My Problem

A relative's design job, entails being able to edit graphics on the go and to be able to print them to large-format, industrial printers for advertising. From billboards to step & repeats to car wraps.

During a job, a replacement part for the printer came crashing into the glass screen of his MBP, shattering the glass.

My Fix

The process started off easy enough with the adhesive loosening up nicely with the heat gun applied. However, moving forward after loosening the adhesive, trying to lift the glass screen as one piece using the suction grips proved futile. The glass had spidered so badly that sections of the screen were coming up individually.

Worried that a shard would come loose and risk scratching the LCD underneath - which was intact - I had no choice but to remove as much of the large chunks as possible but individually remove the small pieces using a heat gun and a metal spudger.

My Advice

After several shards, millimeters in size broke loose, and 5 cuts to go along with the job, I'd recommend a few extra things to have around just in case.

Do not underestimate the degree to which the glass is compromised, regardless of how minimal the damage looks. A small flathead screwdriver or metal spudger with which to gently scrape the smallest pieces of glass splinters that may be stuck on the left over adhesive. A tech's vacuum and/or a can of compressed air will assure that any bits will be picked up properly.

Lastly, protective eye wear since you can never be too careful!

My Problem

The glass on my 13" MacBook's screen developed a spiderweb crack spontaneously - have no idea how it happened.

My Fix

It was a little harder than the instructions indicate because the glass was broken pretty badly up to the edge of the screen. The instructions show somebody replacing a nice, whole piece of glass, but why would someone do that? So, for the record, removing little shards of glass from the adhesive on the edge of the screen is a MUCH bigger pain in the !@# that simply peeling the old one off. Now I know why Apple refused to do it (in favor of just replacing the whole LCD).

My Advice

Even given the difficulty of removing little shards of glass, I'm still glad I took the time and saved the moolah.