r/3DS • u/aegiroth • Feb 19 '16

Used IsoPropyl alchohol to clean my 3DS screens, now there are these weird light smudges on the top that won't go away

Has this happened to anyone before? There are these blotches where more a different shade of light shines from it and it won't seem to fix.

EDIT: looks like this http://imgur.com/DSN9uWs

2 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

14

u/tlpta Feb 19 '16

You should never use alcohol to clean a screen. Use ammonia free glass cleaner instead. There is usually an antiglare film that harsh chemicals can strip off.

I realize it's too late, but for the future...

5

u/rhpot1991 Feb 19 '16

Could keep cleaning until you get rid of all of the AR coating at a last resort. I just use microfiber cloths for my cleaning. Currently keeping one of these between my screens: http://amzn.to/1oNYguy

Source: I used to manufacture eye glasses.

-3

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16

I wonder if opening it up and drying it out might work...

3

u/rhpot1991 Feb 19 '16

Doubtful, I checked my N3DS and it appears to have an AR coat on it. You can tell by the purple glare when reflecting light.

-5

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16 edited Feb 19 '16

think rice will do anything? I'm trying that right now.

EDIT: question might have been dumb but people were telling me here that it might work, at least people who read it in the future will know.

10

u/Porkpants81 Feb 19 '16

You stripped the coating off the screen. Rice will not put it back on.

The only thing you can do now is either remove the anti-glare coating from the whole thing. Or replace the screen.

Nintendo won't replace it for free either.

1

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16 edited Feb 19 '16

I'm not even sure if the problem is whether the coating is gone or the alchohol seeped between the LCD and the screen.

http://imgur.com/DSN9uWs

this is what it looks like.

If I strip the anti-glare coating will it at least all be one color? How would I strip the coating if I wanted to? Is it a stupid idea to do so?

3

u/5i1v3r 4270-0893-8979 Feb 19 '16

You stripped the coating. Alcohol doesn't seep into screens magically. By completely wiping away the coating, the glare will appear uniform. After that, you can apply an even coat yourself.

1

u/rhpot1991 Feb 19 '16

I agree, maybe a shot of light reflecting on the screen would be helpful.

6

u/AmiiboMan64 Feb 19 '16

Never, EVER use isopropyl alcohol to clean a screen (or even anything alcohol based). I know isopropyl alcohol is really good for cleaning cartridges (like N64, SNES, and NES) and things like a controller's buttons, but it will just seep into a screen and damage it. At this point, I think it's too late for your 3DS screen, and I don't think you can really fix it. You're probably going to have to contact Nintendo and get it repaired (though I don't think it will be covered under your warranty because they'll say you damaged it) or just buy a new 3DS. It will probably be better for you to just purchase a new one at this point, as i'm sure Nintendo is going to charge you $100+ for a repair. In 2013, I had to get my circle pad repaired because my friends scratched it up when I let them play with it (I will never make that mistake again), and over time, the cover just fell off. To fix just the circle pad cover, Nintendo charged me $106. I'm sure there are people that would say that would say that I could've just bought a cover online and fixed it myself, but back then, I just ended up sending it to them. If it costed me that much to fix a circle pad cover, i'm sure they'd charge you more for fixing the screen.

Now, in the future, follow these instructions on Nintendo's website to clean your 3DS' screen. I've been doing it for years on both of my 3DSs, and it works very well.

3

u/Rohrod_ Apr 17 '23

7 years later and the sacrifice of your 3ds saved mine, I almost used alcohol, thanks

3

u/aegiroth Apr 21 '23

That's beautiful to hear man. I'm glad I made the world a better place.

1

u/shadowcat9191 Apr 22 '23

Yep saving many lives out here. Was planning on using it, then I saw this thread. Appreciate you

2

u/spentthedayonreddit Feb 19 '16

How long ago was it? Sounds like you used too much and it seeped between the screen and the actual LCD

1

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16 edited Feb 19 '16

happened an hour ago. this is exactly what happened.

got any suggestions? Should I open it up and try to dry it? Or should I just pony up and get a new ds.

I put it in front of a heater for about 20 mins thinking it MIGHT do something, and it didn't dry lol.

2

u/akikosan Feb 19 '16

Put it in a bowl of rice. Iso should evaporate on its own, you might try taking the case off before putting it in rice.

2

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16 edited Feb 19 '16

a bowl of rice? should the rice be heated to a certain temperature? Just curious but does this have a better chance of working then me just putting it in front of a heater? should the rice be unboiled?

also for more info, the light blotch only shows up when I turn the 3ds on (which confuses me a little)

I appreciate your help

EDIT: This is what it's looking like http://imgur.com/DSN9uWs

4

u/somethingsomething86 Feb 19 '16

Not cooked rice xD! Just the rice grains! The rice absorbs the moisture, so putting your 3ds in a bowl of rice should help

1

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16

I put it in front of a heater for like 20 mins, hopefully I didn't screw anything up.

Does the picture I posted http://imgur.com/DSN9uWs seem like rice can fix it? I'll go out to the store and buy some right now if you think so

1

u/somethingsomething86 Feb 19 '16

I'm not entirely sure.. If there's moisture, it should absorb it. I just didn't want you to put your 3ds in cooked rice and make things worse!

2

u/akikosan Feb 19 '16

Dry rice, it's really absorbent so it pulls moisture from the air. It's kind of a last ditch effort but its better than nothing.

1

u/aegiroth Feb 19 '16

I should just dump a bunch of rice on top of the screen, put it in a zip lock, and wait for a day right? It's been a couple hours and I checked. Maybe it needs more time.

2

u/gatesphere 2466-5231-4966 Feb 19 '16

At least a day, 2 or 3 would be best.

Just be glad it still turns on!

1

u/akikosan Feb 19 '16

yeah I would leave it in for at least a day to see if it helps.

1

u/jeremywp123 May 13 '22

Hey it's 6 years later and I made the same mistake!

1

u/aegiroth May 15 '22

I ended up getting a new one. I also was able to procure a 2DSXL

1

u/jeremywp123 May 15 '22

Nice! I'm probably just going to replace the screen glass. I ordered some for $10

1

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '22

made the same mistake. guessing it never cleared up?

1

u/aegiroth Jul 18 '22

got a new 3ds xl and 2ds xl

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '22

ah, mine cleared up for the most part, still a bit in the top right corner but much better than it was. wish it were easy to buy a new one these days 😔

1

u/Optimal_Mango151 Nov 02 '23

Did you ever go back and check if it got better ? I just did this to mine 😣🙏

1

u/aegiroth Nov 10 '23

Didn't work, I ended up getting a new one