Removing scratches from CRT tube

I couldn't decide on whether to order the Novus 3 (A product available in the USA) or T-Cut Glass Polisher / Recovery product (Available UK/Europe). In the end I ordered T-Cut on eBay for £5.00, plus nipped down to my local DIY store and bought a Bosch 125mm polishing pad (£10) for my orbital sander.

A 500ml bottle of T-Cut glass polisher / restorer £5.00 from most spares depots or eBay (£4.00 P&P though! Ouch!)


1) I removed the CP upper & monitor surround and covered the unit with a large cover to stop dust and moisture getting into the unit
2) Cleaned the monitor with Fairy washing up liquid and warm water
3) Sprayed and polished the monitor with Window cleaner
4) Following the instructions of the T-Cut product I used a damp cloth to smear the product into the screen
5) Immediately I used the Orbital sander and polishing pad.

For the best results with scratches on the screen, I discovered that a liberal amount of T-Cut should be used and immediately polished. If the product was light or dried out then you got streaks and little actual polishing occurred.

The very first thing you'll notice is the purple protective sheen comes off, which for the vast majority of the scratches was an instant solution. Once you removed the entire protective sheen the underlying 'Green' tube surface was exposed.

I have included before and after images at roughly the same angle, plus I used the tube light in my garage to reflect the difference. If you look closely you'll see a 'haze' of very light scratches on the screen, which once polished have completely disappeared. The colour variation is hard to photograph and is not as pronounced as it seems on the images. You don't go from a nice black screen to alien green lol.

The result was amazing! I have only 1 slight scratch left and the monitor looks as good as new.

Before (Note the white line at the bottom centre of the image is NOT a scratch!)


After


Excellent image!


How's this for smoooooooooth? (I ain't talking about their legs!)

 

Nice stuff! Yeah, I'd have said just go with a polishing pad with some compound.

Err, that strip light reflection on the pic of the line-up is in an unfortunate position. Good job that guy's black! :lol:

 

yet so funny

 

Parris: good job mate!

retro: stop looking at other men's privates!

 

Haha, I wasn't looking, it was just... well, jumping off the page! :lol:

 

I never even noticed. I guess you have to be looking out for that kind of thing, eh Retro lol :clap:

 

same thing exactly! Damn, and I actually liked you retro..in a straight way :crying:

 

i bet you would still like to have a freeplay with that virtua striker...

 

Are you suggesting Barc0de wants to get his hands on Parris' joystick? h:

 

yeah, both of them.

 

Hands or joysticks?

 

well, rumor has it that Parris's joystick requires two hands. but those are just rumors i couldn't tell you for sure...

:033:

 

It's become a sketch show all of a sudden.... ooooo, matron! OH:

 

sorry, one thing lead to another and...

On Topic:

The screen does look brand new. That stuff really did the trick.

 

Does it work on Sanwas knob too? (sorry could resist...)

 

If you want to polish your.... 'ere, don't get me involved!

 

:lol: those posts being back to back like that go sooo well ;-)

I've polished monitors for years (think the first was a cabinet I got in a pretty shocking state after years of abuse in a pool club back in 2004), I never really thought it a big deal, I guess! As far as I remember, I had a conversation back then with the likes of ordyne, outrun, cyclo etc. They all had opinions, basically it was glass polishing so it didn't seem to be anything to write home about. The bulk of the conversation was about what happens when you remove the coating.

 

Parris has done so many FAQs that he could do that for a living :lol: The man can fix a space shuttle!

 

Sure! Although, I don't know how much more detail you are requiring tbh. You want me to write up each individual step, like a guide?

I know that in the USA and Canada there are at least 4 or 5 people who have claimed to use a product called Novus 3, which is actually a PVC / Plastic cleaning product. Incidentally it really DOES work on plastics! In the UK I found that B&Q sell these fantastic plastic cleaning wipes, a bit like my old baby wipes trick on PCBs, but these PVC wipes are mildly abrasive and whatever formula is on them it stung like hell in a cut I had on my hands, so break out the Marigold gloves lol.

They are called 'Thompsons' uPVC handy wipes' and appear to be made by Ronseal.

Novus 1/2/3 PDF: http://www.plasticstockist.com/products/datasheets/NOVUS BROCHURE.PDF
uPVC Handy wipes: http://www.choiceful.com/choiceful-id-7272-Thompsons-uPVC-Handy-Wipes.html

Given that the product was not manufactured to polish or restore glass, I decided not to risk a £200 tube getting damaged.

T-Cut Glass Polish / Restorer is actually (as the graphic on the bottle suggests) designed for the car trade.

T-Cut: http://www.carplan.co.uk/index.cfm?product=66

Initially I was going to use something called 'Jewelers Rouge', (used to polish metal), but it wasn't available and also it's not specifically for glass. It comes in powder, fluid or wax bars and the abrasive quality depends on a sliding scale of colour. It's made from Iron Oxide (Rust) and although it is meant to work really well, I just couldn't bring myself to use it. I also couldn't find a local supplier.

On the surface of these arcade monitors is a protective layer of anti-static / anti-glare material. It scratches through time, discolors if exposed to direct sunlight and / or smoke or nicotine.

The vast majority of light scratches on such monitors are actually no deeper than the surface coating. However, as long as the scratch cannot be felt by dragging your nail across it (i.e. it doesn't bump in a groove) can be easily polished out.

Lots of windscreen replacement workshops will actually use angle grinders and glass polish to take out any minor surface marks. They'll say they don't and that it is easier to replace the screen (and safer), but it's something they actually do!

So, if you are not confident in polishing the screen, do as one Dutch arcade guy did and remove your screen and have it polished professionally.

However, exactly the same results can be obtained by simply doing it yourself.

You can even polish it by hand instead of using power tools, however given that it took 2 hours for my orbital sander (with a Bosch 125mm polishing pad) to cut through the surface layer and polish it properly, I suspect it would be a long and painful job on the arms.

First of all, get yourself an old, CRT tube to practice on instead of going straight at a 29" arcade tube with 4000rpm of abrasive fluid! Most people can get their hands on an old computer monitor.

When you cut through the surface layer it will seem like you have ruined your screen. It will be discolored and look more like an ordinary TV tube than the darker surface found on arcade tubes. Keep going, applying sufficient amounts of the fluid depending on the severity of the scratches.

Move the orbital sander across the screen and then around the edges making sure you don't scratch the screen with the edge of the sander plate.

As the fluid dries off, you'll find the coating of the screen is white. This powder buffs off and within about 10 mins of the powdery stage you'll polish the screen to a brilliant sheen.

In Europe there is a car care product called 'Commandant', which comes in large metal canisters. It does exactly the same job. Same idea.

So, if you cannot obtain T-Cut look for 'Commandant' (I have seen the results and can verify it works). In the USA and Canada, look for 'Novus 3', albeit I have only 'heard' it works and not seen the results.