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JazzyJ

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 2, 2007
12
3
In the next few days I will swap out the HD on a 2013 27" iMac for an SSD. This involves taking the screen off and refitting it after with adhesive tape. However, after watching a variety of tutorials and reading the comments there seems to be a significant amount of people who have refitted their screen only for it to fall off within a few weeks or months.

So my questions are:

1. Did the screens fall off in most cases because the iMac was not 'rested' on it's back for a time ( 8 hours?) for the adhesive strips to bond?
2. Is there a benefit in putting a few books on top of the screen and leaving it for an evening after fitting it anew?
3. I came across one video where a guy put a 'blob' of clear silicon in the top corners to aid bonding - is this a good idea?
4. How can I minimise the possibility of my screen falling off after refitting it?

Thanks for any insight or practical advice anyone can offer!
 
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rampancy

macrumors 6502a
Jul 22, 2002
742
1,004
In the next few days I will swap out the HD on a 2013 27" iMac for an SSD. This involves taking the screen off and refitting it after with adhesive tape. However, after watching a variety of tutorials and reading the comments there seems to be a signifianct amount of people who have refitted their screen only for it to fall off within a few weeks or months.

So my questions are:

1. Did the screens fall off in most cases because the iMac was not 'rested' on it's back for a time ( 8 hours?) for the adhesive strips to bond?
2. Is there a benefit in putting a few books on top of the screen and leaving it for an evening after fitting it anew?
3. I came across one video where a guy put a 'blob' of clear silicon in the top corners to aid bonding - is this a good idea?
4. How can I minimise the possibility of my screen falling off after refitting it?

Thanks for any insight or practical advice anyone can offer!

So I've just done this on my own 2013 iMac (iMac 14,1, Late-2013 21.5") - it's not a 27" but the same rules should largely apply.

1. It's difficult to say for certain without asking people in more detail. Did iFixit source faulty replaement adhesive tape? Is the OWC tape similarly faulty? Is the cheapo tape from Amazon significantly worse? The folks whose posts I've read that reported adhesive tape failures didn't mention at all if they did/didn't let the iMac rest.

In my case, I did read about someone who rested their iMac, so I did actually let it rest on its back for 24 hours.

2. I think it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you provide a level surface for the iMac to rest to let the glue set. The display glass is pretty darn heavy on the 21.5" (much more so on the 27", I imagine) so the weight of the display alone should be enough to help the glue set evenly. The only thing I'd do is maybe use large heavy books as some sort of guide to ensure that the glass isn't misaligned as your set it down on the glue (I thought it was square on, but I later discovered I was a millimeter off centre. Ugh.)

One other possibility for helping the glue set, clued into me by @B S Magnet is to put the iMac face down on a towel or soft surface on a table. That actually might be a better position for helping the adhesive tape to set effectively.

One person on the iFixit forums mentioned using a heatgun with a J-roller to also maximize the adhesive setting of the glue post-display reattachment. I would have done that, if I had access to those tools.

3. I've never heard of that before - did the person explain why they used silicone? If it's straight-up adhesive, I'd recommend against that...at least not if you think you might need to open up your iMac in the future.

4. I've seen other 2013 iMac owners used clear tesa duct tape to affix their iMac's screen to the case; I've also seen people on the iFixit forums strongly suggest against using tesa tape, as the adhesive strength of the tape is apparently enough to potentially damage the screen.

For me, I've used small strips of Gorilla Crystal Clear duct tape to anchor the screen to the iMac's case, as an insurance policy against the adhesive tape failing sometime down the road. We'll see what happens.

As for you, best of luck with your repair. From my experience, the best things to do would be:

a) Leave the iMac on its back (or face down on a table with a soft cloth) for at least 24 hrs. to allow the glue time to set
b) Apply a heat gun (I'm guessing on a low setting) with a J-Roller to maximize even setting and adhesion of the tape

Again, best of luck. Maybe B S Magnet might have some other pearls of wisdom to share.
 
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So I've just done this on my own 2013 iMac (iMac 14,1, Late-2013 21.5") - it's not a 27" but the same rules should largely apply.

1. It's difficult to say for certain without asking people in more detail. Did iFixit source faulty replaement adhesive tape? Is the OWC tape similarly faulty? Is the cheapo tape from Amazon significantly worse? The folks whose posts I've read that reported adhesive tape failures didn't mention at all if they did/didn't let the iMac rest.

In my case, I did read about someone who rested their iMac, so I did actually let it rest on its back for 24 hours.

2. I think it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you provide a level surface for the iMac to rest to let the glue set. The display glass is pretty darn heavy on the 21.5" (much more so on the 27", I imagine) so the weight of the display alone should be enough to help the glue set evenly. The only thing I'd do is maybe use large heavy books as some sort of guide to ensure that the glass isn't misaligned as your set it down on the glue (I thought it was square on, but I later discovered I was a millimeter off centre. Ugh.)

One other possibility for helping the glue set, clued into me by @B S Magnet is to put the iMac face down on a towel or soft surface on a table. That actually might be a better position for helping the adhesive tape to set effectively.

One person on the iFixit forums mentioned using a heatgun with a J-roller to also maximize the adhesive setting of the glue post-display reattachment. I would have done that, if I had access to those tools.

3. I've never heard of that before - did the person explain why they used silicone? If it's straight-up adhesive, I'd recommend against that...at least not if you think you might need to open up your iMac in the future.

4. I've seen other 2013 iMac owners used clear tesa duct tape to affix their iMac's screen to the case; I've also seen people on the iFixit forums strongly suggest against using tesa tape, as the adhesive strength of the tape is apparently enough to potentially damage the screen.

For me, I've used small strips of Gorilla Crystal Clear duct tape to anchor the screen to the iMac's case, as an insurance policy against the adhesive tape failing sometime down the road. We'll see what happens.

As for you, best of luck with your repair. From my experience, the best things to do would be:

a) Leave the iMac on its back (or face down on a table with a soft cloth) for at least 24 hrs. to allow the glue time to set
b) Apply a heat gun (I'm guessing on a low setting) with a J-Roller to maximize even setting and adhesion of the tape

Again, best of luck. Maybe B S Magnet might have some other pearls of wisdom to share.

Not too much more to add here which you covered already.

With the AliExpress strips I bought, I did use a hair dryer both after I adhered the strips to the body, to heat the glass which would come in contact with the adhesive. After I re-affixed the glass and laid it down on a towel, I used the dryer on hot setting for about 20 minutes, low fan speed, moving around the perimeter where the new adhesive was, to bring up the aluminium temperature steadily to something approaching “sitting behind an unglazed window on a hot summer day”: hot to the touch, but I could still handle and pick up the computer if I needed to. That, plus time, of several hours, seemed to be sufficient.

I will add the AliExpress strips I got were very sticky even before I heated things up, so the adhesive quality of these kits may vary depending on the source.
 

Juicy Box

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2014
7,580
8,920
My advice:

Test your mods prior to removing old adhesive (use painters’ tape to hold everything together for testing. it holds very well, comes off very easily, and doesn’t leave a residue). This will save you from a huge headache if something’s not working right.

Once everything is working, remove the old adhesive and clean the surfaces very well prior to adding the new adhesive strips.

Use quality adhesive strips!

After applying adhesive strips, use painters, tape to hold the display onto the body. Pull the tape as tight as you can. Leave the tape on for a few days, or even a few weeks.
 
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JazzyJ

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 2, 2007
12
3
Thanks Everyone.
Regarding the guy who used 'silicon' - aparently his screen fell off and he had to purchase a new one, so he used new adhesive strips along with a blob of silicon in each corner (after removing the tape from those areas) to safeguard his new screen! Here's his video, it's at 13:00 mins that he explains about and uses silicon! iMac Screen using a bit of silicon!
 
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JazzyJ

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 2, 2007
12
3
For me, I've used small strips of Gorilla Crystal Clear duct tape to anchor the screen to the iMac's case, as an insurance policy against the adhesive tape failing sometime down the road. We'll see what happens.
That seems like a great idea, even if it's just used in the top corners. I think I'll go for that!
 
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PaulD-UK

macrumors 6502a
Oct 23, 2009
905
506
The cheap strips can be very sticky and fine for fixing the 27"screen.
Mine stuck straight away and has been fine for 18 months.

The big problem seems to be the thickness of the tapes.
The ones Apple uses keep the screen glass perfectly flat with the aluminium chin of the iMac. absolutely smooth to the fingertip.
My iMac (a DIY 5K monitor) has much thinner strips, so I can feel the aluminium chin sticking further out than the panel glass.

It's not the sticky tape that is thinner, it's the inner foam core which has the adhesive surfaces on both sides that isn't as thick.

This means it is likely to be much harder to take the screen off again, as the pizza wheel cutter cuts through this soft foam core easily.
If it has to be cutting through the actual plastic backing of the adhesive it will be much more difficult to separate the two sided of the tape to get the panel off.

This means that in future I am ONLY going to source strips marked with the the correct Apple part number on the strips to use in future.
The numbers are like 076-00009 for the full set, but each strip is marked.

Edit: The first number is Apple's build part. The second the repair kit number.
iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) 076-1444 076-1419
Mac (27-inch, Late 2013) 076-1444 076-1419
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) 076-1444 076-00009
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) 076-1444 076-00009
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) 076-1444 076-00009
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) 076-00330 076-00332
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) Refill Kit: 076-00332
 
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Mr.Fox

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2020
282
198
In the next few days I will swap out the HD on a 2013 27" iMac for an SSD. This involves taking the screen off and refitting it after with adhesive tape. However, after watching a variety of tutorials and reading the comments there seems to be a significant amount of people who have refitted their screen only for it to fall off within a few weeks or months.

So my questions are:

1. Did the screens fall off in most cases because the iMac was not 'rested' on it's back for a time ( 8 hours?) for the adhesive strips to bond?
2. Is there a benefit in putting a few books on top of the screen and leaving it for an evening after fitting it anew?
3. I came across one video where a guy put a 'blob' of clear silicon in the top corners to aid bonding - is this a good idea?
4. How can I minimise the possibility of my screen falling off after refitting it?

Thanks for any insight or practical advice anyone can offer!
1) screens fall off because people don't think and buy whatever they can get their hands on. Or they're just idiots, and that's the diagnosis. That's the result. You don't have to use double sided tape. You can use liquid glue for electronics. It's much better and more effective. The time for the glue to set is usually a full 36 hours, not 24 hours.
2) No, you will have uneven pressure on the surface of the screen and there will be misalignment with misalignment. There should be calibrated weights to create even pressure at 4 points (on the sides) and 6 on the cross of the screen.
3) Watch less YouTube, the man is an idiot for gluing in this way. It will be incredibly difficult to remove then, there is a risk that the screen may burst.
4) Use a quality adhesive for electronics. Put on latex gloves and degrease the surface. Allow time for it to cure. Don't skimp on glue and buy the most expensive glue, not the “all for $1” kind. Use a flat surface. No towel, paper or anything else. It will save you from scratches, but it will not save you from misalignment. Before disassembling the computer I strongly recommend to do a general cleaning in the room where you will glue - dust in the mass of glue is not a good thing.Dust is an excellent conductor
 
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PaulD-UK

macrumors 6502a
Oct 23, 2009
905
506
It’s Apples system.
Apple don’t use glue for this job.
For many other situations, yes.

For attaching screens so you can take them off again afterwards Apple have used very sticky foam-cored tape strips.

When you try to remove a glued-on screen the screen glass will shatter.
The iMac pizza-wheel cutting tool has nowhere to slice into if the glass is directly stuck to the iMac case, and will force the glass apart locally and cause damage.

That is what people who have bought iMacs from idiots who have glued on the screen find. 🥵🥵🥵
 
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Mr.Fox

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2020
282
198
It’s Apples system.
Apple don’t use glue for this job.
For many other situations, yes.

For attaching screens so you can take them off again afterwards Apple have used very sticky foam-cored tape strips.

When you try to remove a glued-on screen the screen glass will shatter.
The iMac pizza-wheel cutting tool has nowhere to slice into if the glass is directly stuck to the iMac case, and will force the glass apart locally and cause damage.

That is what people who have bought iMacs from idiots who have glued on the screen find. 🥵🥵🥵
Do you have experience with professional and licensed mass repair? Judging by your comment and the nonsense you write, no.
It's a straightforward question. Why didn't you mention that these tapes have a defective design feature that allows dust to pass through over time? If you're in the repair business, you should know that.
Apple uses a lot of things. But if you look, you can find more practical solutions.
You shouldn't. Much is lost and complicated ))))
Nonsense.If your hands grow out of your ass, yes. If the hands and head are in place, they will take it off without problems. Many types of glue that are used as an alternative to glue the screen is easily removed by heating or using specialized chemistry. And do not engage in ananism in the form of slipping pullers.
 

rampancy

macrumors 6502a
Jul 22, 2002
742
1,004
Thanks Everyone.
Regarding the guy who used 'silicon' - aparently his screen fell off and he had to purchase a new one, so he used new adhesive strips along with a blob of silicon in each corner (after removing the tape from those areas) to safeguard his new screen! Here's his video, it's at 13:00 mins that he explains about and uses silicon! iMac Screen using a bit of silicon!

So here's my problems with that:

1) The actual place where he points to for appling the silicone is obscured by the text of the Amazon review. Yes, it's important that he put the text up there (as well as the photos of people who've experienced tape failures), but as a result I'm unclear on where he exactly places it on the right-hand side.

2) So the stuff he's using isn't any kind of fancy silicone - it's just bog-standard GE clear home silicone caulking, like what you'd use on a windowsill or in a bathroom. Where did he learn about this? Why silicone? And would two small dabs of it stand up to the full weight of a 21.5" or 27" display if the glue completely fails?

3) The big question is what happens if you need to open up the iMac again some time later on. Since it's simply just silicone caulking, you can presumably cut through it with a knife or razor blade once it sets. But I'm still unsure of how it would (or wouldn't) complicate the process of opening up the Mac in the future.
 
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JazzyJ

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 2, 2007
12
3
Well, I've done the job! The screen came off in less that 3 minutes using a thin guitar plectrum. Was so easy I was surprised. Two cables easy to disconnect. Took out HDD and replaced with SSD using NewerTech 'Adaptadrive'. Only needed to loosen one speaker and move a little out of the way to access drive. The old tape on the rim/s came off easily.

Putting new adhesive strips on was a little bit more tricky but went ok.

BUT..... what is difficult is lining up the screen to put it back on and getting the cables back in! I guess everyone has their method. If I could 'rewind the clock' I'd get another person. I think putting the screen on and lining it up is a two person job. Anyway, I did it myself and it's probably 1mm out, a tiny ridge, so not the end of the world but I think with an extra pair of hands it would've been a lot easier.

I installed Sonoma before I opened the iMac - on an SSD in a USB 3 Caddy. Did all the updates etc. Then it was all ready to plug into internal SATA, once mac was opened. (I also did another test before I sealed it all up).

It's now 'resting' on it's back, for as long as I can leave it (a day or so) in order for that tape to 'really' bond. But I think I'll probably put a bit of 'clear gorilla tape' on the edges as a safety precaution.

Thanks for your advice everyone. Have a good day!
 
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Putting new adhesive strips on was a little bit more tricky but went ok.

In my kit, one strip was (inexplicably) about 1cm longer than it was supposed to be, and it wasn’t a result of applying at one end and stretching it by accident. (I applied at either end, using the spudger point guide hole method, and worked my way inward from both ends. Consequently, I had to — very carefully — excise/cut a centimetre of that strip (at an inconsequential place at its middle) to get it to work as intended.

The other strips from that kit worked out well.

BUT..... what is difficult is lining up the screen to put it back on and getting the cables back in! I guess everyone has their method. If I could 'rewind the clock' I'd get another person. I think putting the screen on and lining it up is a two person job. Anyway, I did it myself and it's probably 1mm out, a tiny ridge, so not the end of the world but I think with an extra pair of hands it would've been a lot easier.

I relied on a cardboard box, not unlike what iFixit sell and suggest, to keep the angle of the display tilted upward throughout working on my iMac. (The actual box I used was my Noctua NT-H2 thermal paste kit’s box).

This angle made it possible for me, whilst standing in front of the repair table, to set the lateral position of the base of the glass along its aluminium lip. I let the top of the glass lean up against my upper chest as I used my index fingertips (and the sides of the index fingers) to both situate the glass laterally and to rely completely on the sense of touch (literally, I wasn’t looking at it, at all) as my fingers on either side, simultaneously, moved upward from that fulcrum/pivot point at the bottom, upward until the gap between case and glass became longer than my index fingers.

Yes, a ruler may have worked in lieu of my fingers, but I trusted the glass was centred when feedback from both fingers felt mutually, simultaneously aligned. Once aligned, I used that fulcrum/pivot of the ledge like a hinge to allow the double-sided adhesive take to both sides, minding that I also needed to use just enough downward, but gentle force on the glass — thumbs up top, fingers on the upper sides — to prevent the base adhesive from riding up beneath the glass and aluminium ledge and causing a gap down there as I closed up everything. (This almost happened as I brought it in the first go, before I added that gentle, downward force with my thumbs.


It's now 'resting' on it's back, for as long as I can leave it (a day or so) in order for that tape to 'really' bond. But I think I'll probably put a bit of 'clear gorilla tape' on the edges as a safety precaution.

Hopefully that works. Along with the adhesive warming step, the method I used was to have the glass face down on a soft towel because it and the table surface are flush, while the mass of the aluminium and components “above” the glass are pulled downward by gravity, helping to “sandwich” the adhesive as I applied heat.
 
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rlsx

macrumors newbie
Oct 9, 2024
9
0
This means that in future I am ONLY going to source strips marked with the the correct Apple part number on the strips to use in future.
The numbers are like 076-00009 for the full set, but each strip is marked.

Edit: The first number is Apple's build part. The second the repair kit number.
iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) 076-1444 076-1419
Mac (27-inch, Late 2013) 076-1444 076-1419
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) 076-1444 076-00009
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) 076-1444 076-00009
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) 076-1444 076-00009
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) 076-00330 076-00332
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) Refill Kit: 076-00332
Thanks for the info.
Question: What's a reliable source for these 'original' Apple tapes?
Any cheap seller can stick these numbers on substandard tape!
 

PaulD-UK

macrumors 6502a
Oct 23, 2009
905
506
Quote: "Any cheap seller..."
The numbers are part of the manufacturing process.
'Any cheap seller' won't be selling them cheap if they go to the hassle of adding the correct numbers to each individual strip in the set...
Each different model-year set has different numbers.

iMacTapeStropNos.png


I found them on sale from an authorised Apple Reseller, but eBay has suppliers - though I don't know if they are genuine.
 
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rlsx

macrumors newbie
Oct 9, 2024
9
0
Quote: "Any cheap seller..."
The numbers are part of the manufacturing process.
'Any cheap seller' won't be selling them cheap if they go to the hassle of adding the numbers to each individual strip in the set...
Each different model-year set has different numbers.

View attachment 2446569
Do you know of a reputable seller/source?
When ordering online, it's impossible to check whether the seller is honest, and whether the numbers are printed on each individual strip!
Thanks!
 
Do you know of a reputable seller/source?
When ordering online, it's impossible to check whether the seller is honest, and whether the numbers are printed on each individual strip!
Thanks!

This is not my store nor am I endorsing them, but this is the supplier I used in September for replacing my strips after doing a bunch of upgrades inside.

Their kit (I variant I ordered shipped with a pizza-cutter tool and extra cutting discs) used colours, not numbers. What I had to do before the re-adhering step was I laid out the strips on the table in the position they would need to be placed.

In the product pics, you may note red and blue tape markers. The two red ones were for the bottom of the display. The adhesive is quite strong, even before accounting for my own prep work using heat.
 
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