Scratch on screen of 32" Zenith HDTV fixable?

L

Lawrence G. Mayka

Guest
I am now the proud owner of a (used) Zenith C32V37 32" HDTV:

http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/downloads_pdf/C32V37.pdf

Its one flaw is a 1" scratch of some kind near the upper-left corner of the
screen:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lmayka@ameritech.net/detail?.dir=/3a5a&.dnm=36f9.jpg

At first I assumed that the scratch is an actual scratch directly into the
glass. However, the scratch *feels* almost like a rip in some kind of
protective coating on top of the glass, rather than an etching into the
glass itself. But at least one TV repair expert said that there is no such
protective coating. So...

If this is actually a rip in some protective coating, is it possible to
replace or even just remove the coating?

If this is actually a scratch in the screen glass, is it possible to fill it
in (e.g., with some kind of transparent dryable gel) in order to make it
less noticeable?

Note that even right now, the scratch is really not very noticeable while
watching TV. One can easily forget it's there after a while.
 
Subject: Scratch on screen of 32" Zenith HDTV fixable?
From: "Lawrence G. Mayka" lgmayka000@ameritech.net
Date: 3/30/2004 7:04 AM Eastern
Click to expand...
But at least one TV repair expert said that there is no such
protective coating. So...

If this is actually a rip in some protective coating, is it possible to
replace or even just remove the coating?
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of any coating except for some anti glare coatings used on some
computer monitors, but I'd contact LG first to see what they say. The original
owner's manual may be available on line, and should give screen care tips,
especially if it's coated.

If it's just conventional glass, the scratch can be reduced by rubbing with an
abrasive compound.

A temporary fix is to "wet" the scratch with a slow drying liquid, such as oil
or glycol. We do this to carry in's that are transported face down in pickups,
or crammed in Subarus. Customers never seem to remember scratching them.

John Del
Wolcott, CT

"I'm just trying to get into heaven, I'm not running for Jesus!"
Homer Simpson

(remove S for email reply)
 
First of all, if this is a new set, and was delivered like this, the dealer
should be notified very quickly to have the set changed. That is if the
scratch is annoying you.

If you use any type of gel, this may be more visible when watching. I never
tried this concept.

There are glass repair kits. The simplest is a chemical filler with an
activatable type hardener, such that is used on the windscreens of cars when
they get scratched. You should enquire to a place that does automobile
glass repairs, and see if they can come up to your place to do the
procedure. I myself have never tried this on a CRT face, so I would not be
able to tell you if the results are good or not.

I have no idea if your screen is coated or not. Some of the higher end sets
are, while most are not. If there is a coating on the screen, any type of
surface repair will be more visible than if not disturbed.

Another approach is to get some polishing compound for glass. I myself have
polished glass. This is a touchy procedure, and is almost impossible to do
by hand, unless you are physically very strong, and have many dozens of
hours to work at it in a controlled manner. There are several types of
compounds available. If the scratch is deeper than .004 mils it will most
likely have to have a coarse polishing before using the fine polishing. When
polishing the glass, there will be some optical distortions in the
concentrated area. Visibility will be dependent on how deep the polishing
must go in to the surface.

In order to have a very even or accurate polished surface, the complete
surface would have to be done. To do the complete surface area of a glass
surface and have it optically even is a difficult job, especially when done
by hand. This is done using the proper optical grid type precision reference
tools.

When polishing a glass surface, take care to not make too much heat. This
can lead to the scratch take the formation of changing in to a crack that
will spread or travel out. The front glass of a CRT is very thick, and
there is not much danger of an implosion. If there was a problem on the
walls of the tube, then this would be a very big safety issue.

When polishing glass, protective breathing and eyewear is absolutely
essential, because of the type of dust that will be put in to the air. If
you are going to do this by hand, with only the fine polishing paste type
polishing compound, there is less danger of air borne glass dust. If you use
any type of power tools with any type of glass polishing compound, proper
protection and ventilation is necessary. If any of this dust gets in to the
eyes, or internally in to the oesophagus, or lungs, the results (damage) can
be difficult to get rid of. Glass dust is very dangerous.

--

NOTE: From the picture, your scratch is difficult for me to have a
perspective on. To me, your tube looks like it is coated. If this is so, and
you polish it, the coating will also have damage where you polish it.
Removing the complete coating from the glass is not something that can be
done in practicality.

The proper fix is to change the CRT completely. If the set cannot be covered
by insurance or warranty, the cost of doing this would be probably close to
the purchase price of a new set. With this type of scratch, the set will be
more difficult to sell, or trade in.

Just for the fun of it, call the Zenith service centre, give them the model
number, and ask them for the cost of a new CRT including the labour, and the
transport of the set. I am sure that they will not charge for the phone
estimate.

--

Greetings,

Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
=========================================
WebPage http://www.zoom-one.com
Electronics http://www.zoom-one.com/electron.htm
=========================================


"Lawrence G. Mayka" <lgmayka000@ameritech.net> wrote in message
news:%mdac.42225$PY.25746@newssvr26.news.prodigy.com...
I am now the proud owner of a (used) Zenith C32V37 32" HDTV:

http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/downloads_pdf/C32V37.pdf

Its one flaw is a 1" scratch of some kind near the upper-left corner of the
screen:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lmayka@ameritech.net/detail?.dir=/3a5a&.dnm=36f9.jpg

At first I assumed that the scratch is an actual scratch directly into the
glass. However, the scratch *feels* almost like a rip in some kind of
protective coating on top of the glass, rather than an etching into the
glass itself. But at least one TV repair expert said that there is no such
protective coating. So...

If this is actually a rip in some protective coating, is it possible to
replace or even just remove the coating?

If this is actually a scratch in the screen glass, is it possible to fill it
in (e.g., with some kind of transparent dryable gel) in order to make it
less noticeable?

Note that even right now, the scratch is really not very noticeable while
watching TV. One can easily forget it's there after a while.
 
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 12:04:11 GMT, "Lawrence G. Mayka"
<lgmayka000@ameritech.net> wrote:

I am now the proud owner of a (used) Zenith C32V37 32" HDTV:

http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/downloads_pdf/C32V37.pdf

Its one flaw is a 1" scratch of some kind near the upper-left corner of the
screen:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lmayka@ameritech.net/detail?.dir=/3a5a&.dnm=36f9.jpg

At first I assumed that the scratch is an actual scratch directly into the
glass. However, the scratch *feels* almost like a rip in some kind of
protective coating on top of the glass, rather than an etching into the
glass itself. But at least one TV repair expert said that there is no such
protective coating. So...

If this is actually a rip in some protective coating, is it possible to
replace or even just remove the coating?

If this is actually a scratch in the screen glass, is it possible to fill it
in (e.g., with some kind of transparent dryable gel) in order to make it
less noticeable?

Note that even right now, the scratch is really not very noticeable while
watching TV. One can easily forget it's there after a while.
Click to expand...

I've seen some CRTs with a plastic film over the screen (sony does
this on some of their TVs and monitors). It's a thick tinted film
like stick on car window tint. I have peeled it off before, but you
will lose the anti glare coating and the screen will appear lighter.
You have to remove the CRT from the cabinet to do this, so it's not a
do it yourself operation. If the scratch is deep enough it could have
made it through the film and also scractched the glass.

I don't know if LG/Zenith use this film on their CRTs. If you can
live with it, I wouldn't do anything.
Andy Cuffe
baltimora@psu.edu
 
<chris@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:phsk60lc6arl1kq25nar1tpls4t8cdcah8@4ax.com...
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 12:04:11 GMT, "Lawrence G. Mayka"
lgmayka000@ameritech.net> wrote:
I am now the proud owner of a (used) Zenith C32V37 32" HDTV:

Its one flaw is a 1" scratch of some kind near the upper-left corner of
the
screen:

Based on you other article about the rainbow patterns, I would guess
this scratch was a result of the drop that dislodged the shadowmask.
You got a bum deal.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry. Perhaps I should have made clear that I returned the other (the
Samsung) HDTV monitor and got my money back for it. This Zenith (full HDTV,
with tuner) is the one I chose to purchase instead, for $375.

I have not yet received any response from LG/Zenith, but at least some
respondents here (a) agree with me that the damage may be only to the
screen's protective coating, but (b) are skeptical that any inexpensive
replacement or removal of the coating is realistic. If so, I can live with
the scratch/rip.
 
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