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980 Screen Scratch Fix

AL567

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2013
385
122
53
Tennessee
I've had two 980's and both of them have issues with the screens being scratch sensitive. as good as the radio is the screen is a big let down. Just a simple wiping off the dust with a scratch resistant cloth leaves behind hundreds of micro scratches. This may not bother a lot of people but it does me and for those who are interested I may have a solution to this problem. I bought this product that I use on my iPhone that is 100 percent scratch resistant. I thought why not try it on the 980 if it fails it can't look any worse than the scratches. It's called zagg invisible shield universal screen protector and can be bought online or at wal mart for around $15.00 it comes with two screens that can be cut to size.
Day 1--- applied the screen protector. Spray the solution on the screen protector then lay on the 980's screen then squeegee off. It looks milky under the film but this is normal. It takes several hours to look "clear" and cures out in 2 days.
Day 2--- the screen looks like brand new even in sunlight
Day 3--- cured out

This works on micro scratches caused by wiping clothes.
 

980 screen scratches

Before screen protector. The flash over highlights the scratches but they are still bad. This is from scratch resistant wiping cloths. That's how sensitive the 980's screen is.
 

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I have a product made by GE that I use on occasion. I forget the name of it but it is a thick liquid polish meant for buffing out the scratches in acrylic aircraft windshields. Applied with either a cotton swab or a Dremel tool with a buffing pad and it works like a charm for taking out microscratches.Of course this won't protect it from further scratches but does a GREAT job at taking existing ones out.
 
True GENIUS AL567... really a GREAT display of ingenuity!

Very WELL DONE!

Time will tell with weather conditions changing inside the car. But right now everything seems to be good. they are easy to replace though if it did come loose later on down the road. Gonna do the same thing to my grant when I get it.
 
These radios don't come with a plastic cover? The Cobra lx radios come with a clear static film of some sort on them.
 
Yes and no. They come with a temporary film protector that's for shipping. if they didn't have the temporary protector on them then the plastic bag that they are wrapped up in would scratch the heck out of it. The factory film isn't meant to be permanent. Don't know why they couldn't make the screen out of the same material that their scanners are made of. I've got handhelds that won't scratch no matter what you do to em. Go figure.
 
Installed

I've used it for the past few days now with no extra glare and it even looks good in direct sunlight. No scratches visible.
 

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Great looking radios. I hope the grant II doesn't scratch that easy. I'm looking forward to gettin one of those. Same chassis, bezel etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got the grant 2 last week. Thanks 42duster for the info on where to purchase from. I received it in 3 days and it was in mint condition. Not one dent in the box. The screen is the same material as the 980. Sensitive to micro scratches just like the 980. I used the same zagg product on the grant 2. Looks great on the radio screen. Looks like a factory applied product and its scratch resistant.
The picture is with the zagg screen protector installed.
 

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After the Zagg product was applied.

Could we see an "after" photo where there's a flash-bulb visible on the face of the radio, like the "before" photo you've shown?

I don't mean to be a pain, but it's hard to evaluate the results of your two photos when they were both taken under different angles and under different light conditions.
 
Camera flash on The Screen

Understood completely. Here's a photo with camera flash on the Grant. (Don't have the 980 with me but it looks exactly the same) No kidding it really does work great.
 

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