Messed up my DLP TV

[Kurz]

I have a dilemma.
I was going into the innards of my Samsung DLP 50" TV Model "HL-P5063W"
I was greasing up a few fans they were making a bit too much noise, that I fixed no problem. However, I took the liberty to clean everything I saw that was dirty.

The thing I messed up was the Lens for the projector. I took off the coating after wiping it with alcohol.

I have no Idea what it is called so I can replace it.
So if anyone has any idea that would be great.


http://members.cox.net/sonic_blue/P3022626.JPG

[Frag Maniac]

Oops, good luck with that. The coating on lenses like that is typically a type of filter that aids the image quality. For instance Marantz DLP projector lenses have a blue coating that yields higher contrast. You can find loads of parts for those including lamps, ballasts, circuit boards, tuners, cabinet parts, etc, but lenses are not among them because typically in a DLP the lens is only available as an entire assembly which includes the lens, it's mounting bracket and the mirror the lamp projects it's light through it with. I quickly checked with a local TV repair shop that is familiar with that type of repair and they said it costs several hundred dollars. They gave $800 as an example of parts/labor out the door, and that may be before tax.

So, unfortunately I think you'll have to live with it the way it is and hopefully it won't affect the image quality horribly. Lesson learned, never clean expensive parts without learning the proper methods first. I wouldn't necessarily advise greasing fans either unless the parts you are lubing were originally greased and you know specifically what type of grease they used.

[Kurz]

The fans are much better... the image however went down the tubes.
It was probably an anti glare coating.

[Frag Maniac]

Well not necessarily anti glare, as those are typically used in screens or lenses on the outside vs inside where they're exposed to light. I know it's too little too late, but for future reference, if you ever have need to clean such a lens again, there are various ways to do it. Some use canned air or lens tissue to blow off dust or wipe the lens. The former can leave residue, the latter scratches if not careful.

I use a lens cleaning brush for dust, which is a very soft brush for gently whisking off dust. Some have a plastic bulb on the handle you can blow off dust with. Often you can just blow with the bulb with no brushing if it's an interior lens in a dry, moisture free environment. This is typically all that would be needed for an interior mounted lens, as there shouldn't be anything other than dust.

You don't want to necessarily go ultra cheap with lens brushes though. Some of the bulb type aren't made very well. Lens brushes can go anywhere from $3 to over $20 for goat's hair ones the pros use.

For other types of lenses that are exposed, using a screw on lens filter element to protect it is highly recommended. If anything ever gets splattered or smudged on the lens itself though, wiping very gently with a soft lens cleaning cloth moistened lightly with distilled water, esp if warmed slightly, usually does the trick.