HELP: Scratched iDrive Anti-Glar Coating (with photos). - Page 3 - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

magnis · 11-27-2012, 04:01 PM

Sorry for late reply, I didn't check this thread.

BMuu · 12-01-2012, 07:24 PM

I did the procedure in this link:

http://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/3...nd-screen.html

It came out perfect! I taped it off like they did, if you removed the screen it would be a lot easier to get into the corners, I managed with a q-tip.

Was on a 2012 535 M-sport.

TomTomTuning · 12-27-2012, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMuu

I did the procedure in this link:

http://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/3...nd-screen.html

It came out perfect! I taped it off like they did, if you removed the screen it would be a lot easier to get into the corners, I managed with a q-tip.

Was on a 2012 535 M-sport.

Thanks, I might give this a try.

If it fails then I'll have to purchase a new screen within the next 3 months.

TomTomTuning · 12-29-2012, 08:10 PM

Just got done polishing the anti-glare coating off. I bought the same Novus kit like the write up. It was a bit difficult to remove with just the #2 fine polish, so I had to use the more abrasive #3 polish, then I switched back to #2. Finished it off with the #1 cleaner and it looks great. It's all uniform but the true test is what does it look like installed back into the car and in day light.

Here's a few crappy photo for now. I'll take batter ones tomorrow.

Also here's the back of the screen and the bezel, just in case anyone wanted to see.

TomTomTuning · 12-30-2012, 11:10 AM

Here's some daylight photos. It wasn't actually sunny where the car was parked but it definitely looks better already.

BMuu · 01-25-2013, 09:52 AM

Nice! I think this is the definitive fix in lieu of replacing the screen entirely.

justa3series · 02-12-2013, 08:51 AM

I thought the anti-plastic looked cheap and was annoying/intrusive.
I don't think there going to say anything when you return the lease. There pretty forgiving and overlook a lot of small things like that.

*Update, wow it looks like new after you polished it, nice job.

johnsim · 04-07-2013, 02:58 AM

I had a similar issue. I got my e90 M3 used about a month ago and didn't notice that the nav screen was scratched until it was too late. You can only see the scratches in fairly bright sunlight so it took me a couple of weeks before I had it out in the right light to see it.

I just applied the Lexerd film mentioned earlier in this thread. It worked great. It looks like a brand new screen. If you run into this issue it's definitely worth a try before going to the polish technique. Results likely aren't AS good, but it's a hell of a lot easier so worth a first shot.

P.S. This thread was super helpful while figuring out my options to correct the problem. Thanks for posting!

wilbur_the_goose · 04-07-2013, 07:49 AM

Novus is great stuff - I use it on my pinball machine's playboard - makes it look like new.

ndiggity · 05-07-2013, 10:00 PM

I am going to attempt to remove my anti-glare from the navigation and have a few questions as I am going to remove the Nav screen from the car rather than just tape it off. Is the screen hard to remove? As far as I can tell, there are just two plugs that plug into the screen from the car. Is that it? Is the casing easy to remove? Do I need to disconnect the battery at all? Thanks in advance!

ndiggity · 05-08-2013, 08:53 PM

Well, with the input from TomTomTuning, I have a brand new looking Nav screen. It was very easy to do and looks great. I had bought an anti-glare screen to put on it, but the screen itself doesn't even need it. Way to go BMW for a) putting a POS anti-glare screen on the nav systems and for b) not knowing about any sort of fix except for replacing the nag! Great thread, guys!

TomTomTuning · 05-08-2013, 09:06 PM

Glad I could help!

I've received a few PM's about removing the screen so I figured Id post up some information here.

Quote:

- I did not disconnect the battery neg. I just removed the screen while the car was turned off.

- There's two torx screws that hold the screens bezel in place, my normal torx drivers were to long to fit in the gap so I ordered this fold-up set.

- Once the bezel is removed, there's 2-4 Philips screws holding the screen in place.

- Once the screen is un-mounted, there are two cable clips on the back of the screen, I used a tiny flat head screw driver to help remove the clips.

- This is the plastic polish kit I used. I also used microfiber towels that I purchased from Wal-mart.

It was pretty self explanatory once the bezel was taken off.

I hope that helps!

Tone Grimsey · 05-10-2013, 10:20 AM

I too suffer from scratches on the idrive coating. I purchased my Novus from ebay but have not gathered the courage to wipe away the anti-glare coating.

To Tom and the others that have removed the coating, how is the visibility on sunny days with the sun roof open?

I am afraid that I may not get any visibilty on a sunny day after I remove the coating.

Is the visibility on a sunny day not as bad as I think it is after removing the anti glare coating?

Please advise.

Thanks

jeffb335 · 05-12-2013, 09:41 PM

I did this on my X5s screen a while back, just used some polish I had in my garage, took the screen out (easy), 10 minutes, some elbow grease, and the coating was completely removed, scratches gone, and the screen looked brand new. Very little difference in appearance before and after, slightly glossier but who cares, the scratches are gone and it looks like nothing ever happened.

For those of you worried about visibility/glare, I don't think it's an issue AT ALL. My X5 doesn't have the "hood" that the 3 and 5 series have, so the screen is much more exposed, and its a non issue.

Tone Grimsey · 05-12-2013, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffb335

I did this on my X5s screen a while back, just used some polish I had in my garage, took the screen out (easy), 10 minutes, some elbow grease, and the coating was completely removed, scratches gone, and the screen looked brand new. Very little difference in appearance before and after, slightly glossier but who cares, the scratches are gone and it looks like nothing ever happened.

For those of you worried about visibility/glare, I don't think it's an issue AT ALL. My X5 doesn't have the "hood" that the 3 and 5 series have, so the screen is much more exposed, and its a non issue.

Thanks for the response, I think I've heard enough success stories now to motivate me to remove my coating tomorrow!

Thank you all for sharing!

11-27-2012, 04:01 PM	#45
magnis Registered Drives: e60 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: EU Posts: 3 iTrader: (0)	Sorry for late reply, I didn't check this thread. Last edited by magnis; 12-09-2012 at 02:08 PM. Reason: privacy

12-29-2012, 08:10 PM	#48
TomTomTuning Captain Drives: E92 335I XDrive Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Camp Hill, PA Posts: 914 iTrader: (0)	Just got done polishing the anti-glare coating off. I bought the same Novus kit like the write up. It was a bit difficult to remove with just the #2 fine polish, so I had to use the more abrasive #3 polish, then I switched back to #2. Finished it off with the #1 cleaner and it looks great. It's all uniform but the true test is what does it look like installed back into the car and in day light. Here's a few crappy photo for now. I'll take batter ones tomorrow. Also here's the back of the screen and the bezel, just in case anyone wanted to see. __________________ 2010 Alpine White Ex. - Saddle Brown In. l 335i E92 XDrive l Cold l Premium l Sport l Navi l Sat radio

12-30-2012, 11:10 AM	#49
TomTomTuning Captain Drives: E92 335I XDrive Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Camp Hill, PA Posts: 914 iTrader: (0)	Here's some daylight photos. It wasn't actually sunny where the car was parked but it definitely looks better already. __________________ 2010 Alpine White Ex. - Saddle Brown In. l 335i E92 XDrive l Cold l Premium l Sport l Navi l Sat radio

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12-01-2012, 07:24 PM	#46
BMuu New Member Drives: Bimmer Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Canada Posts: 14 iTrader: (0)	I did the procedure in this link: http://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/3...nd-screen.html It came out perfect! I taped it off like they did, if you removed the screen it would be a lot easier to get into the corners, I managed with a q-tip. Was on a 2012 535 M-sport.

01-25-2013, 09:52 AM	#50
BMuu New Member Drives: Bimmer Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Canada Posts: 14 iTrader: (0)	Nice! I think this is the definitive fix in lieu of replacing the screen entirely.

02-12-2013, 08:51 AM	#51
justa3series Banned Drives: 2010 328xi Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NY Posts: 162 iTrader: (1)	I thought the anti-plastic looked cheap and was annoying/intrusive. I don't think there going to say anything when you return the lease. There pretty forgiving and overlook a lot of small things like that. *Update, wow it looks like new after you polished it, nice job.

04-07-2013, 02:58 AM	#52
johnsim New Member Drives: 2010 M3 Sedan Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 19 iTrader: (0) Garage List 2010 e90 M3 [0.00]	I had a similar issue. I got my e90 M3 used about a month ago and didn't notice that the nav screen was scratched until it was too late. You can only see the scratches in fairly bright sunlight so it took me a couple of weeks before I had it out in the right light to see it. I just applied the Lexerd film mentioned earlier in this thread. It worked great. It looks like a brand new screen. If you run into this issue it's definitely worth a try before going to the polish technique. Results likely aren't AS good, but it's a hell of a lot easier so worth a first shot. P.S. This thread was super helpful while figuring out my options to correct the problem. Thanks for posting!

04-07-2013, 07:49 AM	#53
wilbur_the_goose Private First Class Drives: 2010 328xi Coupe Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Metro Philly Posts: 128 iTrader: (0)	Novus is great stuff - I use it on my pinball machine's playboard - makes it look like new.

05-07-2013, 10:00 PM	#54
ndiggity Registered Drives: BMW 335d Join Date: May 2013 Location: United States Posts: 3 iTrader: (0)	I am going to attempt to remove my anti-glare from the navigation and have a few questions as I am going to remove the Nav screen from the car rather than just tape it off. Is the screen hard to remove? As far as I can tell, there are just two plugs that plug into the screen from the car. Is that it? Is the casing easy to remove? Do I need to disconnect the battery at all? Thanks in advance!

05-08-2013, 08:53 PM	#55
ndiggity Registered Drives: BMW 335d Join Date: May 2013 Location: United States Posts: 3 iTrader: (0)	Well, with the input from TomTomTuning, I have a brand new looking Nav screen. It was very easy to do and looks great. I had bought an anti-glare screen to put on it, but the screen itself doesn't even need it. Way to go BMW for a) putting a POS anti-glare screen on the nav systems and for b) not knowing about any sort of fix except for replacing the nag! Great thread, guys!

05-10-2013, 10:20 AM	#57
Tone Grimsey Registered Drives: 2011 BMW 528i Join Date: May 2013 Location: Here Posts: 2 iTrader: (0)	I too suffer from scratches on the idrive coating. I purchased my Novus from ebay but have not gathered the courage to wipe away the anti-glare coating. To Tom and the others that have removed the coating, how is the visibility on sunny days with the sun roof open? I am afraid that I may not get any visibilty on a sunny day after I remove the coating. Is the visibility on a sunny day not as bad as I think it is after removing the anti glare coating? Please advise. Thanks

05-12-2013, 09:41 PM	#58
jeffb335 Private First Class Drives: BMW Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: California Posts: 130 iTrader: (0)	I did this on my X5s screen a while back, just used some polish I had in my garage, took the screen out (easy), 10 minutes, some elbow grease, and the coating was completely removed, scratches gone, and the screen looked brand new. Very little difference in appearance before and after, slightly glossier but who cares, the scratches are gone and it looks like nothing ever happened. For those of you worried about visibility/glare, I don't think it's an issue AT ALL. My X5 doesn't have the "hood" that the 3 and 5 series have, so the screen is much more exposed, and its a non issue.