Thinkpads Forum

One bubble theory that has not so far been mentioned is that, if used correctly, Dupont Vertak adhesive is durable, but that in screens that bubbled, it was not properly cured. Timed exposure to UV is required. The procedure is given here: http://www2.dupont.com/Displays/en_US/a ... elines.pdf

The UV exposure required depends upon the number and thickness of the layers, and possibly, the glass. A bad run of panels could mean that the problem is not universal. So, in the hope of discovering what date codes are affected, I'm asking you to list the date code of your machine, which appears in plain text on the barcode sticker, and whether you have either the bubbles, or adhesive wicking out around the buttons.

To start it off, I have two machines here, dated 3/08 and 9/08. From the battery history, both seem to have lead active lives, but there are no signs of bubbles.

The Lenovo document "Personal Systems Reference Lenovo Thinkpad Notebooks 2005 to present --withdrawn" indicates that the SXGA+ panel version was available as early as 6/07, which probably means manufacture as early as 1/07. US models were withdrawn "effective May 2009", which suggests latest dates of manufacture fall of 2008.

*All* date codes are affected when it comes to X61T. Take it from someone who has gone through a couple of hundreds of them over the last two years.

I've owned units built as late as October of 2008 that already arrived with bubbles a year ago.

Eventually, most if not all of the second generation SXGA+ panels will develop this defect.

Sadly, I concur. Another look at the 9/08 unit revealed that the power-on button lock on the left side of the screen has glue on it. No bubbles yet. The 3/08 machine is still clean.

I used an IR thermometer with a laser spot to measure temps around the area said to be affected first, the left hand side of the screen. Windows Update was run for this month's batch. At start, the temperature of the table was 73F. The laptop, stored on the floor, was 72F.

After the update process ran for ~5 minutes, the CPU vent was at 102F. The fan was quiet, but running quickly.
Temperatures measured on the top rear of the chassis rose sharply on the back left side. The surface above the CPU reached 83F. However, there was a hotspot line along the space between the battery and the chassis rear, centered about the left-most rubber bumper, 89F. Further toward the right, the peak temperatures were much lower.

After 15 minutes, the space between chassis and battery reached 96F. The surface above the CPU reached 86F.

For this test, the lid assembly was twisted away from the normal position by about 20 degrees. Temperature measurements along the bottom of this displaced panel indicated no significant sources of heat generation within the lid assembly itself. This is a cold room, in a cold season. The measurements should be considered relative to ambient. In a warmer environment, or with the computer running much longer than 15 minutes, peak temperatures of 120F are conceivable.

It would seem temperature makes this stuff move. There are various thermal insulation tapes that could be applied to the hotspot area. I have an inexpensive tape on order from Amazon: I have this on order:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GJ ... 00_s00_i00 , "HeatShield 340001 Thermaflect Tape 1-1/2" Wide x 3' Heat Shield tape." It is the only tape I've found that is available in black. Provided that the gap between the chassis and the battery permits, the intent is to wrap it around the top and back of the chassis.

Suggestions for the most sophisticated tapes are solicited.

I have a high intensity deuterium UV source that could be used to re-cure panels, if input from the adhesive maker indicated it would be beneficial.

If I understand the bubble issue correctly (I too have it) - the early panels (I think parts ending in 100 and not in 101) are not affected but 101 parts are.

Has anyone tried removing adhesive?

http://thinkwiki.de/X61t_Glasplatte_ohn ... l%C3%B6sen

Utwig wrote:If I understand the bubble issue correctly (I too have it) - the early panels (I think parts ending in 100 and not in 101) are not affected but 101 parts are.

You are correct.

Has anyone tried removing adhesive?

http://thinkwiki.de/X61t_Glasplatte_ohn ... l%C3%B6sen

IBM's on-site tech who swapped one of these panels for me actually ended up with the screen separating itself from the writing surface while he was pulling off the LCD bezel, leaving both of us absolutely stunned. Not kidding. That goop - adhesive - poison - whatever you want to call it - is downright nasty.

I have one apart, and contemplate sealing the bottom edge and part way up the sides. Norland Optical is sending a sample of urethane based sealer. But it is unlikely to work unless DuPont Vertak is also urethane based. Does anyone have any info as to the base chemistry of Vertak? The DuPont rep in Dallas, Robert Lemmons, has apparently chosen not to communicate. If anyone else would like to try, his contact info is posted at

http://www2.dupont.com/Displays/en_US/p ... tacts.html

One thing already tried: frying the edges with a deuterium lamp, which provides high intensity UV down to 180nm. No change in viscosity was observed.

This fellow removed the adhesive:
http://translate.google.com/translate?d ... 5C3%25B6st

But the adhesive is optically beneficial. Sealing the edges where gravity does its work would, imho, be preferable.

precip9 wrote:It would seem temperature makes this stuff move.

I have a few of these with SXGA+ screens and some completely randomly start bubbling. they all sit in a storage tote indoors unused so there's not really any heat, and three have developed a lot of bubbles over time from sitting.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/m ... e2d697.jpg - this one had no bubbles for ~9 months, then these three showed up very recently (just noticed a few minutes ago)
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/m ... 232175.jpg - this one had some before, but now the entire border is a huge bubble for the most part.

the bubbles aren't in one place either. the third one that's developing more bubbles is around the top center, and another one I have has bubbles on the left and right sides above the middle.

ajkula66 wrote:Eventually, most if not all of the second generation SXGA+ panels will develop this defect.

unfortunately I bet you're correct. I do have one X60 with an SXGA+ panel that I may keep for myself because of this.

Recently I acquired a beautiful X61T (7769-A67) from 2008/09.
It has the much-wanted IPS SXGA+, made by BoeHydis, HV121P01-101, P/N 42T0464.
The machine was already in pristine condition and WITHOUT any bubbles showing!
But being the inquisitive guy that I am, I wanted to look at this bubble mystery for myself.
So I removed the LCD-bezel, only to be confronted with the gooey yucky stuff, that everybody is complaining about.
Not willing to run any risk of future bubbles, I decided to clean this mess up.
And what do you know?
It took me less than 20 minutes to COMPLETELY remove All the goo from the LCD, using 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and an old piece of a cotton sheet!
SUCCESS!
Not willing (at this moment) to clean up all that goo from the LCD-bezel, I ordered a brand new one.
This new LCD-bezel has no goo, but instead a double-sided environmental-friendly tape with a removable cover on it.
From the various pieces I got this info together:
Friendly to both People and the Earth
by Non-solvent tape
GREEN TAPE G9000-SY
After Googling a bit, I found it is made by Dexerials in Japan: http://www.dexerials.jp/en/products/a1/g9000.html

My X61T screen is now in absolutely immaculate condition, without any future bubble risk!

Encouraging, but I'm not sure I understand you. The problem is not with the goo that has seeped out, it's that it won't stay in. If all you did with the isopropyl alcohol is remove the goo from the edges of the LCD, that does not solve the problem. As more goo comes out, bubbles will form.

Please clarify.

There was only goo on top of the screen, nothing on the sides.
Must have been goo between LCD-bezel and screen.
Nothing else to be seen or found!

You haven't encountered the real problem yet. When enough goo seeps out, you'll have bubbles. You won't like it.

precip9 wrote:You haven't encountered the real problem yet. When enough goo seeps out, you'll have bubbles. You won't like it.

He has no goo anymore. So bye bye bubbles!

RealBlackStuff wrote:It took me less than 20 minutes to COMPLETELY remove All the goo from the LCD, using 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and an old piece of a cotton sheet!

Well done RBS!! I remember a thread in the German sister forum where they were posting their experiences removing the goo. I think yours' is a world record (or close to one).

Enjoy the little TP!

If I understood correctly, RBS was cleaning up goo that had leaked out from between the LCD and the protective plastic sheet. The other people were removing the plastic layer and *all* the goo underneath.

AFAIK there was NO leakage from goo between layers!
There was ONLY goo between the upper screen-layer and the LCD-bezel.
Original Lenovo-gunk from when they assembled the machine.
The rest of the screen is pristine (rhymes nicely, lol).