Quick repair: Scratched N800 display

[Adam in NYC]

Hello from Adam from NYC.

Quick repair: Scratched N800 display.

Here is my way to minumize the scratches and minor cracks on the display of the N800. For some reason, the surface of the panel scratches easier on the N800 than on the 700. My display came with a minor crack and several assembly flaws like the markings of the pressing wheel on the lower part of the screen.

Items needed from autoshop or from your car:

TurtleWax polishing compound (the green one not the red one)
TurtleWax Liquid Wax

Clean your display first. Shut down the unit. Get two or three polishing cloth or fine paper towels.

Moist applicator: Apply polishing compound and buff using very fine circles. Clean off, inspect, repeat until the small scratches are gone. Wash and clean.

Same with the wax. Damp applicator, rub into surface, breath or blow dry. Rub it in. Inspect. If not happy, add another layer.

The wax will protect the panel and as a side effect, the feel of the stylus will slightly improve; it will be softer.

Later.

[JayMontano]

Aren't there also ready made products designed to remove scratches from glass/plastic screens.

Not sure I'd want to be putting wax on my display, but thanks for the tip! I might try that on my other devices (older/non touch screen)

[bac522]

Hello from Adam from NYC.

My display came with a minor crack and several assembly flaws like the markings of the pressing wheel on the lower part of the screen.


Why are you keeping it, if it has a crack? For the amount of money this thing cost, I'd expect a flawless unit out of the box.

[Adam in NYC]

Why are you keeping it, if it has a crack? For the amount of money this thing cost, I'd expect a flawless unit out of the box.

The crack only shows when the unit is off, in the nine
o'clock position. I was more dismayed at the
manufacturing artifacts on the display than the crack
but the same techniques used for scratch removal on my old Palms also
worked on the N800.
ts not a flaw but something that gives it character. When you got a LandRover, then you understand. Nothing's ever perfect.

Later.

[Saccente]

My trick is to use Brasso (the brass polisher - the one with the cotton wadding in the can). What you do is use a piece of clean cloth and dip it into the Brasso wadding, and not use the wadding itself. Then you polish in small circles as mentioned above. It can take a while, but the Brasso polish is very fine, so it will buff out any scratches with a little elbow grease. Also works with iPods and mobile phones!

[Adam in NYC]

Aren't there also ready made products designed to remove scratches from glass/plastic screens.

Not Not sure I'd want to be putting wax on my display, but
thanks for the tip! I might try that on my other devices
(older/non touch screen)

What do you think is that overpriced stuff you are using? Same crap, some mild water-downed abrasive to help level the plastic.

Now you finished buffing down a few mils of plastic-glass. How do you protect it without ruining the optical clarity?

You protect it with a wax. Ruin your display without protection and see how it looks.

Dont bother. Protect your 'investment'.

[Karel Jansens]

I would like to caution people against using any polishing products on their touchscreens without knowing exactly what the screen is made of!

Many touchscreens have a special layer on top that makes using a stylus more comfortable, sometimes even mimicking the feel of paper (like the Newtons of yore). Polishing away scratches effectively means taking that coating off your screen.

Even worse, some touchscreens have the digitiser very close to the surface and it is not unthinkable to polish it away.

Which would turn your touchscreen into -- well, a "screen".

[Adam in NYC]

There is plenty of thickness (3 mil) on the Nokia N800. I examined the panel some days back. You can do with the products I recommended without issue.

If you replace the wax at 6 month intervals, you will see no further scratches and any fluid will not dry on the screen to boot.

Been doing this for awhile, fellas. ,

[Karel Jansens]

There is plenty of thickness (3 mil) on the Nokia N800. I examined the panel some days back. You can do with the products I recommended without issue.

If you replace the wax at 6 month intervals, you will see no further scratches and any fluid will not dry on the screen to boot.

Been doing this for awhile, fellas. ,

Well, if you think so...

I'm still mightily reluctant to start polishing a non-active touchscreen; there has to be a pressure-sensitive layer somewhere pretty close to the surface. But it's your Nokia's funeral...

[JayMontano]

Yeah, come to think of it, I'd actually not prefer to put anything on the screen of my N800.

Since I got it for free, I haven't got insurance on it (like I normally would on purchased devices) so I can't really risk doing that. I'm sure on all electronic screens, you're really not meant to put any sort of polish on them, albeit wiping them with water moistened, soft 'lens' cloth .

[skynetos]

A. I dont know how a unit like tha could get by QA
B. Personally this time around I am not putting anything on my screen. I take care of my devices and frankly in 1.5 years when the n900 is out I won't really care.
C. I wouldnt rub in chemicals on the screen. That just sounds dumb.

[JayMontano]

my screen has an imprint of the virtual keyboard...(just circular dots where the keys would be)

That plastic film is so mangled with the lighting off/outdoors in bright sunlight...

hmm..I should start checking out the other thread for potential brands for screen protectors...I feel I'm gonna need one soon.

[Adam in NYC]

A. I dont know how a unit like tha could get by QA
B. Personally this time around I am not putting anything on my screen. I take care of
my devices and frankly in 1.5 years when the n900 is out I won't really care.
C. I wouldnt rub in chemicals on the screen. That just sounds dumb.

A. It happens.

B. You touch it. Other than the human mouth, most people's hands have a lot more harmful stuff than most people know. Most paper products exude more chemicals than most people know.

C. See B.

TurtleWax is an inert product suitable for protecting surfaces.

"C. I wouldnt rub in chemicals on the screen. That just sounds dumb"

Anybody familiar with any plastic product design and manufacturing would laugh at that above statement. Just smell when you open a plastic product from any enclosure. You are smelling the finishing products used to clean and prep the item prior to shipment.

[skynetos]

A. It happens.

I guess....

B. You touch it. Other than the human mouth, most people's hands have a lot more harmful stuff than most people know. Most paper products exude more chemicals than most people know.

My daily used 770 looks pretty darn good after 1.5 years of use.

C. See B.

TurtleWax is an inert product suitable for protecting surfaces.

It's meant for cars, your telling me a layer of wax won't screw with the touch screen aspect or collect on the stylus durring use?

"C. I wouldnt rub in chemicals on the screen. That just sounds dumb"

Anybody familiar with any plastic product design and manufacturing would laugh at that above statement. Just smell when you open a plastic product from any enclosure. You are smelling the finishing products used to clean and prep the item prior to shipment.

Hey, ain't my 400$ n800. I'll keep any chemicals that Nokia didn't put on the screen in the first place off my n800 and I would suggest others doing the same.

[Texrat]

I'm very surprised at the defects you report, Adam. It would actually help Nokia (and you as well obviously) if you returned that for a good device.

[Adam in NYC]

I'm very surprised at the defects you report, Adam. It would
actually help Nokia (and you as well obviously) if you returned that for a good device.


I am as well. But as any new product introducion, there is going to be complications.

Until there is a more mortal injury to the device, I have no reason to return this evolutionary improvement of the Nokia n800. Should I get another, then I would consider it.

Adam

[JayMontano]

I noticed within an hours ownership of my N93, it had a slight defect. I thought on the same lines as you, it's not grave, it still functions well...

...a couple of months later...now it's dead. And I had the opportunity to have a swap and all.

Yes, our situations are different, yours is 'minor' aesthetic mine was a 'minor' bug. Just thinking to myself, if I were to be presented with an opportunity to have a near 'flawless' device from the beginning, I'd go for it.

I've noticed some 'flaws' already with my N800's screen, like a browny tint on the right when the screen is bright white...it's a tad brown on the right. It wasn't like that on the other N800's I've seen...

[Adam in NYC]

Yep, simple lessons. Life is not fair. Nothing is perfect from the factory. After all, the Nokia did not simply grow inside the box.

Funny thing,though. None of any of my Nokias I have owned have ever died or broken. Says a lot.

[JayMontano]

Come to think of it - I've seemed to swap all of mine within 3 months of use for an identical model...and they've mostly all ended up dying/lost/stolen/stored to the point of being lost

The only thing that survives to this day is faithful old 3310.

[Texrat]

I am as well. But as any new product introducion, there is going to be complications.

Point is what you've described is VERY unusual. I've seen hundreds of these and that's the first time I've heard of this. Trust me, Nokia tablet program folks would want to have a look at it.

I've noticed some 'flaws' already with my N800's screen, like a browny tint on the right when the screen is bright white...it's a tad brown on the right. It wasn't like that on the other N800's I've seen...

I'd return that one, too.

[JayMontano]

I'd return that one, too.

To who?

I didn't purchase it, and I don't know where the people who gave it to me got it from (I'm assuming N-series people direct)

Perphas it's the angle or something (very visible in normal viewing angle when you have a plain white screen); it's like a shadow emitting from the lights on the right...like 4 mushrooms on a line and there's a slight darkness around their outline. (it's about a centimetre in width)

[Texrat]

Ok wait-- *some* shadowing is unavoidable. Look on any cell phone at the right angle and you'll see it. It seemed you were talking about excessive shadowing or even discoloration.

If you don't see it when the gui is up, don't sweat it.

[Karel Jansens]

Ok wait-- *some* shadowing is unavoidable. Look on any cell phone at the right angle and you'll see it. It seemed you were talking about excessive shadowing or even discoloration.

If you don't see it when the gui is up, don't sweat it.

I seem to have the same shadowing on the right side of the screen. It's quite noticeable in editor screens or in FBReader. I'll wait a bit and see if it becomes annoying.

[heavyt]

I seem to have the same shadowing on the right side of the screen. It's quite noticeable in editor screens or in FBReader. I'll wait a bit and see if it becomes annoying.

I also have such shadowing. Maybe it's not a defect.

[JayMontano]

Ok wait-- *some* shadowing is unavoidable. Look on any cell phone at the right angle and you'll see it. It seemed you were talking about excessive shadowing or even discoloration.

If you don't see it when the gui is up, don't sweat it.

I don't notice it if I don't try to, like I wouldn't notice dead pixels (of which, touch wood, this hasn't got)

But in normal viewing angle and in apps where the background is white, or sites where there's sufficient white, there's quite an ugly browny shadow on the right.

Yes, I'm aware that it appears on phones too with similar screens, but not as bad/noticable as my N800. I was just curious as I had not seen this on the other 15 N800 I saw.

(Ah, well it's free - lol, I get what I paid for :p - haha j/k)