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Success (iPad 2 screen scratch removal)!
- Thread starter kfscoll
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How I Fixed a Scratched Ipad and Iphone
Well, I did not go to the extreme as the guy with all the auto restoration experience but had similar idea that worked for me. A few years ago I had to fix the headlights on our Hyundai Sonanta they were hazed over and looked like crap. So I got a product PlastX by Meguiars from my autos parts store. This stuff was amazing and makes crappy scratched plastic headlights look like new glass. So when I got a scratch in my iphone a few years ago I tried it and it took it right out. I just had to use it on a new ipad that slipped out of my had and got a small scratch. Same result scratch gone. Now I did not use power tools I just used a tiny bit of product my finger and a microfiber cloth until it was gone. I am a little scared to a drill buff pad to a new device but if the scratch was deep enough I probable would to it. Have also used it on plastic sun glasses and protective eye wear that got scratched...Works Great! does not seem to harm the IOS device at all and feels the same after. Not sure that Apple would approve but if they cant fix it and it bugs you enough give it a try.
Well, I did not go to the extreme as the guy with all the auto restoration experience but had similar idea that worked for me. A few years ago I had to fix the headlights on our Hyundai Sonanta they were hazed over and looked like crap. So I got a product PlastX by Meguiars from my autos parts store. This stuff was amazing and makes crappy scratched plastic headlights look like new glass. So when I got a scratch in my iphone a few years ago I tried it and it took it right out. I just had to use it on a new ipad that slipped out of my had and got a small scratch. Same result scratch gone. Now I did not use power tools I just used a tiny bit of product my finger and a microfiber cloth until it was gone. I am a little scared to a drill buff pad to a new device but if the scratch was deep enough I probable would to it. Have also used it on plastic sun glasses and protective eye wear that got scratched...Works Great! does not seem to harm the IOS device at all and feels the same after. Not sure that Apple would approve but if they cant fix it and it bugs you enough give it a try.
The problem I've found with ScratchX and PlastX (and other products designed to remove scratches by hand) is that they leave behind small swirl marks that, while better than the original scratch, can be seen under the right types of lighting (particularly halogen, fluorescent, and strong daylight). That's why I chose to use a random orbital polisher and diminishing abrasives to remove the original scratch and to prevent micro-marring. Of course, if you don't have an orbital polisher, then ScratchX/PlastiX might be your best/only bet.
Tried this, works great. Tried a couple menzerna polishes liked sip the best. I used a rotary though, ran a flex @ 1500 with an orange... Took about 1-2 mins to remove everything.
Thanks for the write up. I don't understand people's critisism especicially with da haha. As a pro detailer I can say this perfectly safe with a da an probably even an ro. Ferrari paint is far more delicate than touch screen glass by far...
Bumping this because this is a great write up, you should have posted it on autopia... We all have the tools
Thanks for the write up. I don't understand people's critisism especicially with da haha. As a pro detailer I can say this perfectly safe with a da an probably even an ro. Ferrari paint is far more delicate than touch screen glass by far...
Bumping this because this is a great write up, you should have posted it on autopia... We all have the tools
Tried this, works great. Tried a couple menzerna polishes liked sip the best. I used a rotary though, ran a flex @ 1500 with an orange... Took about 1-2 mins to remove everything.
Thanks for the write up. I don't understand people's critisism especicially with da haha. As a pro detailer I can say this perfectly safe with a da an probably even an ro. Ferrari paint is far more delicate than touch screen glass by far...
Bumping this because this is a great write up, you should have posted it on autopia... We all have the tools
Funny you mention this...I actually had a pretty deep scratch on my iPad 2 that I tried to polish out last weekend with my DA and I couldn't get anywhere with it. I even tried Menzerna Power Gloss and no-kidding glass polish and just couldn't get it completely removed. Even lightly sanding with 1000 grit didn't get it out...and then I had to deal with the sanding scratches. In that case (I sold the iPad to Gazelle so I figured I had very little to lose) I bet a rotary would've been the only way to go.
Can the OP make a video.
It would be a really big help if you made a video that way we can see what products you used and the process in real time.
It would be a really big help if you made a video that way we can see what products you used and the process in real time.
This is awesome, I love it OP, do you ever use the "as-seen-on-tv" type automotive stuff to remove scratches from the plastic cases or the metal parts? I'm wondering how well that stuff works.
OP, do you ever use the "as-seen-on-tv" type automotive stuff to remove scratches from the plastic cases or the metal parts? I'm wondering how well that stuff works.
This is awesome, I love it
That stuff sucks. You might remove larger scratches with that stuff, but then you'll have micro-scratches left over from that compound and the hand-rubbing action. There's simply no way to beat the finish you get with a good dual-action polisher and quality polishing compounds.
Which Wax?
I think that it's awesome that you succeeded in polishing out your scratch. In my job I polish scratches out of natural stone floors and was considering doing something very similar to remove a couple of scratches i have in my iphone. One question I had was what was the synthetic wax that you used once the polishing was done?
I think that it's awesome that you succeeded in polishing out your scratch. In my job I polish scratches out of natural stone floors and was considering doing something very similar to remove a couple of scratches i have in my iphone. One question I had was what was the synthetic wax that you used once the polishing was done?
I used Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket -- it's very slick but not very durable. If I needed to reapply the synthetic wax (I've since sold the iPad) I'd use one of the other synthetic auto sealants I have (Blackfire or the newer Menzerna sealant). I think any synthetic sealant would be fine, as would plain ol' car wax.
I'm not sure who you're responding to, but if it's me, read the very first post in this thread...removing the oleophobic coating is exactly what I claimed that I did. I never used Plastx since I've never even owned it. I have removed scratches that were in the actual glass on a different iPad but it takes far more effort and far more aggressive auto polish and/or actual glass polish.
Hello! Sorry for the thread bump, but I can't find a PM button anywhere on this site. Google brought me here as I have a similarly-damaged screen and someone else suggested buffing. This is kind of a hard subject to gather info on - most results for "screen repair" are just replacement services that want hundreds to do the job. I'm hoping the OP or someone is knowledgeable enough about the anatomy of these screens to shed some light on this; hopefully I can pull off something like you did.
Long story short, some stuff dive bombed my ipad off a high shelf, and this was the result:
giant pic
Not only did it ding the screen, but it left a teeny bit of rust in there. The damage would be invisible otherwise :|
I have no warranty to void and since the screen is the same cost to replace no matter how bad it gets, I'm probably gonna borrow a buffer and try this. Some brief attempts with a dremel didn't do anything - at all. Even the abrasive compound that came with the thing didn't leave a mark. (Testing on the bezel, of course.)
I say "ding" instead of scratch because that's exactly the difference - I feel like glass would've chipped off instead of just separating a teeny bit and holding color; this looks to my eye like plastic deformation of some extremely thin but tangible layer on top of the glass. The biggest brown spot can be barely felt with a fingernail, and no part of the entire damaged area feels any different than the rest of the screen to a fingertip. Might this be entirely contained within the top layer?
Long story short, some stuff dive bombed my ipad off a high shelf, and this was the result:
giant pic
Not only did it ding the screen, but it left a teeny bit of rust in there. The damage would be invisible otherwise :|
I have no warranty to void and since the screen is the same cost to replace no matter how bad it gets, I'm probably gonna borrow a buffer and try this. Some brief attempts with a dremel didn't do anything - at all. Even the abrasive compound that came with the thing didn't leave a mark. (Testing on the bezel, of course.)
I say "ding" instead of scratch because that's exactly the difference - I feel like glass would've chipped off instead of just separating a teeny bit and holding color; this looks to my eye like plastic deformation of some extremely thin but tangible layer on top of the glass. The biggest brown spot can be barely felt with a fingernail, and no part of the entire damaged area feels any different than the rest of the screen to a fingertip. Might this be entirely contained within the top layer?
Very nice write up. at this point I don't see any scratches on any of my idevices, the this is good to know.
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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.
It's because people don't take the time to read the post. They read the first sentence to two only and then reply. I've had several members so that to me and missed the point so badly that it was embarrassing.
Sorry, I don't have the pictures any more. I used a Porter-Cable 7424 and some run-of-the-mill automotive paint correcting compound to polish my iPad's glass.
Here's the thing -- the iPad's glass is VERY hard. If there's any bit of a scratch in the glass you'll have to use a fairly abrasive compound to remove it, and I'd be leery of removing too much glass because of the compressive-stress layer that Gorilla Glass has in it (i.e. you might reduce the glass' ability to withstand crack propagation). I would just use a clear coat polishing compound to at least remove the discoloration you described and leave it at that. That shouldn't be too hard to do and should come out pretty easily. I suspect that will also solve 90% of your problem.
FWIW I've gotten some pretty deep scratches in another iPad since this original post - deeper than the ones you've described on your iPad - and I've polished them enough to almost completely remove them (it took a LONG time) without suffering any adverse effects. I just wouldn't go hog-wild with the polishing compound and buffer if you don't know what you're doing, especially if you're using a rotary buffer and not a random-orbital.
Here's the thing -- the iPad's glass is VERY hard. If there's any bit of a scratch in the glass you'll have to use a fairly abrasive compound to remove it, and I'd be leery of removing too much glass because of the compressive-stress layer that Gorilla Glass has in it (i.e. you might reduce the glass' ability to withstand crack propagation). I would just use a clear coat polishing compound to at least remove the discoloration you described and leave it at that. That shouldn't be too hard to do and should come out pretty easily. I suspect that will also solve 90% of your problem.
FWIW I've gotten some pretty deep scratches in another iPad since this original post - deeper than the ones you've described on your iPad - and I've polished them enough to almost completely remove them (it took a LONG time) without suffering any adverse effects. I just wouldn't go hog-wild with the polishing compound and buffer if you don't know what you're doing, especially if you're using a rotary buffer and not a random-orbital.
Well, this is my first issue since getting the thing in 2012. Barring random falling objects, just being careful has served me pretty well so far. :b
Thanks for the info; small scratches in the glass don't concern me if I can get the ugly splotch out. I know an auto detail guy, would it be worth paying ten minutes of his hourly rate to have him do it?
Thanks for the info; small scratches in the glass don't concern me if I can get the ugly splotch out. I know an auto detail guy, would it be worth paying ten minutes of his hourly rate to have him do it?
The people that are being sarcastic are the ones that are paying out the butt for all the extra's Apple sells to prevent screen damage and fingerprints. And if the truth be known- that so called phobic coating has made fingerprints more noticeable than ever. So, Kudo's to you for not being just another dumb-a** consumer...
Do you have the photos?Let me preface this by saying that I know this is waaaay over the top. Still, it might help folks who are as obsessive-compulsive as me.
Anyway, this evening I found a few minor scratches and "nicks" on the screen of my iPad. These blemishes were only visible under direct fluorescent lighting, but they bugged me, so I set out to remove them.
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, I figured, what if I just remove the oleophobic layer? Then all I'll have left is nice, smooth, hard, scratch-resistant glass.
Knowing enough about car detailing to be dangerous, I busted out my Porter-Cable random-orbit polisher, 3M swirl mark remover, cheapo Windex, two foam pads (one polishing, one finishing), synthetic paint sealant, two microfiber towels, and a microfiber sponge.
First, I cleaned my screen with the Windex and a microfiber towel. Simple enough.
Next, I attached the foam polishing pad to my P-C polisher, set it on speed setting 4, plopped a nickel-sized drop of 3M compound on the pad, and polished the screen. It took about 5 minutes of polishing with very light pressure to completely remove the oleophobic coating. The only way to tell that the coating is gone is to exhale on the screen such that it fogs...this makes it pretty clear where the coating is and isn't. It's also possible to tell by feel where the coating is, but that's not as reliable as actually seeing it. 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.
Third, I polished the glass again with the 3M stuff, but this time I used the finishing pad. This probably wasn't necessary but it's a force of habit from working with auto paint.
Honestly, at this point, the hard work was done. I cleaned the screen again with Windex, then I used the microfiber sponge to apply my synthetic sealant (basically it's a chemical "wax") and let it dry for about 5 minutes. I then buffed off the sealant with a clean microfiber towel and, voila, done!
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) and the sealant makes the coating-free glass significantly slicker and less prone to fingerprints that the coating did. Clean up is even easier than it was before I removed the coating -- just wipe the screen with a dry microfiber towel. The screen is so slick that dust and lint just don't stick. I'm extremely happy with the results.
Bottom line -- it is possible to remove fine scratches from your iPad's screen. It takes a little bit of work, but it's easy and the results are fantastic.
I have a B&D Sander that has a round rubber surface I can attach sandpaper to. Can I make my own foam polishing pad ? Thanks. What do you recommend?
What synthetic sealant did you use? Thanks!Let me preface this by saying that I know this is waaaay over the top. Still, it might help folks who are as obsessive-compulsive as me.
Anyway, this evening I found a few minor scratches and "nicks" on the screen of my iPad. These blemishes were only visible under direct fluorescent lighting, but they bugged me, so I set out to remove them.
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, I figured, what if I just remove the oleophobic layer? Then all I'll have left is nice, smooth, hard, scratch-resistant glass.
Knowing enough about car detailing to be dangerous, I busted out my Porter-Cable random-orbit polisher, 3M swirl mark remover, cheapo Windex, two foam pads (one polishing, one finishing), synthetic paint sealant, two microfiber towels, and a microfiber sponge.
First, I cleaned my screen with the Windex and a microfiber towel. Simple enough.
Next, I attached the foam polishing pad to my P-C polisher, set it on speed setting 4, plopped a nickel-sized drop of 3M compound on the pad, and polished the screen. It took about 5 minutes of polishing with very light pressure to completely remove the oleophobic coating. The only way to tell that the coating is gone is to exhale on the screen such that it fogs...this makes it pretty clear where the coating is and isn't. It's also possible to tell by feel where the coating is, but that's not as reliable as actually seeing it. 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.
Third, I polished the glass again with the 3M stuff, but this time I used the finishing pad. This probably wasn't necessary but it's a force of habit from working with auto paint.
Honestly, at this point, the hard work was done. I cleaned the screen again with Windex, then I used the microfiber sponge to apply my synthetic sealant (basically it's a chemical "wax") and let it dry for about 5 minutes. I then buffed off the sealant with a clean microfiber towel and, voila, done!
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) and the sealant makes the coating-free glass significantly slicker and less prone to fingerprints that the coating did. Clean up is even easier than it was before I removed the coating -- just wipe the screen with a dry microfiber towel. The screen is so slick that dust and lint just don't stick. I'm extremely happy with the results.
Bottom line -- it is possible to remove fine scratches from your iPad's screen. It takes a little bit of work, but it's easy and the results are fantastic.
FOUND the PC Buffer - https://www.portercable.com/product...in-variablespeed-random-orbit-polisher/7424xp