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Scratched 60csx Screen


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I just took my GPS 60CSx with me on a little trek. I had to find my way back so I let it hang on its landyard from the outside of my backpack. Since I was climbing on sharp rocks near the ocean I did something dumb and not think about scratches. So it scrapped up against rocks and ended up getting scratched and nicked...of course all over the middle of the screen.

 

Is there a way to buff those scratches out? I tried the toothpaste method without luck. Do you think Garmin will replace the screen...with a payment, of course?

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I just took my GPS 60CSx with me on a little trek. I had to find my way back so I let it hang on its landyard from the outside of my backpack. Since I was climbing on sharp rocks near the ocean I did something dumb and not think about scratches. So it scrapped up against rocks and ended up getting scratched and nicked...of course all over the middle of the screen.

 

Is there a way to buff those scratches out? I tried the toothpaste method without luck. Do you think Garmin will replace the screen...with a payment, of course?

 

If Garmin won't replace it I have had great results from Brasso brass polish and a soft cloth.

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Good luck with the polish approach. I've heard from various sites that it works (ipods, ipaqs, etc).

 

Once you get your screen fixed, check out this link to a very good screen protectors. Cost ten bucks, and they are supposed to be originally designed to put on helicopter blades. I like mine a lot.

 

again, good luck, and post your results.

 

I had bought one of those shieldzone/Invisible shield protectors for my Canon dig cam that I got off of eBay. The camera worked, but had a pretty bad scratch on the LCD. When I put the invisibleshield on it, it actually made the scratch disappear! Very pleased, and bought more for my GPS and PDA.

Edited by sabrinatom
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I had bought one of those shieldzone/Invisible shield protectors for my Canon dig cam that I got off of eBay. The camera worked, but had a pretty bad scratch on the LCD. When I put the invisibleshield on it, it actually made the scratch disappear! Very pleased, and bought more for my GPS and PDA.

FWIW, I had the same experience with another brand of screen protector for my PDA. I suspect more than a few of 'em are made of the same material. Right now, I'm using a Palm Universal Screen Protector on my 60CSx. I put a scratch on my 76C's screen a few mos. after buying it so the first thing I did on my 60CSx was slap on a screen protector.

 

FYI the Palm screen protectors cost about USD$20 for a pack of about 20.

 

GeoBC

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nathantw, I'm not harping on you; however, I just don't understand how anybody could spend $400 on a GPSr and not spend another $15-$20 on a protective case. It baffles me to no end, but I see this often with other expensive gadgets, as well. I have my amateur radio license and I see other Hams with expensive hand-held radios, scanners, etc without protective cases. These transcievers and scanners will cost you from $200 - $500+. Yet, I still see many a hand-held radio with scratches on the display, as well as other blemishes, cuts, nicks, etc on these radios. Unbelievable to me.

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My bet is that Garmin will replace it at no cost, since the unit is still under warranty. It isn't a warranty issue, of course, but their customer service is second to none.

 

I just got a message back from Garmin. No warranty repair. In fact it'll cost me $175! That's their flat rate. Wow! I think I'll try the brass cleaner method instead.

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nathantw, I'm not harping on you; however, I just don't understand how anybody could spend $400 on a GPSr and not spend another $15-$20 on a protective case. It baffles me to no end, but I see this often with other expensive gadgets, as well. I have my amateur radio license and I see other Hams with expensive hand-held radios, scanners, etc without protective cases. These transcievers and scanners will cost you from $200 - $500+. Yet, I still see many a hand-held radio with scratches on the display, as well as other blemishes, cuts, nicks, etc on these radios. Unbelievable to me.

 

Actually it cost me $500, not $400. I actually had my GPS V for 4 years and it never got a scratch on the screen. I had the 60CSx for a month and already it's scratched with a $175 repair (if I choose to do it). Why didn't I use a screen protector? Well, mainly because I never thought about the screen scratching (my experience with my old GPS unit). Now that it is, well, then I started thinking of those screen protectors, but I'd like to get it polished out first. I left the screen protector that came on my new Blackberry and I'm sure it's protected it pretty well. My boss, on the other hand, proceeded to put a HUGE scratch across the face of his not more than a day after he got his.

 

So right now, $175 for a repair. Hmmm, maybe I'll try other methods before I go that far.

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Big difference between my GPS IIIplus and the GPS V I had, in that they had hard plastic lenses over the LCD display, but the plastic lens on the 60 series is very soft, like what happened to me. I had tried to zoom in with the video camera on a brand new Map60C back in 2004, and just barely touched the screen, but that left a deep cut, so it is too soft, so it requires screen protection. I wished all I had to do is to take part of the GPS to an eyeglasses place, to get anti-glare coatings, and scratch resistant coating also.

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Good luck with the polish approach. I've heard from various sites that it works (ipods, ipaqs, etc).

 

Once you get your screen fixed, check out this link to a very good screen protectors. Cost ten bucks, and they are supposed to be originally designed to put on helicopter blades. I like mine a lot.

 

again, good luck, and post your results.

 

I bought mine from this company just the other day. Does it really work as good as they say?

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Good luck with the polish approach. I've heard from various sites that it works (ipods, ipaqs, etc).

 

Once you get your screen fixed, check out this link to a very good screen protectors. Cost ten bucks, and they are supposed to be originally designed to put on helicopter blades. I like mine a lot.

 

again, good luck, and post your results.

 

I bought mine from this company just the other day. Does it really work as good as they say?

YES!!!!! Do not hesitate to buy it. I had one on my 60C and when I upgraded to my 60CSX I made sure I paid the 9.95 to protect it too. I went out today and had to do some bushwacking when I got home the screen was all dirty but not a scratch on it. Alittle warm water on a cloth rag and it shinned right up. Love that protector!!!!

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Good luck with the polish approach. I've heard from various sites that it works (ipods, ipaqs, etc).

 

Once you get your screen fixed, check out this link to a very good screen protectors. Cost ten bucks, and they are supposed to be originally designed to put on helicopter blades. I like mine a lot.

 

again, good luck, and post your results.

 

I bought mine from this company just the other day. Does it really work as good as they say?

Agreed with sergerguy. I had a minor scratch in the upper right (not in the viewarea) within a week with little use (actually putting it in my lunch bag). Now that I have it, it gets pretty crudded up sometimes (yesterday got mud on it. whoohoo! not a scratch, just wash it off.

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I'm a gadget freak & I'm always buying very expensive electronics. Like the other member mentioned, it bothers me when I see my buddies with their digital cameras, police scanners, expensive cell phones, & GPS receivers with no protection. Everytime I buy something new myself within' hours I'm already searching for protective cases. I like taking care of my goodies, as I know how much hard work it took to purchase them. The screen protection is a good idea, but what about scratches & knicks on the rest of the unit. You never know when you might think about selling it. I just bought a 60cs & purchased a pretty decent case for it on eBay for under $10 & it has clear plastic on the front for lcd. Hope all works out with that Braso, I've also heard it works pretty well.

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Actually it cost me $500, not $400. I actually had my GPS V for 4 years and it never got a scratch on the screen. I had the 60CSx for a month and already it's scratched with a $175 repair (if I choose to do it). Why didn't I use a screen protector? Well, mainly because I never thought about the screen scratching (my experience with my old GPS unit). Now that it is, well, then I started thinking of those screen protectors, but I'd like to get it polished out first. I left the screen protector that came on my new Blackberry and I'm sure it's protected it pretty well. My boss, on the other hand, proceeded to put a HUGE scratch across the face of his not more than a day after he got his.

 

So right now, $175 for a repair. Hmmm, maybe I'll try other methods before I go that far.

 

My experience is similar. My Garmin III+ screen seemed more scratch-resistant than my 76C. BTW, as the other poster mentioned, the screen protector will probably make the scratch unnoticeable. Give that a try first, before rubbing abrasive compound onto the screen.

 

GeoBC

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nathantw, I'm not harping on you; however, I just don't understand how anybody could spend $400 on a GPSr and not spend another $15-$20 on a protective case. It baffles me to no end, but I see this often with other expensive gadgets, as well. I have my amateur radio license and I see other Hams with expensive hand-held radios, scanners, etc without protective cases. These transcievers and scanners will cost you from $200 - $500+. Yet, I still see many a hand-held radio with scratches on the display, as well as other blemishes, cuts, nicks, etc on these radios. Unbelievable to me.

 

Firstly, Id like to say I got the screenshield right away for my 60cx because the screen is huge, and its something thats going to be out in the bush and there is no protection.

 

But what really bothers me is the fact that we have to go BUY these things aftermarket, when are these greedy developers going to start applying these types of things at the factory.

 

Or at least on the handheld models the screen should be recessed (sunk-in) so that it won't scratch as easily. Or and extra screw on/off plexi that could be replaced.

 

One thing I will say about my screenshield is A- its a little bit to big, sticks up some at the top and bottom.

B- when viewing the screen at certain angles now, or light, distorts the screen.

 

But the protection it has offered so far is great, I recommend them for all your products. But I think some manufactures should start applying these at the factory.

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But what really bothers me is the fact that we have to go BUY these things aftermarket, when are these greedy developers going to start applying these types of things at the factory.

 

That was exactly what I thought. Why should I need to go out and buy something to protect the screen when the screen should be durable enough to withstand even the softest bump. My Blackberry came with a clear, plastic protective adheasive and it cost less than a 60CSx.

 

To the person that gave the idea of putting the protective layer over the GPS screen thus maybe hiding the scratch, unfortunately it didn't work. I guess my scratches are a little deeper than normal. I may try the brass cleaner, but we'll see. I don't like the idea of perhaps adding more scratches since it's an abrasive. I may just live with the scratches or wait until my unit needs to be replaced because of some unknown problem.

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Many years ago I was a navy fighter plane structure mechanic. I spent hours sitting in the nose of an F-4 with a can of plastic polish removing fine scratches that were in the pilots vision. Recently my Motorola I730 s screen got scratched up by the protective cover I bought to prevent that. I used the same technique on that plastic screen to remove the scratches that I used on the jets wind screens. Another poster mentioned the Novus product and that should work well. Unless the scratch is really deep it will polish out. The best advise after that is get a screen protector.

timk54

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I just got a message back from Garmin. No warranty repair. In fact it'll cost me $175! That's their flat rate. Wow! I think I'll try the brass cleaner method instead.

 

Before you give up: call them. If they say no, call them again to get a different rep (if you get the same one, wait a few hours for the next shift). If that doesn't work, send another email. There is an enormous difference between reps. I've tried this on two occasions, trying to convince them to do something unorthodox, and I got refused twice but eventually found a rep who obeyed my request cheerfully.

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It is intersting that many new gagets with nice LCD screens are having serious scratching problems. The ipod nano for instance seems to be much softer and easier to scratch than my old ipod screen. In fact I put a scratch in the screen with a microfiber cleaning cloth, never seen that happen before.

 

I think it's as others have said, it's a way to promote overpriced screen protectors and cases, which profit margins no doubt are huge on. While I agree that it's certainly worth the $10-20 to get a case and a screen protector for a $400 gps unit, I find it extremly unlikely that these companies are unable to find a material that is more scratch resistant than the stuff they are using. Some of these products can be looked at wrong and scratched. I have old cell phones and calculators that were tossed around and abused and never really ended up scratched badly.

 

That said I've been using heavy duty clear packaging tape for years on LCD screens, it may not be quite as durable as the helicopter blade cover stuff, but I've almost never had a scratch get through the tape, and it's more clear than a lot of the screen protectors I've seen. It's a little fussy to put on, but if you do it right, it's nearly impossible to tell its there, and $5 will buy you a lifetime supply.

 

I've also heard very good things about the novus line of scratch removal products, I believe they make 3 grades that you can get in a kit as well.

 

I can remember when Oakley sunglasses first came out they were the standard for ease of scratching, everyone complained about them, but a lot of these new LCD screens make my oakleys those look almost scratch proof.

 

It would be interesting to see how say a quartz or mineral crystal glass would affect pricing and durability of smaller LCD screen covers. Scratch resistance would be much much greater, but cost for larger screen covers might be high, and impact resistance may suffer over a larger surface area, but mineral crystal covers are still the material of choice for high end watch glass covers that have to endura harsh enviornments. I suppose weight could be an issue, it would no doubt add some weight.

Edited by toddm
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smaller LCD screen covers. Scratch resistance would be much much greater, but cost for larger screen covers might be high, and impact resistance may suffer over a larger surface area, but mineral crystal covers are still the material of choice for high end watch glass covers that have to endura harsh enviornments. I suppose weight could be an issue, it would no doubt add some weight.

 

Mineral crystals? I want my GPS to say "Swiss Made" on the bottom. Then we'd have to pay that VAT that normally sends watch prices through the roof. All seriousness, though, I'd love that but I don't think it would be feasible. We can always hope though.

 

Here are a couple methods I found that I might try on my watches first, then if that works my GPS and finally my son's Ipod and Sidekick. It appears that people's suggestions about Brasso and Novex are pretty popular. So now I need to at least try them.

 

=============

 

http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=msg...&rid=0#msg_2267

 

complete with pictures

 

=============

or

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/decorating.html

 

REMOVING SCRATCHES FROM PLASTIC

By Donald Gray 10/5/1996

 

You can do a great job re-polishing plastics, especially harder plastics like Perspex. It depends on the depth of scratch on which technique to use.

 

Deepish scratches:-

1. Start off with "Wet & Dry" paper (say grade 600) using a soapy water as a lubricant. (The water is vital to keep the paper grains free.) Gently "grind" away at the area until you cannot see the original scratches. (The area will go like frosted glass, but don't worry at this just yet!);

 

2. Change grade of Wet & Dry to 800 and do the same;

 

3. Change to grade 1200 wet & dry. do same grinding... (The basic principle behind this is to substitute deep scratches with shallower and shallower ones.);

 

4. Once you have got through the 1200 grade process, thoroughly clean &dry the area;

 

5. Use "Duraglit" or "Brasso" BRASS polish to remove the "frosted" effect;

 

6. Once this looks nice and shiny, use a SILVER polish to give a final finish.

 

For fine scratches, start at 4) above.

SECRET: Take time; don't rush it. Even when you think the scratches have gone, give the process a bit longer. There are NO short cuts to polishing, but it can be done in less time that one thinks....

 

Most DIY or car maintenance stores now stock the finer grades of "Wet & Dry" papers. (Tip: I keep a penknife razor sharp using 600 & 800 grade!) Don't forget: Soapy water is ESSENTIAL.

 

===============

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I cracked my screen and Garmin replaced it for $35.00 plus shipping. I had a screen protector on the screen. I slid down a hill in the snow while caching and hit a rock. That was 2 months ago. If I would crack or scratch it again, I'd fix it myself. There are six screws that hold the unit together. $175 is a lot. I would try to find a micro mesh kit to buff the plastic. These kits are used on aircraft windshields and ragtop plastic windows on convertables. Good luck

Edited by Fred Flintstone
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