Hey.
When discussing the characteristics of smartphones, the question of the manufacturer and generation of the protective glass of the screen is often raised, and traditionally a lot of copies break down about this issue. Users are divided into two camps, for those who are for protective films and glasses, and those who believe that the display of a modern smartphone is already perfectly protected.
Each side has its own arguments, and arguing with them is often useless. Today we will not argue about whether these means of protection are needed, but instead we will make a curtsey towards those who need protection by trying to analyze not the methods of protection themselves, but the methods of their installation on a smartphone. Therefore, the material will be of a purely practical, applied nature.
When installing protection on the phone screen, the owner faces two main problems: how to glue it smoothly and how to do without bubbles and dust under the film / glass.
We will try to solve these problems.
Method one – precise positioning
For this we need ordinary stationery tape.
In order to smoothly and neatly stick the protection, be it glass or film, you must first center the film / glass on the phone display without removing the protective films from the protection (it sounds strange, but I hope it's clear what I'm talking about).
After you have centered the protection, holding it on the display, gently glue a strip of tape along the long edge of the phone with one part to the film, the other part to the phone. The most important thing is not to move it while gluing the tape.
After the adhesive tape is glued, we will get a kind of book from the phone and protection.
After that, we will need to find a dust-free room, for example, a bathroom, in which a hot shower was turned on for a couple of minutes, and, carefully peeling off the inner protection from the film, moving from the edge, smooth the film on the display with smooth movements.
There are bubbles only under the tape
This method is best suited for gluing protective glasses and slightly less for films.
Method two – wet
The main problem with gluing the protection is that if you miss, you most likely will not have a second chance, since when you try to re-glue the protection, you are more likely to get jams, bubbles and debris under the protection.
An old trick used by car window tint masters will help to avoid this.
The display surface can be moistened before installing the protection. In this case, in case of a miss, the protection can be moved, since it will slide on the water cushion.
But here it is important not to overdo it with the amount of this liquid, because if the phone is not waterproof, you can ruin it.
The easiest way is to use a window cleaner or regular soapy water.
We spray a little on the display, apply protection, level it until it works, and then drive the liquid out from under the protection, from the center towards the edges, where a cotton pad is attached, which will absorb moisture and prevent it from penetrating inside.
It is best to expel the liquid with the edge of a bank card wrapped in a soft cloth or in a microfiber cloth.
Method three – diver
The next method is valid for waterproof phones and allows you to kill two birds with one stone – to stick on the film and check the phone for water resistance. ?
We immerse the phone in water and carry out all the manipulations for gluing the protection under water.
In this case, we are guaranteed not to get dust under the protection and can easily center the protection on the display.
The method is fraught with risk and is not suitable for everyone. Think for you.
LOCA method
The next method is suitable for smartphones with so-called 2.5D displays (of which most are now).
The fact is that for such displays it is difficult to find glass or film that will completely cover the entire surface of the display, including the curved parts. And even if you find such a film, there is a risk that after successful gluing, the edges will quickly fall behind and will not look very presentable.
There is an option to avoid this. For this method, in addition to the protective film / glass itself, we will need an ultraviolet flashlight, and preferably an ultraviolet lamp (for example, as in beauty salons), as well as LOCA TP-2500 ultraviolet glue.
A very important point – it is TP-2500 that you need glue. TP-1000 glue is often on sale, you do not need to take it – this is fraught with problems during dismantling.
The point of using UV glue is to adhere the protection evenly and over the entire surface, thus avoiding edge lag in the future.
To do this, in a dust-free room, pour a little LOCA TP-2500 glue in the form of a 'fish' onto the phone display, carefully wiped from dust. Before pouring the glue, it is recommended to seal the hole of the earpiece speaker and the microphone, if it is on the front panel – glue can leak there, and this is fraught with problems. You need to glue it so that after installing the film, the cattle can be easily removed through the hole in the protective film or glass.
For the same reason, the adhesive method is recommended for devices without mechanical buttons on the front surface to be protected.
Pour just a little glue, a teaspoon.
Then, starting from the bottom or top edge, gradually apply the protection, making sure that no bubbles form in the glue.
It is not necessary to flush out excess glue as described in the 'wet' method. Just leave the glass / film alone for a few minutes – the glue is very similar in consistency to honey, so it will spread itself over the entire surface. If the glue hasn't completely spread, help it a little by smoothing it evenly across the entire surface of the display. Take your time, all the same, the glue will not harden without ultraviolet radiation.
Be careful not to let excess glue run into the slots of the phone if it is not protected from water by collecting excess glue with a cotton pad.
After removing the excess glue, you need to place the phone under an ultraviolet lamp for a couple of minutes. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, LOCA TP-2500 will harden and turn into a gel that reliably fixes the protection on the display and prevents the edges from peeling off.
This is the most reliable way, however, given the aggressiveness of ultraviolet glue, most likely, you will have to say goodbye to the native oleophobic coating on the display. Therefore, evaluate the need for this method for yourself.
Conclusion
In most electronics stores, the service for gluing protection is paid and often costs some kind of insane money. At the same time, no one guarantees quality, since the employees doing this often have superficial skills. That is why you can find a large number of reviews on the network that they took a lot of money in the store and glued it with bubbles and dust. Someone manages to win back their money for a poor-quality service, someone does not. Yes, such a problem does not always occur, and there are those who provide a quality service, but why take risks when you can learn to do it yourself, saving both money and nerves.