Remove Anti-Glare Protective Coating???

[Casio Nova]

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)


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)


3)


4)

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)


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)


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)


8)


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!

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]

Welcome to , Casio Nova

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

[GlareRemover]

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!



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



After a bit more scrubing:



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



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.



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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Whyzman]

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

[propaganda64]

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]

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

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

[sassie05]

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.

[wonderbred79]

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]

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

[Darth Sailor]

After trying just about everything on the three pages of posts, I just thought of something. Anybody here have to fix their own cars? How do you losten up something that's really stuck...

WD-40 !!!!

And it's worked like crazy. In five minutes I have my whole glass screen crystal clean. No more scratched up anti-glare.

It's also kind of a lubricant, so just keep rubbing in one spot to start and you'll feel an edge of anti-glare growing where you're rubbing. Working your way out is how I did it, but suit yourself. Just don't go hog wild and get it all over the plastic of the monitor casing. I don't know what affect it might have.

Thank you WD-40!!!

[CRTAntiglare]

After about four years, this thread has proven to withstand the test of time. I came across this thread after having scratched my antiglare film on my CRT. I'll just add yet another success story to the thread and show my appreciation with a few pictures and gratitude for the idea(s).

[erikborgo]

Lord I hate LCD's, biggest consumer lie in history.

(Diamondtron) Lacie Electron Blue 22" Professional grade CRT, a great many scratches all over the screen some of them white as well as deep, image almost unreadable vivid rainbows with all the scratches. I used a stanley knife on the lower left hand edge to cut through the polysomething coating down to the glass, then picked up that corner of polysomething with the blade and pulled up the corner. Then using a cut, narrow piece of bamboo pulled away the rest of the 0.5mm thick polysomething anti glare sheet and now it's an amazing image, almost as bright as my Solarism which is 800nits! Blooming heck these monitors are amazing! Hope it doesn't zap me with too many x-rays!

Thanks a lot for that post as it saved this monitor! Wish I'd known this before I chucked my awesome Sony Trinitron into a skip a few years back with a similar problem, feeling foolish but who knew it would be so easy to sort? Cheers!

[BarryII]

I have a Mitsubishi DiamondPoint SB70 monitor with an OptiClear (TM) coating. I guess this is the trademark information for it, so I know who to contact for technical information.

The blemished part of my screen is smoother and squeaker than the rest of the screen. There's no noticeable bump at all when I run my finger across the bright spots. My hope isn't high that it's pealable.

An important note about scouring glass: the silica in glass dust can mess up your lungs and kill you. If it's not pealable, it's probably better to try one of the solvents mentioned above (though Windex and alcohol didn't work for me), with good ventilation, than to risk inhaling silica.

Oh, great, I just read more of the manual and it says "Lead can be found in picture tubes, display screens, solder and capacitors. Lead damages the nervous system and in higher doses, causes lead poisoning." So scratching the glass could release lead into the air and I may need to wash my hands after touching the screen. Maybe that's one reason for the coating.

[hackerballs]

1500 grit sandpaper..... and then peel it all off and be done with it a new screen or at least a clean one'

[GeneralFactotum]

Many thanks to the above contributors to this thread. I have a Mitsubishi "Diamond Plus" 92 CRT monitor, and after a quick screen wipe with CIF to remove some dead flies, was distraught to see horrible pale areas appearing. The shapes did not bear any resemblance to the directions wiped, and no solvents in the Factotum household made any impression whatsoever. HOWEVER, armed with some Brillo Pads and a heavy heart I scrubbed the screen as recommended, and after a few minutes the ghastly patchy mess started to disappear. So thanks once again. The monitor would otherwise now have been in the garbage.

[Thefarmer]

I couldn't find a good answer (even here) so I tried everything. None of: glass cleaner; acetone; xylene; or paint thinner worked. I finally used "Fast Orange" made by Permatex. This is a commercial grease/oil hand cleaner used by mechanics etc.

The coating came off in seconds, leaving my screen brighter, my hands softer - and with a nice orange scent. (Permatex please send me my advert premium.)

[rman]

Thanks Darth Sailor for your tip about WD-40, it is taking off the coating from my NEC FE700+. I also know how the coating was removed in the first place. I probably touched the screen with residue of WD-40 on my hands.