Reel glass film scratches - repair tip

[poppo]

Ok, before anyone   at the picture, let me explain. In another thread I had talked about buying a reel glass on e-bay that had a lot of scratches/gouges on the reel windows. This is because there is a clear film applied to the back of the glass and it can be scratched up easily. It was briefly discussed about removing the film from the window areas, but there was concern about damaging the silver trim. Well, this glass had some other issues too, so I decided to just rip the film off the whole thing. Of course it took half of the graphics with it. However I noticed it did not damage the silver trim. So next I took some solvent and a straight scraper (razer) blade and went to town on the glass scraping off the back. I discovered that the silver trim is actually metal bonded to the glass. Now it is not totally indestructible, but as you can see even after taking a scraper blade to it, the trim remains. So the bottom line is that if one should decide to peel off the film from the window area, they don't need to be too concerned about the the silver trim coming up with it. However, be careful not to peel the film past the trim or it may pull up the black layer (or whatever color the back is).

[stayouttadabunker]

When I removed the clear film from the window areas, I cut the
clear film along the middle of the silver lines.
I made sure not to cut too deep into the clear film as to gouge the silver trim.

When I peeled up the clear film from the reel areas, the clear film
came off like a charm and allowed the silver trim to look fantastic.

Now I can clearly see! lol

[poppo]

When I removed the clear film from the window areas, I cut the
clear film along the middle of the silver lines.
I made sure not to cut too deep into the clear film as to gouge the silver trim.

That is the best way. I just wanted people to know that the silver trim is metal, so it is not that fragile or easy to damage. And one does not have to worry about the pay line, as it won't pull off with the film.