.

You could try something more agressive like Goof Off or Acetone. They should disolve any plastic coating while leaving the glass untouched. However you need to be very careful as they will disolve the plastic case and so can easily damage the bezel around the tube. I have never tried to remove this coating on TVs but have used these solvents extenstive on other items. The fumes can get rather intense so make sure there is adequate ventilation where you are working.

.

Same warning as given above by secstate applies, and then some: you might try clear PVC primer containing tetrahydrofuran, methyl ethyl ketone, cyclohexanone, etc. I think only thermoset or perfluorinated plastics will stand up real well to these solvents. Obviously you won't want to pour them down the drain.

PVC pipe is cemented together by actually dissolving the surfaces into each other. Don't use the cement, use the primer. Make sure it's clear rather than purple when you buy it. Good luck!

.

Last time I checked, the screen underneath the glare coating was glass. Just keep the clear primer away from the bezel and open your windows.

Softscrub and Comet were not good ideas. They are abrasive. I hope you rinsed the oven cleaner pretty well too, it can etch glass very slowly.

.

I have been told by Sony that the screen is a plastic, acrylic, but definately not glass. I have read on these forums that others have found that it is plastic also. The Comet I used was unabravise and the part of the screen where I have been able to remove the anti-glare coating is smooth and in perfect condition. Again thanks for the help but was wondering if you think the PVC clear primer could do damage to the screen?

I would be highly surprised if the screen beneath the anit-glare coating was anything other than glass but anything is possible. If it really is some sort of plastic anything you use to disolve the antiglare coating may damage it. I would proceede with extreme caution though if goof off didn't disolve it, I don't know what will. Basically any solvent you use that is going to be that strong has a danger of damaging any plastic underneath especially since nobody seems to know what it is made of. Basically I don't see any risk free way to continue the removal process (espeically considering what you have already tried. You are going to have to pay your money and take your chances. I am just glad my recently acquired 30hs420 has no coating and is good old plain glass.

.

Intersesting, I am glad I don't have this problem. I sounds like anything you do at this point has the potential to damage the plastic/acrylic/etc underneath.

From what I've read there was an "N" model that had a plastic cover over the glass tube, so technically everybody is right.

I ma curious as to if it possible to retint the glass (plastic) once the tint is removed.
Thanks

It seems that the second half of this thread has disappeared. In it I outlined the procedure I used to remove my anti glare coating on my XBR960. It was very easy, I did NOT use any chemicals, unless you want to include the lemon Pledge I used as a final step.

If anybody knows where the rest of this thread went, let me know. Here's A REPEAT of what I had posted:

What you will need:
1) X-acto knife
2) single edged razor blade
3) butter knife
4) lemon pledge (or whatever)
5) soft cloth

How it's done:
1) Trace the outer edge of the screen with the x-acto knife. Make sure you've got a nice new blade. You don't need to press hard.
2) Again using the x-acto knife, trace across an upper corner so you have a small triangle in the corner. Use the tip of the x-acto knife to seperate the film from the glass a bit. Just make a small pocket.
3) Stick the butter knife in this small slit and push it towards the corner of the screen. When you get to the corner, the film should break away clean. If it doesn't, gently trace the outline of the screen again with the x-acto knife.
4) You get the idea. Once you've got a corner pulled away you can grab it an pull downward, not outward, on the film. If you pull outward, the film will rip too much. With some strategic slitting and butterknifing, you'll have the entire film off in 10 minutes. 95% of the glue should come off with the film.
5) Now, use the single edged razor blade and carefully scrape off the rest of the glue, just like the dude at the garage scrapes the old inspection sticker off your car windshield.
6) Nothing in this world is perfect, so now spray the screen with that wonderful smelling lemon pledge and polish to perfection with a nice soft terrycloth. Remaining smears of glue come right off by spraying some lemon pledge on the cloth and giving it a bit of elbow grease.

I made this procedure up as I went along. The whole process took me 30 minutes and I did not melt the bezel, blow up the house, deliver a plague upon the earth, etc. etc.

......Here come some pictures !!!!!!

I removed mine by taking off the front bezel and peeling off the coating like a big piece of tape. I then used a product called Goo Gone to remove the sticky residue left on the screen. It's just bare glass underneath the coating. The set is quite a bit brighter and more dynamic without the coating. It's kind of like removing sunglasses. Worth the effort, but it is a bitch of job.

Can I ask why you all chose to remove your coating?

I have the 34XBR960, but not the -N. We have people staying here who's son keeps covering the tv with his sticky palms. They must have decided to clean it, because the tv which was perfect for 2 years is now ruind. There are horizontal streaks on it and areas where the coating is gone. But this is a very thin coating, I dont think it is the film. Is there anything I can do about this? Do I clean it to the point where all of the coating is gone? If so, how ill my picture look? Very frustrated here. The same kid keeps touching my 46 inch XBR4 LCD and they think I am being paranoid that the TV is not as fragile as I think. Then last night I saw my 960 looked ruined and I just confirmed it.

Can I ask why you all chose to remove your coating?

I have the 34XBR960, but not the -N. We have people staying here who's son keeps covering the tv with his sticky palms. They must have decided to clean it, because the tv which was perfect for 2 years is now ruind. There are horizontal streaks on it and areas where the coating is gone. But this is a very thin coating, I dont think it is the film. Is there anything I can do about this? Do I clean it to the point where all of the coating is gone? If so, how ill my picture look? Very frustrated here. The same kid keeps touching my 46 inch XBR4 LCD and they think I am being paranoid that the TV is not as fragile as I think. Then last night I saw my 960 looked ruined and I just confirmed it.


I decided to remove the coating because the coating was defective and when I was wiping the screen, with a microfiber cloth and nothing else, to clear the dust the coating began to come off. I then tried to remove it all but some of it wouldn't come off.

The coating was applied a couple different ways and in my case the coating was either sprayed on or baked on. It was not a film similar to tint for car windows.

In the end I wish I would have left it alone with just the liitle bit that came off initially, but I thought I could get it all off.

There have been more than one revision of this TV. The changes only being the way the coating was applied and then the "N" version of the TV without an anti-glare coating.

The person in this thread that seems to think it is so easy to remove the coating obviously had a version with the film on the screen which was not the case with mine.

If you do try and remove it keep in mind that the screen is made of a hard plastic or an acrylic. It is NOT glass. This came straight from Sony.

Can I ask why you all chose to remove your coating?

I have the 34XBR960, but not the -N. We have people staying here who's son keeps covering the tv with his sticky palms. They must have decided to clean it, because the tv which was perfect for 2 years is now ruind. There are horizontal streaks on it and areas where the coating is gone. But this is a very thin coating, I dont think it is the film. Is there anything I can do about this? Do I clean it to the point where all of the coating is gone? If so, how ill my picture look? Very frustrated here. The same kid keeps touching my 46 inch XBR4 LCD and they think I am being paranoid that the TV is not as fragile as I think. Then last night I saw my 960 looked ruined and I just confirmed it.

Not to be rude but young kids and very expensive displays do not mix well. Anyone should be willing to respect you and your very expensive tech gear. I have a son myself and have no problem explaining to him not to touch the screen of any of my displays.

I agree - I have a 4 and a half year old daughter ans she knows no to touch the TVs - or any of the electronics for that matter. However, my guests apparently never taught their children that. As I stated, they thought I was being paranoid. So, don't think you were being rude, I agree completely. However, still need an asnwer to my question. Is there anything I can do? Will damage be covered by a service contract?

I agree - I have a 4 and a half year old daughter ans she knows no to touch the TVs - or any of the electronics for that matter. However, my guests apparently never taught their children that. As I stated, they thought I was being paranoid. So, don't think you were being rude, I agree completely. However, still need an asnwer to my question. Is there anything I can do? Will damage be covered by a service contract?

My 34XBR960 was out of warrenty and I doubt Sony would do anything about it anyways. Sony obviously knew there were problems with the coating because of the revisions of the TV. The TV went through a few different methods to the way the coating was applied to a revision that got rid of the coating all together.

Honestly you can try some chemicals such as Oops! and whatnot but I was only able to get 2/3 of the coating off. What I did was put the 34XBR960 in what I call the kids family room and hook a Wii and a XBOX 360 and a PC running Mame and emulators to it. Sitting further away from the set you can not tell the coating is screwed up. I just couldn't justify not getting use out of such a quality display so I have learned to live with what was maybe a bad decision in the first place.

I know that may not be a solution for you but that is all I got. If you do try chemicals of some sort make sure you do not get it on the plactic bezel as it will eat it up. When I began the process to remove the coating it came off quite easy in the beginning but then in some spots I couldn't put a dent in it.

In the end I bought a 34XBR970 because I could no longer find the 960 and put it where the 34XBR960 used to be. If calibrated correctly the 970 is a fine display. The only difference is the 970 doesn't have the Super-Fine Pitch tube or a cablecard slot. The Super-Fine Pitch tube is what makes the 960 such a beautiful display along with the deep inky blacks as well.

Good luck.

I decided to remove the coating because the coating was defective and when I was wiping the screen, with a microfiber cloth and nothing else, to clear the dust the coating began to come off. I then tried to remove it all but some of it wouldn't come off.

The coating was applied a couple different ways and in my case the coating was either sprayed on or baked on. It was not a film similar to tint for car windows.

In the end I wish I would have left it alone with just the liitle bit that came off initially, but I thought I could get it all off.

There have been more than one revision of this TV. The changes only being the way the coating was applied and then the "N" version of the TV without an anti-glare coating.

The person in this thread that seems to think it is so easy to remove the coating obviously had a version with the film on the screen which was not the case with mine.

If you do try and remove it keep in mind that the screen is made of a hard plastic or an acrylic. It is NOT glass. This came straight from Sony.


I would not believe everything some person at the other end of a phone say's even if he or she works for Sony. The tube is glass. What you might of encountered is a hard film under a coating you disolved on top of the hard film. I think you might be mistaking the hard film for plastic, which it is, but there is glass under there somewhere. No CRT tube that I am aware of was ever made of plastic.

Cathode Ray Tubes are just that; they are glass tubes. Nothing else could withstand the extreme pressure of the tension ring and pressure differential(vacuum). Have a look at the photos I took; the film is an acrylic - its about twice the thickness of automotive tint. I still have the entire film saved for who-knows-what. I would be happy to take more photos if anyone is interested. The whole expreience makes me wonder if there is an antiglare aftermarket film one could buy to "recondition" the viewing surface of my tv. It's probably expensive if it even exists. --

I've had good luck with the film gone, although I have to close the drapes if there is bright sunlight because the reflection annoys me. Also, the "coolness" of the purplish look of the film is gone as the tube now shows its natural "greenish" tint. Oh well. --

In unrelated news, I damaged my B-Y board and bought a replacement from Tri-State Module for $89.95. Wow! That was pretty cheap. --

Drop me an email if anyone out there knows of or is part of a Sony SuperFine Pitch TV club. I'd love to be involved. Thanks!

After seeing this thread get revived once again I decided to give it one more go in trying to get the anti-glare coating completely removed. Again, I was told that there was more than one way in which they applied the coating to this set and from my experience there was no window tint like material applied to the screen. It was more like a coating that was sprayed on. Having removed about 2/3 of the coating with Oops! solvent I could not put a dent in the remaining 1/3 of the screen and had given up hope as I had tried a number of different methods and chemicals as well. After about 9 months of thinking that it was a lost cause I am happy today to report that the coating has been completely removed and the screen looks just as smooth and clear as the 34XBR970 does without the anti-glare coating. The solution was, believe it or not, Steel Wool Grade #0000. This stuff worked like a charm and did not leave a single scratch. I can now fully enjoy one of the finest TVs ever made in the Super-Fine Pitch 34XBR960 once again.

:cool:Now you can put the 960 back in "primary" duty. My 34HS510 non-sfp has the coating, I will have to treat it carefully. The Sony PC monitor I'm using here at work has splotches of glare coating missing, but it comes off with water! (Maybe a few more cleanings will take care of it.) I like the coating when it is clean, too bad it cause problems in the "real world" of spatter, kids, chicken wings:eek:

Does anyone know if this applies to the 910 and the other similar XBR models? I just passed on a 910 at a decent price because there were marks all over it.

I'm not even sure if the 910 has the coating.

Its got something. Maybe not the same as the 960 but I've seen marks on a 30 and 34" version. The 34 hasn't sold yet and I'm tempted to get it and live with the marks or see what can be done

AMAZIN:

Thank you so much!! The steel wool worked better than I could've imagined! Absolutely NO damage to the screen and every trace of the coating is GONE! Again, Thanks!

Everyone else, take it from amazin, I've tested it. This is the definitive way to remove the coating. Steel wool grade 0000.

I wish I knew about it when I had my XS955!

AMAZIN:

Thank you so much!! The steel wool worked better than I could've imagined! Absolutely NO damage to the screen and every trace of the coating is GONE! Again, Thanks!

Everyone else, take it from amazin, I've tested it. This is the definitive way to remove the coating. Steel wool grade 0000.

I wish I knew about it when I had my XS955!

I don't know if anyone will see this since I'm so late but my ONLY problem with my 960 is it seems so soft and blurry with menus and text.

I'm wondering if this could be in part a problem with the antiglare filter?

Did you all see an improvement in sharpness or edge detail?

I may remove mine cause I usually game or watch movies at night anyway and I just want a clean picture.

If the coating isn't scratched, don't remove it. It has nothing to do with the blur anyway, you need to adjust focus.

I have the kd-34xs955 and removed the coating using a coax knife. I removed the left over adhesive with steel wool and used goo gone with a q-tip around the edges. It worked great, and as othersmentioned the picture actually looks much cleaner. It took me about 4 hours to complete though.

Also, Trent_bob, I have a different model than yours; however, the pro mode setting on my tv greatly improves text around the edges. So if your uncomfortable making adjustments in the service menu you might try this first.

I've noticed on my kd34xs955, that a part of the screen looks as though parts of a layer were taken off, is this the anti glare coating?

If the coating isn't scratched, don't remove it. It has nothing to do with the blur anyway, you need to adjust focus.

I have the kd-34xs955 and removed the coating using a coax knife. I removed the left over adhesive with steel wool and used goo gone with a q-tip around the edges. It worked great, and as othersmentioned the picture actually looks much cleaner. It took me about 4 hours to complete though.

Also, Trent_bob, I have a different model than yours; however, the pro mode setting on my tv greatly improves text around the edges. So if your uncomfortable making adjustments in the service menu you might try this first.

Ya played around in the service menu and greatly improved the picture quality but I couldn't get anything to noticeably sharpen the picture.

Thanks - I'll try the pro mode.

It seems that the second half of this thread has disappeared. In it I outlined the procedure I used to remove my anti glare coating on my XBR960. It was very easy, I did NOT use any chemicals, unless you want to include the lemon Pledge I used as a final step.

If anybody knows where the rest of this thread went, let me know. Here's A REPEAT of what I had posted:

What you will need:
1) X-acto knife
2) single edged razor blade
3) butter knife
4) lemon pledge (or whatever)
5) soft cloth

How it's done:
1) Trace the outer edge of the screen with the x-acto knife. Make sure you've got a nice new blade. You don't need to press hard.
2) Again using the x-acto knife, trace across an upper corner so you have a small triangle in the corner. Use the tip of the x-acto knife to seperate the film from the glass a bit. Just make a small pocket.
3) Stick the butter knife in this small slit and push it towards the corner of the screen. When you get to the corner, the film should break away clean. If it doesn't, gently trace the outline of the screen again with the x-acto knife.
4) You get the idea. Once you've got a corner pulled away you can grab it an pull downward, not outward, on the film. If you pull outward, the film will rip too much. With some strategic slitting and butterknifing, you'll have the entire film off in 10 minutes. 95% of the glue should come off with the film.
5) Now, use the single edged razor blade and carefully scrape off the rest of the glue, just like the dude at the garage scrapes the old inspection sticker off your car windshield.
6) Nothing in this world is perfect, so now spray the screen with that wonderful smelling lemon pledge and polish to perfection with a nice soft terrycloth. Remaining smears of glue come right off by spraying some lemon pledge on the cloth and giving it a bit of elbow grease.

I made this procedure up as I went along. The whole process took me 30 minutes and I did not melt the bezel, blow up the house, deliver a plague upon the earth, etc. etc.

......Here come some pictures !!!!!!
EvilJeff:
I just wanted to thank you for your post on the procedure to remove the anti-glare screen on my KD-34XS955. It worked very well and gave me the confidence in proceeding with the removal myself. The only thing I would like to add is that the anti-glare screen was more difficult to peel off than I had anticipated. I used a heat gun on the low setting to preheat a little before I started peeling. This really sped up the process. Still it took about an hour to carefully remove the screen and then another hour to remove all the excess glue with a box cutter type razor blade. I then used Goo Gone and Windex for the finishing touches. The results are amazing! Nice bright picture with no more annoying streaks. Before I started I was ready to discard the TV.
Sony:
You should feel embarrassed for releasing these CRT's with defective anti-glare screens. Your R&D department must have been on vacation or something. I can't believe that your screens are so sensitive to damage. There was a time not long ago when the Sony brand stood for quality, cutting edge technology. When Toyota realized they had defects or engineering problems they faced the situation head on and handled it with class.

Hi all. I am new to the forum, and just purchased a second hand 960 from a pro who teaches how to calibrate sets. Needless to say mine is operating perfectly. However, there is a small section of antiglare coating at the bottom of the screen that is worn. I am on the fence about removal. I just wanted to ask those who have removed it from a 960 a question:

If you had just a small place like mine that was hardy noticeable, and knew the results in picture of removing the coating, would you still have done it?

Many thanks!

Vince

I can't believe you did that! All you needed to do was to take out all of the screws that hold the back of the TV on. Maybe 10 or so. Remove the back cover. Then, at the top of the picture tube on the inside, there is a large screw/bolt. Undo that corner one and gently pull the top corner of the bezel away from the picture tube. On the top corner of the picture tube, you will see a corner piece of plastic sticking out. This is the anti-glare coating. The reason that the plastic sticks out is because it has been cut into a square corner, but the top of the picture tube is curved, so it doesn't adhere well in the corners. You can start to pick it away and eventually you will have a piece large enough to grasp and then continue pulling away from the picture tube.
Believe me, I was wary of doing this, but it took me only 30 min to get all of it off. Came off in one big sheet! Just a little clean up of some glue residue later. No big deal. Then, just pop everything back on and the TV has never looked better! I have a 34xs955. The coating before had become streaked, so I was a little in the dumps about that, and was worried that I'd have to live with it. The TV now is like a brand new set again. I like it much better without the coating. Can't believe I've lived with it all this time with that silly coating on.
Anyone who is using chemicals to remove the coating is an idiot. You are essentially trying to rub through 1 mm of very tough plastic. You'll never do it. It would take you forever. YOu are just burning small holes through it. Just peel it off like a very large and tough screen protector that you would have on an iphone or something like that.
Honestly, 30 min and it was all done. Like I said, I wish I had done this years ago. Much better!!!

I always thought it would have been better to have the "n" version but now I am glad I don't! That sounds like it could be a colossal pain in the neck, trying to scrub away the baked on anti-glare resin.

You are wrong.

First off all, we are talking about the 960 here and you are talking about the 955. They are completely different models. So, right off the bat your post is sort of useless. That said...

There were two different versions of the 960 released. The 960N and the 960. The first was like your 955, the anti-glare coating was an actual sheet of plastic over the screen that with some effort, could pealed or cut to remove it. The later versions of the 960 (like mine) had a chemical coating that was spayed/baked on to the screen to form the anti-glare. On those 960s there is nothing to grab and peal. It could never just come off as one solid sheet. It's literally impossible.

So, before you go and call someone an idiot, try to have at least basic knowledge on what you are talking about. Otherwise, like in this case, you end up spreading misinformation and you come off looking like an idiot yourself.

Hmmm... The 955 and 960 are completely different models? Don't the both utilize the same SFP tube? Both have cablecard, HDMI. I can utilize PIP through my harmony remote. Only difference I see is that I can't access the iLink feature. Anything else you are aware of that separates these two? Other than perhaps the extra $2-300 premium for the XBR? Think again buddy.
Let's take a closer look at the results of clearing the anti-glare coating.
Me - 30 minutes, no chemicals, TV is in better condition than new!
You - hours of labor, driving to hardware store, scrubbing and scrubbing, goo-gone, acetone, fumes to kill large quantities of brain cells (this is apparent), frustration, ruined TV set, $1800 lost!
Now, you tell me who is the idiot?
Peace out schmuck.

You have it backwards. The model without the "N" has the coating sprayed on.

Ah, yes I see that now. To be honest, I didn't notice much of a difference when I peeled mine off. Except that the glare was a little worse, go figure :-) The picture is still great.

Doing the same thing to my gdm-w900 yielded a substantial improvement however-much brighter.

Nobody here is an idiot as far as I can tell. All we are talking about is anti-glare coatings. I am not sure why this became such an inflammatory topic-geez.

Hi all. I am new to the forum, and just purchased a second hand 960 from a pro who teaches how to calibrate sets. Needless to say mine is operating perfectly. However, there is a small section of antiglare coating at the bottom of the screen that is worn. I am on the fence about removal. I just wanted to ask those who have removed it from a 960 a question:

If you had just a small place like mine that was hardy noticeable, and knew the results in picture of removing the coating, would you still have done it?

Many thanks!

Vince
Hi "aroostook67"

Me too I'm new to this forum.
I did remove the coating on my 960 because I was selling it. (not the N model)
I used the steel wool #0000 method. worked good, I added VIM to it, worked even better! No Scratches on the screen what so ever. took some time, but it worked. A lot easier that just using Windex or any glass cleaner a scrubbing! (Did a lot of that before) :(
I did not believe at 1st, but it does work. I got mine at Home Depot, pack of 12 for around 5$. You can do a small test in one of the corners 1st if you're not sure.

To answer your question about removing the coating: if it does not bother you, leave it. I can tell you that removing the coating make the screen attract a lot more dust!!! but beside that the screen looks better without it. you also have to take into consideration the glare effect. All depends of the placement and room condition the TV is in.
Well I hope this helps you.

Alex