August 26, 2004

9:07 PM

The screen of my 17" CRT developed a strange, highly-reflective, streaky sheen after sitting under my stairs for six months. (Photo, close-up photo.) I've tried several cleaning agents, but nothing takes it off. The only thing that happened in the interim is that somebody spilled a cup of hot coffee in the vicinity, which splashed the screen, but we cleaned it off pretty quickly and didn't notice any damage at the time. Could coffee etch glass? Or could something else have caused this? Is there anything I can do to clean the screen?
posted by waldo to (5 comments total)

You probably damaged the anti-glare coating on the monitor, not the glass. If you remove the coating completely the monitor will still be usable, just brighter and more reflective. I've never tried removing the coating myself, but I've heard that ammonia will do it.
posted by mcguirk at 9:40 PM on August 26, 2004

Yeah, you do not want to use regular glass cleaner on your monitor, CRT or LCD. You should use either monitor wipes or a soft clean cloth and light pressure. I usually just use my fleece cap. and try your best to no touch the screen, since oils can damage the coating as well.
posted by Hackworth at 11:15 PM on August 26, 2004

mcguirk, on the strength of your reminder of the existence of anti-glare coating, a little googling provided plenty of information, all basically saying exactly what you said: remove the rest of the coating with ammonia or oven cleaner or something, and get used to the glare. :)

Thanks!
posted by waldo at 6:27 AM on August 27, 2004

After you remove the coating, you could get one of those external clip-on glare reducers like the Kenington GlareMaster - there are a whole bunch of different brands on eBay for around $6-15.
posted by fionab at 6:46 AM on August 27, 2004

I've Windexed my laptop (Toshiba Satellite) any number of times, with no harm. Ditto my monitors. Dunno what you folk are using, but there's something fishy about it.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:11 AM on August 27, 2004