www.geocities.com/delacochonerie/3.jpg

And this is what it looked like once it was all done. The artifacts in the middle of the screen are just my reflection:

http://www.geocities.com/delacochonerie/5.jpg

And last, but not least... these are the two products I used to remove the coating. I also used some kitchen paper towel to periodically remove the residue from the screen.

http://www.geocities.com/delacochonerie/4.jpg

Et voila! Nothing too complicated.. took about 20 mins to do once I figured out that it worked. Also for those who are wondering, despite the fact that the brillo pad was quite rough, it didn't scratch the glass. It did, however, remove plastic flakes from the surrounding casing, but the damage is not noticeable. The most difficult "problem" was removing the coating from the corners. I don't suggest you used this method on an LCD, since I was applying a fair amount of pressure on the brillo pad.

Anyway, I'm sharing this with you guys as a possible solution to your anti-glare coating woes. Hope it helps.

GlareRemover

06-30-2007, 03:31 AM

Just as a side note... after a day or so of usage, I did notice some scratching on the glass... luckily its only in the corners so it's not very bothersome, especially when compared to what it was like before. I must have pressed a bit harder in these areas, because the rest of the glass is crystal clear. Anyway, just a word of caution.

psykvirus

07-21-2007, 05:54 AM

ok ok, i've tried the last method posted! im rubbing the anti-glare coating off, then i rub it clean, but when i turn my monitor on, some of the glass is blury?how do i fix this??? do i keep on rubbing it? or??? please help me!!!!

Thanks in advanced =)

fjp1766

10-07-2007, 05:41 PM

This is an old post but maybe someone will find it useful. I have a very old 17 inch CRT monitor (Viewsonic A75f). A few months ago I was cleaning it and it developed a streak on the anti glare coating. I tried to remove the rest of the coating as this streak was quite annoying. It was very difficult and time consuming to do so even after using many glass cleaning products.

I finally succeeded and it was a snap once I tried a Glass Polisher compound for car detailing. The product I used was a white paste that came in a tub. I think that a gentle swirl remover like Scratch X from Meguiar's may also do the trick but I used the glass cleaner.

Please note that I followed the instructions and used a moist microfiber cloth to apply the cleaner on the monitor's glass and as I was spreading it, it was removing the anti glare coating like magic. The particles are very fine so there were no scratches to the glass itself.

So again, if you want to REMOVE the anti-glare coating of a glass CRT monitor easily, try a glass polisher compound for car detailing. If you have some light scratch removers for cars, I suspect that may also be gentle enough to remove it without scratching the glass.

Cheers,

Francisco

Rick Saunders

10-23-2007, 06:22 PM

The final word on removing anti-glare film from monitor screens

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY TO FIX THE PROBLEM OF A STREAKED OR DAMAGED MONITOR SCREEN, PERIOD!
Stop the insanity! I read all the various methods for cleaning a muddled, damaged anti-glare screen film, and most are dubious at best (I tried many of them and all I got was tired arms from scrubbing and a screen that was still not clear...)
The exception --and by-far the BEST-- way to deal with this problem is simply to remove the plastic film from the monitor glass. It was very easy and took me only about 10 minutes to accomplish. Just get a straight-edge razor blade and run the pointy corner of the blade's sharp edge along the extreme outer edges of your monitor screen -- where the glass meets the plastic housing of the monitor. You want to make sure to press the blade corner down fairly hard to cut all the way through the thick, plastic film that is the anti-glare coating. Once you've cut along all four sides of the glass then you'll want to stick the angled, sharp corner edge of the blade somewhere in the center of the screen to make a hole into the thick film coating. You'll know when you're through it when you see the glass beneath --and if your monitor is turned on, you'll see the much brighter light coming through the hole you've created in the film. Now just insert the corner of the razor blade in and try to slice along the film until you can lift an edge that's large enough to grasp with your fingers. Then pull slowly and evenly at the raised piece and the plastic film will peel right off the glass. It's sometimes not that simple to get it all off in one big sheet, and will probably be easier to just remove it one few-inch-long chunk at a time. Even removing it in pieces will take you only a few minutes to peel it all off.
When you're done pulling all the film off you can clean the glass screen with windex, alcohol or whatever else you'd like, since there is no longer a coating to worry about muddling, just about any solution can accomplish the job. I found that the increased glare level is really negligible (I actually prefer the brightness and clarity now to how it was before,) but if it bothers you or seems too reflective you can buy an add-on external, anti-glare screen that attaches to the front of your monitor for about $15 or less.
I hope this helps all those who, like me, were agonizing over how to clean a damaged, streaked screen, and, after listening to others' advice were scrubbing madly with various abrasive cleaners to little avail.
I realize that other individuals have earlier said basically the same thing as I just have about completely peeling off the plastic film, but unlike their more complex methods, I found that you really don't need chopsticks, X-Acto knives and the like -- just one straight-edge razor blade and ten minutes of your time -- that's it!
Good luck!

Budfred

10-23-2007, 08:13 PM

Hey thanks for the "final word"... Stay tuned for the next "final word"... :D :D

Whyzman

10-24-2007, 12:26 AM

This definitley simplifies the peeling process since it can be accomplished without removing the complete housing to get at it.... ;)

propaganda64

03-02-2008, 07:31 AM

I read about using Oven Cleaner somewhere a while back (might have been this forum).... Just tried today on apple studio 17" crt, worked a treat, no elbow grease needed. clear bright monitor, no nasty antiglare stuff anumore.

Whyzman

03-02-2008, 08:36 AM

And there ya go...the final word of many final words... :D

And this one will help getting ride of the burnt cheese residue too... :)

sassie05

03-02-2008, 10:25 AM

And this one will help getting ride of the burnt cheese residue too...
I use my old CRT for making grilled cheese sandwiches. Now I have a way to remove the burnt on cheese.;) :D

wonderbred79

03-03-2008, 12:45 PM

First I wanted to thank everyone that posted ideas and methods for removing anti-glare. From what I have read there are two types of anti-glare, a plastic screen that can be removed and an applied coating, either sprayed on or some kind of molecular bonded stuff. I have a 42' Dell plasma and I was extremely dissapointed when I removed some coating using only plain water and a paper towel. There was a couple spots that were difficult to remove so I used a bit more pressure. WRONG ANSWER! I now have a dime sized hole in the anti-glare coating in the upper right side which to say the least is annoying. I've contacted Dell but no response back. I'm quite certain that its not a plastic sheet covering my screen, and I think that being able to rub off the coating with water and a paper towel is a bit ridiculous! For such a small spot and the mild annoyance I will wait for a response from Dell, but using a rubbing compound on my plasma is not something I look forward to trying. Not to mention the fact that theres so much more surface area than a 17' crt, it seems its going to take me some time to remove all the coating. Also the screen is plastic not glass, so I'm sure that will make a big difference in what I can use. I will post back when I get some answers because I'm sure there are a few people like me who have this problem on an lcd or plasma and may not want to try some of these "I'm getting a new monitor anyway so as a last resort I will try...." solutions. Glare Buster may be the best bet but like the guy with the gun said, it probably won't match. Maybe I'll find a way to remove it all (I can use water and a paper towel!) and just reapply the anti-glare uniformly. To be continued.....

wonderbred79

03-03-2008, 06:12 PM

its me again =) no response from dell (not that I was expecting one since my warranty was expired) but I did find a good solution. Soft Scrub w/ Bleach and an old T-shirt (soft and clean) worked great! It took off all the anti-glare with little effort. I figured it was so easy to remove the one spot it couldn't be too hard to remove the rest. I was correct, and using these posts as a guide I knew I needed to find something slightly abrasive but not too much. I would say it took mild to moderate pressure for removal, and it was very easy to tell when it was clean (when I wiped and it felt smooth = clean, sandpaper = coating). It took me about an hour and a half for a 42', and there really isn't much difference without the anti-glare. I did notice that it gave everything a purplish/bluish tint, but that was only noticable when I had half the coating off. So it was pretty easy to fix and it looks good, thanks to everyone who posted here. I say good luck to anyone else who has this problem, and you really haven't experienced your computer if you haven't seen it on a big screen =P