Success (iPad 2 screen scratch removal)!

[thesiren]

As has been discussed in this forum and elsewhere, most iPad/iPhone screen scratches are actually in the oleophobic coating layer, not the glass itself.

So there was no actual scratch.

So, I figured, what if I just remove the oleophobic layer? Then all I'll have left is nice, smooth, hard, scratch-resistant glass.

It already was scratch-resistant. The oleophobic coating prevented the screen from being scratched.

However, without breathing on the glass, you absolutely can't visually tell where the coating ends -- the bare glass is exactly as shiny as the coated glass.

So the coating is invisible, completely undetectable and protects your screen from scratches. . . and you removed it?

I gotta tell you, I was SHOCKED as to how nicely this turned out. There are absolutely no scratches in the glass (even under very close inspection using fluorescent and LED spotlights)

So there was no actual scratch.

 

[kfscoll]

So there was no actual scratch.



It already was scratch-resistant. The oleophobic coating prevented the screen from being scratched.



So the coating is invisible, completely undetectable and protects your screen from scratches. . . and you removed it?



So there was no actual scratch.

RIF. There was a scratch...in the oleophobic coating. I have no idea how you can claim there was no scratch when I'm the one who saw it with my own eyes. FWIW, I don't like looking at scratches, so I buffed the scratch out by removing the coating.

That coating is EXTREMELY thin. If the coating were actually harder than the glass, then anything scratching through that thin coating would've scratched the glass underneath it also...but this wasn't so in my case. Therefore, since the glass is actually harder than the coating, the coating wasn't protecting anything from anything.

The coating serves one purpose only -- to reduce the incidence of fingerprints. I was willing to sacrifice that property to get a completely scratch-free screen. Besides, the sealant that I put on the screen mitigates fingerprints at least as well as the coating did and makes the screen easier to clean to boot. Sure, I might have to reapply the sealant every once in a while, but that's a small price to pay.

Hey, I'm not recommending that everyone run out and take a power buffer to their iPad, particularly to one that has a screen with no scratches. But I had a scratch on my screen, so I got out my trusty Porter-Cable, and I was happy with the results. I'm not sure what you're trying to dispute.

 

[felixen]

That's really awesome. I have a scratch on the back of my iPad 2. Not a big one but definitely visible? It's not very deep either - it sort of looks like a thin line drawn with a pencil. Do you have any idea of how I can remove this? I was thinking some sort of paint but it would have to match the rest of the back

 

[gtmac]

You are too late!

For the normally very aggressive MacRumors regulars who want proof I am shocked no one has called BS yet! I too can set my ipad on a yellow cloth before getting ready to wash my car.

Let's see pics off the compound and haze on the ipad or this didn't happen.

 

[jclardy]

So the coating is invisible, completely undetectable and protects your screen from scratches. . . and you removed it?

So there was no actual scratch.

The scratch was on the coating which is a part of the screen, which means it exists

The olephobic coating doesn't protect from scratches, it protects from fingerprints and makes them easier to wipe off. I have an old iPod Touch that was just bare glass and cleaning it off was a pain because you would just be smearing the fingerprints around the screen. My iPhone 4 wipes off perfectly smooth with 1 swipe on my jeans.

Glass itself is really hard to scratch. Easy to crack, but hard to scratch. You need something harder than it to scratch it (Or a lot of force), some kinds of sand or diamonds would do the trick.

 

[kfscoll]

For the normally very aggressive MacRumors regulars who want proof I am shocked no one has called BS yet! I too can set my ipad on a yellow cloth before getting ready to wash my car.

Let's see pics off the compound and haze on the ipad or this didn't happen.

Gimme a break. It can guarantee you that it's not B.S. -- I've got better things to do than take a bunch of pictures of auto body tools just to fake an iPad repair. By the way, those pictures were taken in my kitchen...I didn't do this repair anywhere near my cars. And why the crap would I re-polish my iPad just to satisfy your curiosity? Getting all of the extra polish cleaned out of the nooks and crannies in the iPad was a complete PITA. I don't really want to do that again without a good reason...or another scratch.

I think what you fail to understand is that the buffer that I used is a random-orbital buffer. It just won't generate the kind of heat or speed needed for really aggressive polishing. Plus, I used a very gentle polishing pad and 3M 39009 swirl mark remover -- not an actual rubbing or polishing compound. What I used is nowhere near aggressive enough to remove scratches that you could feel with a fingernail unless you worked them for a long, long time. The only thing that the tools and polish I used are really good for is removing hairline scratches...like swirlmarks. Oh, the tools also do a good job removing oleophobic coatings.

You could use the 3M swirl mark remover by hand with a decent microfiber towel to achieve the same results that I did. It'd just take a lot more elbow grease and the high-speed orbital polisher ensures that no micro-marring will be left behind.

 

[kfscoll]

That's really awesome. I have a scratch on the back of my iPad 2. Not a big one but definitely visible? It's not very deep either - it sort of looks like a thin line drawn with a pencil. Do you have any idea of how I can remove this? I was thinking some sort of paint but it would have to match the rest of the back

The back of the iPad is anodized aluminum. Your best bet is to leave it alone. Paint might help, but it's more likely that it won't match and it'll make the scratch more obvious. And forget trying to buff or polish the scratch out. You'll quickly remove the anodized layer and wind up polishing bare aluminum. In the end you'll create a very, very shiny spot (like the back of an iPod). Unless you want to make the entire back of the iPad look like that, I wouldn't go the polish route.

If I had an extra (or broken) iPad lying around I wouldn't mind trying to polish the back of it to a high gloss. It'd then literally look like a huge iPod touch!

 

[rl10004]

iPhone 4g with small scratch.

kfscoll,

I have an iPhone 4g with a 1/8" long "scratch". I can just catch it with my finger nail.

I was wondering how deep the scratches were on your iPad that you buffed out.

As everyone has mentioned I am not sure how I scratched my phone but I did, I just want to make sure I didn't actually scratch the glass (which I know would be very difficult to do) and my scratch doesn't go past the olephobic layer.

Thanks!

 

[kfscoll]

kfscoll,

I have an iPhone 4g with a 1/8" long "scratch". I can just catch it with my finger nail.

I was wondering how deep the scratches were on your iPad that you buffed out.

As everyone has mentioned I am not sure how I scratched my phone but I did, I just want to make sure I didn't actually scratch the glass (which I know would be very difficult to do) and my scratch doesn't go past the olephobic layer.

Thanks!

If you can feel it with your fingernail you scratched the glass and you definitely went all the way through the oleophobic layer. Sorry.

 

[Webb]

I got a leather case and full body (Back & front) invisible shield when I got my iPad.

Saves a lot hassle being prepared.

 

[Dr Kevorkian94]

good job i guess, i would never do that but for u as i can tell it worked out

 

[appleguy123]

You should open up a shop and do this for people! I'd pay to have this done to my iPhone 4!

 

[h00ligan]

You lost me when I realized you had a POB, mozerna, 3m...

And then used great value 'windex'



Hope that's not used on your tint!

 

[kfscoll]

You lost me when I realized you had a POB, mozerna, 3m...

And then used great value 'windex'



Hope that's not used on your tint!

Haha, nope, I absolutely don't use that on my tint. Good catch!

 

[kfscoll]

You should open up a shop and do this for people! I'd pay to have this done to my iPhone 4!

Meh, for the few people who'd want it done, I'd gladly do it for free.

 

[h00ligan]

Haha, nope, I absolutely don't use that on my tint. Good catch!

I was Gunnar have to report you to autopia etc. Heh.

So is the entire coating gone now?

 

[spiderman0616]

I say good for you. If the scratches were really bugging you and you were brave enough to do this, then more power to you. It turned out looking fantastic.

I will say that the oleophobic coating is great though, because it makes that daily screen wipe down a lot easier. You barely have to put any pressure on the microfiber cloth and the finger prints just disappear.

 

[kfscoll]

I was Gunnar have to report you to autopia etc. Heh.

So is the entire coating gone now?

Yep, the coating is all gone.

 

[bowlerman625]

holy crap

 

[offcamber]

I wondered if you could fill-in the scratches in the oleophobic layer instead of removing it altogether.
Using a product like Plexus could do the job.

Looks like Aculon is flirting with the idea of customer based solutions to oleophobic touch-screen protection.

 

[w00t951]

Dude, you're awesome. You should have started an Internet business, where people send you their touchscreen devices and you buff off the oleophobic coating.

I was also wondering: I'm too terrified to put a power tool to my iPad/iPhone. Would just the Windex work? Maybe rubbing alcohol or ethyl alcohol? I would really like to remove the coating, but I just don't know how to without the use of power tools. Thanks.

 

[AlphaDogg]

Would just the Windex work? Maybe rubbing alcohol or ethyl alcohol? I would really like to remove the coating, but I just don't know how to without the use of power tools. Thanks.

No. I regularly clean my iPhone with rubbing alcohol. It cleans the oleophobic surface really well, so I can assure you that it has no corrosive properties.

 

[kfscoll]

Dude, you're awesome. You should have started an Internet business, where people send you their touchscreen devices and you buff off the oleophobic coating.

I was also wondering: I'm too terrified to put a power tool to my iPad/iPhone. Would just the Windex work? Maybe rubbing alcohol or ethyl alcohol? I would really like to remove the coating, but I just don't know how to without the use of power tools. Thanks.

Nope, Windex won't do it. AFAIK only power tools.

FWIW I'm still completely scratch-free after removing the oleophobic coating. I just put a new coat of auto paint sealant on the iPad every few weeks and I'm good to go. It's absolutely no more trouble than cleaning the "original" screen was.

 

[fhall1]

Wouldn't this remove the oleophobic coating?

Did you even read the first post?

 

[AlphaDogg]

Hey OP. I think you did a wonderful job. Does the auto paint sealant scratch like the oleophobic coating did?