daviddivad

Newbie
Mar 30, 2010
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I just got my crystal clears in the mail today, I spent over an hour trying to apply them, carefully squeegying, applying, no dust, and it just looks terrible. Its impossible to get all of the air bubbles out, and I actually scratched the damn screen protector trying to do so. Even at the best, you could still tell it was on there, I took them off and will risk scratching the screen. I know that a lot of people love these, and I tried, but for me it did not work, what a waste of money.
 
Glad I'm not the only one, I put the first one on and within 24 hours it was scratched up, and it was the only thing in my pocket, and I couldn't get all the bubbles out. I figured "ok, user error somehow". Tried applying the second one and it didn't come out any better.
 
Well, I would not have been as harsh, but it does take a couple of tries to get it right. If this is the first time you've tried to put a screen protector on, you'll get poorer results than someone who's done it a bunch of times.
 
You probably have dust under the screen. That will cause air bubbles that are tough to get out.

I applied mine in a steamy bathroom and was able to get out almost all of the air bubbles. The biggest air bubble was caused by a very tiny piece of dust that got under. There are two other air bubbles around the optical trackpad that I can't seem to get out, but they're kind of cool since they form two crescents around the trackpad.

I showed the phone to my friend and she didn't notice the screen protector until I told her. The Steinheil is quite nice, in my opinion. Fingerprints don't show up as visibly and I noticed that my finger glides a bit more smoothly.
 
I suppose you're right tkim. I ordered another pair so hopefully with practice makes perfect. They're almost impossible to get lined up and get all the bubbles out though without putting fine scratches on them.
 
I have it worse.

I ordered my Crystal Clear for my HTC Droid Incredible about a week ago, only for the package to arrive containing a Crystal Clear for a Motorola Droid >.<

Now I have to wait for them to email me back to figure out how I can get the correct product I ordered from them.
 
I messed up the first one... the second i got on perfect. I even posted my tips on installing it perfect and no one cared. The thread is buried somewhere. I have had mine on for over a week with the glossy silicone case and its still perfect.
 
This was the first time I've ever put on a screen protector...on anything. I was really nervous. Got the bathroom steamy and applied an AF. I knew I didn't like it immediately, but decided to apply it as if it was the CC just for practice. Got it to my liking (took about half an hour) and pulled it off.

Immediately got out the CC and started applying. Took a few tries to get it straight on and then just lined up the edges and laid it down. I had a few specs of dust that were obvious as soon as the shield went on and I just had 2 pieces of tape handy and removed them one by one until nothing was left.

I then went and put on my b/f's CC shield and that was even easier, being my 3rd time. :)

Oddly I had no trouble with bubbles of any kind. Maybe a big one that I could easily smooth out with only my fingers...I hardly had to use the suqeegee (just to smooth a few edges). The only problem I had was the little crescent moon bubbles around the trackpad, though they seem to get smaller every day and I don't even notice them anymore.

I've had to remove my Verizon silicone case a few times in the past week since applying the shield and have had no problems with edges or anything getting pushed up. It looks fantastic and I'm quite pleased.
 
I messed up the first one... the second i got on perfect. I even posted my tips on installing it perfect and no one cared. The thread is buried somewhere. I have had mine on for over a week with the glossy silicone case and its still perfect.

yea i messed up the first one as well, but the second one went on perfectly, completely flawless. so if yours didn't go on perfect then you didn't do it correctly because it is possible.
 
I messed up the first one... the second i got on perfect. I even posted my tips on installing it perfect and no one cared. The thread is buried somewhere. I have had mine on for over a week with the glossy silicone case and its still perfect.


My second one was perfect also, I think the first one helped remove the dust.
 
As stated I used a heat gun on a low setting to warm up the bubbles by the track pad then pressed them down with my finger and held while they cooled. they have never come back up
 
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It's been a while since I've done a dry screen protector install, but the Steinheil protector is probably the best one I've ever used a on a device. I followed everyone's tips about putting it on in a steamy bathroom.

I had a couple of small air bubbles around the trackpad, that I used a blow dryer to heat up and then slowly squeegied it out. Now my phone is air bubbleless. No one even knows I have a screen protector on it. I love it.
 
If you've got a "lot" of bubbles, it's dust, not air pockets.

I know you might THINK you got all the dust off, but trust me...if you weren't neurotic about it, you didn't and you'll get no better results with other screen protectors.

Just the tiniest spec of dust will cause a bubble. You may think there's nothing under there, but if you get a nice bright light and look real closely, you'll see it under there.

The steam in the bathroom thing sounds good and I will probably try that next, but I had luck my second try just using scotch tape.

Cleaned the whole screen real good with the microfiber, then scotch taped the whole screen (just put the strip down and pulled it up to get all the dust) and applied. Where I saw a couple little bubbles, pulled the protector back up and used the tape to nab each of those pieces of dust.
 
for me, no matter how many times you wipe the screen with the microfiber fabric, there will always be a tiny little spec of lint or dust that gets left behind on the screen. i found that using a can of compressed air and spraying the screen helped fix that problem.

wipe the screen down to get rid of the bigger particles. then use the compressed air to blow the smaller ones away. i was able to apply my screen protector well and there are zero bubble areas other than one tiny one off the screen area.
 
for me, no matter how many times you wipe the screen with the microfiber fabric, there will always be a tiny little spec of lint or dust that gets left behind on the screen. i found that using a can of compressed air and spraying the screen helped fix that problem.

wipe the screen down to get rid of the bigger particles. then use the compressed air to blow the smaller ones away. i was able to apply my screen protector well and there are zero bubble areas other than one tiny one off the screen area.


I found that problem too. Actually it seemed like using the lint free cloth added more dust. M
aybe I was scrubbing too hard. eventually blowing and quick wipes seemed to work well because I had no bubbles.
 
I'm with you. I just trashed both of them. I didn't like the look at all.

I'm going naked. I'll get a decent case when one comes out. I only signed a one year contract so I'm not as concerned with baby'ing it as much as phones in the past.
 
These are going to scratch, there is no getting around that. They are just a piece of plastic. That is why I'm going from Clarivue to Wrapsol. Which I should have done in the first place, Wrapsol has never let me down.

The bottom line is that you need a rubber based protector if you want to prevent scratches and not have to replace your protector as often. I personally prefer Wrapsol, but Phantom Skinz, Best Skins Ever and BodyGuardz are also excellent.
 
I'll only ever use a "clear protector" brand anymore. They are the soft type, but have great screen response. I've used them on my last 5 or so phones.
 
The easiest way to avoid bubbles is to apply it very slowly from end to end peeling away a little bit of the throw away plastic as you go. Every time you see a bubble forming, lift the protector up a little bit and reapply that part of it. You still might have some bubbles along the edges and things, but this eliminates all the pain in the arse bubbles in the middle of the protector. I've used this method for my last 3 phones and it now takes me only a minute or two to put on a protector. As long as you use this method in a steamy shower you should be fine.
 
the good thing about them is you can pull them off and clean them if they don't go on right or you notice dust under the protector.
 
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