Found a smallish scratch on my screen today and after rubbing it , wiping it and ticking my thumbnail across it, I have to admit that it’s a real scratch. Should have had a protector on it but I owned my last phone for years and retired it looking nearly mint but so it goes. Not even sure how I did it, just that it’s there and it must have happened today.
The internet is full of home remedies and also full of sites saying those remedies are bunk, try this instead. So has anyone here had real life hands on experience with removing a scratch using stuff from around the home?
Trying to polish it out will not work and will just further damage the structural integrity of the screen. Your best bet is to get a tempered glass (not plastic) screen protector. They are usually only 5-10 bucks each shipped for most popular phones on ebay. This will cover the scratch and prevent further damage. Getting one from a brick and mortar retail phone or electronics store is a lot more expensive usually $20-$40.
Back when I designed cell phones for a living…we would replace the cover layer or the display (or both). Fifteen years in the industry, I never saw anyone actually remove a scratch.
Surely you’re not implying that the good people at Mashable are in error!
I’m not dumb enough to rub silver polish on my screen but I thought maybe there was some solution. I also read that a screen protector can help hide existing scratches so I guess that’s the best all around solution since it should be protected anyway.
If it’s an expensive, still relevant smartphone you can look into getting the actual screen itself replaced. Smartphones are commodities and parts are everywhere…
Also at my malls those independent kiosks (not the carrier ones, AT&T, Verizon etc.) that sell cellphone cases and protectors also replace actual screens as well. Your carrier will probably just try and sell you a new phone…
I think our Mashable friends are suggesting that you effectively buff…sand…down the surface to something past the scratch, assuming it’s very superficial. I suppose that TECHNICALLY can work, but (as you suggest) I wouldn’t want to try it unless it’s a last resort before replacing the screen anyway.
One of the items there compares removing a scratch on your screen with removing one from a car. It’s worth remembering that on a car or similar surface, your goal is to fill in the scratch and blend it with the surrounding area…and it’s all opaque. On a phone screen, your goal is to make a smooth clean transparent surface to allow light to pass through uniformly. Fundamentally different problem.
I have a hard time picturing a protector that hides existing scratches without also impacting your ability to clearly see the image on the screen. It’s not like it’s going to reconstruct the photons being blocked or distorted by the scratch.
Now, if you put a screen protector on BEFORE you scratch it…that I can believe!
For what it’s worth: I’ve buffed scratches out of a watch crystal using toothpaste. Haven’t tried it on a smart phone screen, but what could it hurt to try?
On the other hand, if they can repair a chip or crack in your windshield, you’d think they could fill a scratch on a phone screen.
I’m sure there’s some difference but if they can put a man on the moon, they can overcome those differences! It’s not really large enough to warrant the expense of replacing the whole thing; maybe a quarter inch. It’s just right in the middle so it’s taunting me each time I use the phone.
A phone screen is much, much thinner than a windshield glass you have almost no material to work with. Technically there might be some way to do it with very specialized, super high precision grinding equipment and high tech fillers, and a significant time investment from a highly skilled person. Is it worth 50 - 100 to fix a screen scratch vs putting on a $10 glass cover. 99% of rational consumers would vote “no”.
