Removing scratches from LCD and other woes?

[r2d2]

Any advise on the how to remove scratches off an LCD?

The X21 I am working on has 2 major scratches. They look like someone had used a very fine sand paper on the screen (tough luck). The screen also has spots stuck to it.. like a speck of sand sized bubble gum that got stuck on the LCD. If you run your fingers over them, you can feel the protrusion. I tried using LCD cleaning fluid with microfiber cloth to clean the whole screen but I cannot seem to remove the spots much more the scratches/abrasions.

The obvious and a more expensive solution is to replace the lcd but I really do not know how much it would cost these days. If there is an lcd cheap enough to make me decide to replace mine with, my next concern is where to get the screw covers (or are they called mylar covers?). I think one has to remove these in order to replace the lcd. I tried removing one but I stopped when I noticed I am doing more damage to it than actually removing it.

On a separate note, my friends thinkpad has a melted or should I say heat wear on of the corners of the top lid (near the latch). We were planning to put bondo to level it off, sand it a little then paint it black. Is this advisable to do?

Well I guess that's it. Your precious advise and suggestions are always appreciated. Thank you so much...

r2

[fschwep]

Maybe you could use a product called PolyWatch, it's a polishing product for acrylic watch crystals, and is also known to work well for small LCD screens like those on a portable phone or digital camera.
Depending on where you are you could try Googling for it. I know this guy (watch designer/dealer) sells it (but he is in the UK, it may be a bit over the top to import just a tube of polishing product if you're not in Europe):
http://www.timefactors.com/index.html

Polywatch actually dissolves a tiny bit of the top layer of the acrylic material it is used on, which then fills the scratches during the polishing (by hand, using a soft and clean cloth) before it hardens again. It works great on watches.

[joester]

Be advised:
The material Polywatch is made for is different than the LCD.

Being that it melts a small layer of the harder watch/phone/MP3 player screens, the effect on an LCD could and probably will be much greater.

I would advise trying it on dead LCD first.

Joe

[RealBlackStuff]

Other items that are known to work, if applied carefully, are Brasso copper polish http://www.parish-supply.com/metal-polish.htm
and Maas Metal polish http://www.maasinc.com/products_metalpolish.asp

[pgoelz]

Be careful.... any polishing compound will tend to.... polish. Ie., to smooth a rough surface. A Thinkpad LCD screen has a matte finish because it is slightly rough. Any attempt to polish away a blemish on a matte surface will leave an area that is smoother and therefore VERY noticeable.

[ajkula66]

And a simple white wax candle will do miracles on occasion...

As for treating the LCD lid as you would a car part, I advise against it.

Lids are cheap enough on eBay, and I'm sure you could find one on this forum too.

Just my $0.02