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Repairing scratches on Garmin eTrex?


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This weekend I pulled the old bonehead move of putting my GPS unit in my jeans pocket next to my keys and I ended up w/ a small dime-sized area of the screen scratched all to hell.

 

Obviously, I'm in need of a screen protector. I've just ordered one to protect myself against future mishaps.

 

My question is - are there any methods of filling/clearing the scratches so they're not noticable? I've seen ads on tv for substances that are supposed to clear scratches off of eyeglasses, and they sell that stuff that's supposed to take scratches off of cd's. Are any of these able to remove the scratches from a gps screen?

 

Thanks for your help!

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This weekend I pulled the old bonehead move of putting my GPS unit in my jeans pocket next to my keys and I ended up w/ a small dime-sized area of the screen scratched all to hell.

 

Been there, done that, except mine was on rocks and not keys and my unit was a new 60CSx. What I did to "fix" the problem was get Brasso, silver cleaner, and some really, really fine grit sandpaper. You can find the sandpaper at an auto parts store. I found mine at Kragen. Anyway, find the highest number they sell and get it. I think I have 800 and 1200.

 

It'll take a LOT of work, but in the end you'll have a clean display once again. Do a search on my name and I'm sure you'll find my procedures and links.

 

Good luck.

 

nathan

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This weekend I pulled the old bonehead move of putting my GPS unit in my jeans pocket next to my keys and I ended up w/ a small dime-sized area of the screen scratched all to hell.

 

Obviously, I'm in need of a screen protector. I've just ordered one to protect myself against future mishaps.

 

My question is - are there any methods of filling/clearing the scratches so they're not noticable? I've seen ads on tv for substances that are supposed to clear scratches off of eyeglasses, and they sell that stuff that's supposed to take scratches off of cd's. Are any of these able to remove the scratches from a gps screen?

  There's a product called Liquid Lense that claims to be good for fixing scratched glasses.

 

  Alas, I must report that it is impossible to apply it smoothly and evenly enough to be suitable for the advertised purpose.  If glasses are so scratchy that applying this product to them is an improvement, then they are so badly damaged that they really need to be replaced.

 

  However, for surfaces that are not nearly as optically-critical — such as GPS displays — I find that this product is an excellent remedy for minor scratches and surface damage; and it even makes a good protective coating on such surfaces that are not yet damaged, to help prevent them from becoming so.  I use it — with very good results — on my watch, on my calculators, on my GPS, on my cell phone; anything that has a clear-plastic window.  Except my PDA.  It doesn't work on the PDA, because it's not nearly durable enough to hold up under stylusing.  But I apply it on the other things, and when it gets scratched up, it's the Liquid Lense that's getting scratched, and not the underlying plastic, so I can just clean off the old layer of Liquid Lense (using the solvent that is included for this purpose) and apply a fresh coating.

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This weekend I pulled the old bonehead move of putting my GPS unit in my jeans pocket next to my keys and I ended up w/ a small dime-sized area of the screen scratched all to hell.

 

Obviously, I'm in need of a screen protector. I've just ordered one to protect myself against future mishaps.

 

My question is - are there any methods of filling/clearing the scratches so they're not noticable? I've seen ads on tv for substances that are supposed to clear scratches off of eyeglasses, and they sell that stuff that's supposed to take scratches off of cd's. Are any of these able to remove the scratches from a gps screen?

 

Thanks for your help!

Try PlastX made by Meguiars. Under $7.00 for a 10oz bottle at some auto supply stores.

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I haven't tried it yet but in my pen making, the final sanding is done with a product called "Micro Mesh" which is supposedly used by the airlines to remove scratches from the plexiglass windshields in jets.

 

The coursest grit is about the same as 300 or sandpaper and the smoothest is about like a sheet of copy paper. If you have a Woodcraft store near you, I believe they carry it (darn CRS, seems like that is where I got mine). Or if you know someone that makes pens from wood they will have some. Its not like you are going to ruin it, just ask if you can use it for a couple minutes.

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This worked a treat for a badly scratched eTrex 20... Steel wooled the unreadable area so it got matte, then used Autosol chrome polish to finalise (quite a lot of rubbing, probably ten minutes intensely). Almost looks new...

Edited by tr_s
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Toothpaste is a fine grit polish.

 

The toothpastes I tried before buying the tube of Autosol were way too weak abrasives to give a noticeable effect in a reasonable amount of time. Of course that will depend on the brand and type of toothpaste. As Autosol is a fixed-type product, it's much easier to recommend. Be careful not to get too much of it outside the screen or on the clickstick though, as I think it contains a small amount of gasoline or kerosene which might affect rubber.

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