LCD Polarizer Removal

DIY Notes to Remove the Polarizer from your Monitor

Image of attempting to slowly scrape the film off of a monitor with a razor blade

Since these screens aren’t typically manufactured like this, you will have to open the screen up and remove the polarization layer off yourself. Similar to my notes on making your own transparent screen, this involves opening up the screen and potentially breaking your monitor casing, electrocuting yourself, or cracking the delicate LCD. I broke 2 screens before I got this right, and every manufacturer applies their polarization film differently. Sometimes you can peel it right off, and sometimes it will be applied with adhesive and require a few hours with a razor blade and some acetone to dissolve the adhesive. The film tends to have a “grain” to it, so if you start on a corner and that corner of the film snaps off, try the opposite corner. Pull very very slowly — one wrong move, and you’ll crack the glass holding the liquid crystal in place. The film itself it also very sharp — paper cut style — I sliced my hands up more than once. Patience is the name of the game.

Once you have the film off the screen, you may be saying “Hey! What gives — this film is all blurry!” The explanation is that manufacturers combine the polarization layer with a diffusion layer to improve viewing angles, but this makes the film difficult to use if it is not sitting directly on top of the screen. However, there are tons of online vendors for sheets of linear polarization film that do not have diffusion. If you’re not in the DIY spirit or need to get this done on a massive scale, there are screen vendors listed in the references section that do have the ability to remove polarization film from very large displays and are closer to the supply chain than a consumer could get.

Image of my failed attempt at removing the polarizer — moved too quickly and cracked the glass