Tuesday, November 13, 2007

DLP Screen Damage :: How to Fix - Water damage

Problem: My daughter tried cleaning the screen of my Mitsubishi DLP with Windex. She used about 6 ounces of product, so you can imagine the amount of damage to the screen, as well as my state of mind. The product left a visible water line in the screen. Is it possible to fix this type of water damage (Windex)?

How was I going to get this problem fixed? Pay? I called a local TV Repair shop, and they quoted out $650.00. That seemed like a lot of money for this type of damage, so I searched and searched for a different solution.

None. I could pay to get it fixed, or try and fix it myself (damage already done).

I decided to try and fix it myself.

Solution:
I have a camcorder, so I recorded my steps. I am notorious for ending up with "where did this go" parts! Glad to report, I didn't need to review the movie to help put this DLP back together.

The Equipment List.
At least four hours of contiguous time.
Phillips head screw driver ( I call it the plus screw driver to my wife )
Blow Dryer (did not use heat, only for air circulation)
Micro-fiber cloth (3)
Bowl of 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water
Two (2) people ... Don't try this solo. You may have to blame someone later!

Steps
Remove "screen housing" from DLP. (about 18 screws)

Placed "screen housing" onto a FLAT CLEAN surface.

Removed about 10 more screws to remove plastic screens from "screen housing".

There are two pieces of plastic protected by the "screen housing".

The front piece very hard and firm, and a piece ontop that is more paperish thin.

At the top of the two pieces of plastic, there seems to be a rail of metal connecting the two pieces. I didn't have to mess around that area, my damage was from the middle down.

You could see the WATER trapped between the two pieces of plastic.

Separate the two pieces (Have second person pull back the thin layer of plastic). Be very careful. The thin piece looks very fragile.

DO not pull back hard, you may rinkle the plastic, which would be a bad thing.

With a DAMP micro-fiber cloth, (using vinegar and water solution), start removing windex damage.

Wipe on with solution, with another micro-fiber cloth (water only), remove vinegar solution from hard plastic. Use blow-dryer to "speed up" the air drying process.

I had to repeat this step about 10 times to clean up the damaged plastic.

Now, you must clean the "thin plastic piece" ... be real careful. Repeat cleaning until you are happy with the results.

I used the blow-dryer (air only) for about 20 minutes, making sure I removed all the moisture.

After about 4hrs of cleaning, I decided to put the "screen housing" back together.

I then reattached the "screen housing" to my DLP.

I turned on the TV .... (EXCELLENT)

I just saved myself $650.00

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The TV guy warned me before I started, this would invalidate my warranty. I proceeded on my own behalf.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Scott, Just wanted to comment on your DLP water damage post and say THANK YOU so much for posting that. Because of your post I too saved $700 and my screen is as good as new. I hope anyone who has this issue finds your post. Without you trying this, I would have found nothing on this subject. (I looked everywhere) Again... your the man and thanks.