iMac LCD Cleanup

Written By: LLange
  • Comments: 24
iMac LCD Cleanup

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

5

Time Required

1 hour

Introduction

Removing smoke, shadow, dust behing the LCD panel of 20, 21.5, 24 and 27-inch non-unibody aluminium iMac.

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    • Face the LCD down (be sure to have nothing between the screen and the table) ;

    • Remove 4 screws from the left bracket then 4 screws from the right bracket as displayed (the smallest is at the bottom) ;

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    • Use a "Putty Knife" to separate brackets from the LCD panel frame as shown ;

    • Use a "Post-It" to keep the adhesive from the frame ;

    • Continue gently between the bracket and the frame ;

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    • Using the "Putty Knife" make a groove in the shield around the whole frame ;

    • Once done from the bottom center to the edges of the LCD panel unclip the frame (don't touch the top). Clips are located at :

    • Bottom left, center, right ;

    • Left bottom, top ;

    • Right bottom, top ;

    • Lift the frame 90° maximum ;

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    • Using gloves and a suction cup gently lift the LCD sheet (no more than 90° failing to do so may bend the LCD and cause image displaying issues);

    • Meticulously clean the inside. Do not use any detergent at most a very lightly humidified microfiber / lint-free cloth ;

    • Do not use an air spray as those might leave marks. Best to get rid of dust is a simple hair dryer going from the top center to the edges ;

    • Reassembly is going back those steps making sure to get rid of your finger-prints ;

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

LLange

Member since: 25/11/13

1005 Reputation

24 comments

Thank you for this guide! Helped me very much. And now my iMac is clean again :)

Robert -

I got the screen cleaned and all was well but when I returned everything back to the iMac the lower part of my screen didn't work...

Chris Malka -

If the backligt is ok but no image check connections :

— To the logic board ;

— Then underneath the protective cover on the top of step 2 image…

If the backlight is not ok check the connector and the cable at the lower right corner of step 2 image.

Beware that if you have bended the LCD you might have damaged it.

LLange -

It sounds like the LCD got bent then because the connections are fine so I just ordered a new LCD. But the guide was definitely helpful, I got the dust out!

Chris Malka -

Sorry about this I'm adding a warning on Step 5 to lift gently and no more than 90° hoping this might prevent others to have the same issue.

P.S. the LCD has an electronic board some times people have flickering issues after the display warmed-up. Thus changing that "inner-board" might solve their issue ⇒ after you receive your new LCD, try to sell the old display "inner-board" as well as the connectors…

LLange -

Thank you! Great guide! My LCD panel is now clean again ! i made it in 1h30.

srunde -

I bought a late 2009 iMac off of craigslist four days ago for a CRAZY price, the reason he sold it to me so low was because over half the screen was covered in a grey cloud that only showed up when it was on a white screen. After following this operation I now have a perfectly fine iMac for $250. Come up! Thank you guys! I ran into little to no difficulties, except the first time I did it I trapped a single hair in there that I knew would just drive me insane but after the second time it's now perfect.

Max -

The 21.5" LG lcd panel only has side brackets. In this example with the 27 LG led there are corner brackets.

When disassembling the panel for the 21.5" are there only these side brackets and then cutting off the covering tape? Also seems on the 21.5 lcd it has a lot of clear tape and electrical tape on top. Does this get completely removed?

Rajan -

The side brackets on the 21" version do not need to be removed. The brackets help to assist the repair as a lever to pry the frame apart. The prying should be done with a spider not a putty knife as one slip and you can cause more damage.

Also in the 21 version be careful of the tabs on the side. Those are not convenience tabs but part of the lcd panel.

Rajan -

All perfect but mine (2010, 27") has dust under the backlight diffuser too. Is it possible to disassemble the panel and clean this? Its moving around a 1-2mm underneath the black plastic frame, looks like a thin plastic panel. Thank you in advance.

manosr35 -

Late answer but might still be usefull for others : I don't know except the LCP panel is fragile thus I'd consider trying with 4 hands and a air compressor (no bottles/cans as the gas my leave traces). Step 0 on every fix should be "work in a as clean as possible evironement".

Try some how to have the room you're working in as if it was a clean room (wet dishtowels are a pretty good seal and dust filter). You want to dettach dust particles from the assembly and have them fly far away from it without new one sticking back. You may also try to use "3M Hand-Masker Dirt Catcher Super Sticky Mat" (available on Amazon if not on iFixit) in the air-stream, surely dust particles will fancy it better than the LCD assembly.

LLange -

Tread very, very carefully with that LCD panel.

Kevin McCartney -

yes, thank's is good

driss abdouh -

Does this procedure work with late 2012 iMac? Thanks!

pablo -

I'd say no because the LCD is thinner but it's possible we can still disassemble it. From my experience some of those display may have "ghost" / "burned into" / persistent image that sticks to the screen… http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/why-do-imag....

LLange -

My Late-2015 iMac 27 Inch also got this problem, is there any way to clean it or must bring to iBox / Service Center or just leave it until the ‘smoke/dust/dirt’ cover up all of my screen? :(

Notes : When I check, the dirty part is behind my mouse cursor, I still can see the cursor clearly when I move it on the dirty spot..

Hartawan -

From iFixit iMac 21,5 teardown step 7 I see couple of screws around the backside shield (never had to clean one)…

However, before openining any Late 2012 and later iMac consider buying adhesive strips with opening wheel (way easier than guitar picks to get the screen out and you don’t need a heat gun).

Take extra care next near the top center part (you don’t want to brake the camera cable)…

LLange -

Will this work on my iMac 2011 27”? Thank you!

Esteban Sebastiani -

For those having smoke shadows and not only dust, you can go further than 90° and open the 2 parts like a book as he did in this vid :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rGBpCIQ...

Simply be very careful when you lift up the LCD there are plastics at the bottom (where are the connectics) which could damage the LCD when you open it so simply take the LCD though the edges and raise it a little bit when opening it up.

Personnaly I did it on a bed and it worked perfectly.

Then use some glass cleaner on both LCD and Backlight to remove the smoke residue and be careful to leave no traces

PierreF -

Will this work ob my iMac 2007 20”?

Daniel Albert -

To answer various “will this work with my X iMac”: It should work with any iMac that has an optical drive.

The one without seems to have less problems with dust sneaking between the LCD assembly layer.

Mind that even-thought these iMac are 8 years-old and more as long as they have a core i5 or i7 they are pretty descent hardware for most home users. Fit them with an SSD and maximum RAM and they’ll surely do the job another couple of years.

PS: To bypass iTunes to sync your iOS devices you may consider using iMazing.

LLange -

Broke my screen in one of the edges trying to fix the panel again to the frame…pushed a litte too hard on one of the edges.

Filip Van den Eynde -

Hi, I recently broke my a1311 21.5 inch I believe to be. I smashed the front glass bus the LCD is still fully working. I have a issues with what to use to remove any dust or glass that is one the front LCD panel. Anyone advise anything that will not cause damage. My partner also touch the panel it self.. as you can imagine leaving fingerprints on the panel. Any way to remove the damage??

Ryan Carter -

Ideally Dust Cleaning roller and a dry (water / chemical free) microfiber cloth for the fingerprints. The Dust Cleaning roller can be less adequately be replaced by a good air punch from a compressor (not from a can since they it could leave marks).

LLange -