Repairing scratches on digital camera screen - possible?

[dr_st]

D'oh, I just realized that I put a somewhat serious scratch (more like a cluster of small scratches) on the screen of my digital camera.

Asking the expertise of the forum members - is there a substance and a process that will somewhat mend the scratches? At least to the level where it is not very visible and does not significantly obscure the image?

If not, I guess I'll just buy a "for parts" unit off eBay and replace the LCD, although not having disassembled a digital camera before, I will have to combat the "shaky hands syndrome".

[craigmontHunter]

Depending on how bad it is and how much you are willing to risk, I have had good luck repairing objects (watch faces, cds...) with toothpaste - put a little bit on your finger and rub it in gently, rinse it off, it should remove scratches. If the screen is glass it should work best, you will wnt to be very carefull with plastic. Other than that, possibly very fine grit sandpaper?

[lead_org]

toothpaste can act as abrasive material to polish out the scratch if it is minor. It is similar to how you would repair a scratch on a cd surface.

[dr_st]

Thanks for the help guys.

I decided to try first on my digital watch, which has a smaller scratch.

Tried the toothpaste method, but not sure I did it right. I rubbed it in with my finger, and rinsed off the remainder. It appeared as though it had some effect (scratch became less visible), but did not seem a permanent fix - eventually the toothpaste seems to come off, and the scratch is visible again. If the watch somehow rubs on something (like the inside of the shirt sleeve), it seems to come off faster. Should I let the toothpaste dry more before rinsing it off?

Overall it seems that the idea is just to get the scratch filled up with some transparent material that will smooth out the surface. Even if I fill it with water, the scratch becomes invisible, but of course water dries out, and then it's visible again. Toothpaste seems to be doing the same. It was suggested to me that perhaps clear nail polish is good material that will harden and stay in place permanently. What do you guys think?

[craigmontHunter]

that may work, I'm not sure what is happening with the tooth paste, in my experience it actually wears down and smooths out the scratch, at least looking at it straight on - when I do it on my watch, it clears all the scratches and stays like that untill I scratch it again (although I somehow end up with a lot of paint on my watch , as well as scratches - the toothpaste takes that of really well too)

One word of warning, don't use toothpaste on the camera screen if it is covered in a thin, flexable piece of plastic, since that just scratch the screen more (since the plastic is so soft).

[RealBlackStuff]

Another thing to try: I've been using BRASSO copper polish for things like this. http://www.parish-supply.com/metal-polish.htm
Works great on watch lenses.
When finished, go buy yourself a Schott glass LCD protector.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... Glass.html
They come in all different sizes.

[killer]

'Brasso' also works well as a cutting agent on car paintwork. There is a milder version available called 'Silvo' which is for cleaning and polishing silver.

+1 for RBS's recommendation about a screen protector.

[ozzymud]

Tried the toothpaste method, but not sure I did it right. I rubbed it in with my finger, and rinsed off the remainder.

Think of the toothpaste as a VERY fine grained sandpaper... it's more closely a polishing agent... for something like a CD or watch lense... it takes a fair amount of time and elbow grease... not sure what you meant by "rubbed it in", but for a hairline scratch, takes me 30min or so of rubbing it in (I use it on a baby wipe and keep the toothpaste moist)

Also not all toothpastes are created equal when it comes to amount of abrasive... look for the cheapo white paste types, they tend to be more harsh. And stay away from gels and "sensitive teeth" types. For this use... a GOOD brand is not the best tool

[lead_org]

hopefully you are using a white toothpaste, and not those gel type. Also, the whitening type is better as a fine abrasive. You would need something more than just your finger to get the scratch off, i use a small rotary buffer for this kind of scratch repair.