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Fix glare on digital IC?

michail71

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I'm looking for ideas on fixing glare on the digital IC. If the sun is visible in the sky a couple hours after sunrise and before sunset it reflects off of the shiny bottom base of the cluster.

There was a past post on here where someone placed black felt just under the center display on the standard cluster. As a test I tried placing a small piece on mine and it made a surprising difference. It was like having the sunshade up on the window.

However, the digital cluster has such a large and curvy area that I think it might be difficult to get something fitted in there without looking ghetto.

There could be a market here for a fitted piece.
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michail71

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I may try to see if I can do an Alcantara or Ultrasuede lining. Seems like the material can range from $10 to $100 per yard.
 

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this also bothers me. definitely interested in what you come up with.
 
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michail71

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this also bothers me. definitely interested in what you come up with.
I have a few ideas. Making a shape fitted insert could work too as a commercial product.

I'm going to start the experiment with some felt and double sided tape. That will be ugly but I can see if the concept would work.
 
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michail71

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I picked up an 8x10 sheet of sticky backed felt at Joanne Fabrics. Just putting it there on the base made a huge difference! So this idea should work.

The more I look at that trim piece the dumber of a design it appears to be. The bottom of the trim acts as a big reflector.

Also, the screen itself is rectangular. So they have cropped off useful screen space for all that rounded plastic that just throws glare back up on the display panel.
 

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michail71

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this also bothers me. definitely interested in what you come up with.
Another thought is removing the trim and paining it with a matte black rubber paint.

I think the cleanest look would be wrapping it in Alcantera.

If I can figure out a way to make a mold of the trim it would make trying out different materials easier. But the felt already had very excellent results, so I know it would work. I'm just not sure how good I could make that look.
 
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michail71

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It seems like any black non shiny material does an excellent job at glare reduction.

Now I just need to figure out something easy that will be durable and look OEM.

So options are to:
line with Alcantara or felt.
felt tape
paint with something like plastidip.
Some kind of wrap like 3M that is matte black.

Whichever I pick I'll remove the trim first.
 
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michail71

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I pulled cluster trim off today and I applied a spray rubber coating to the reflective surfaces. Luckily the faux metal trim pulls off easily. I masked everything using painters tape.

So far it looks like other OEM cluster trims I've seen designed to reduce reflections. It's still shinier than I'd hoped for if I had felt of Alcantara but it looks OEM. I halso hit it with a coat of a matte black spray paint.

I'll haven't tried it yet but I should be able to do that tomorrow.
 
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michail71

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The rubber spray seems to do a good job of keeping the reflections down from the side windows and front windows but not as good as felt.

What it doesn't get is rear window reflections since those are direct and they also happen no matter where the sun is located. It just has to be not night time.

This go me to wondering if that plastic over-screen needs to be there. What purpose does it actually serve? I can see if it were an analog display it would be there to protect the mechanical parts.

If it does need to be there a polarized film might help.
 
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michail71

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Well, the rubber coating doesn't work so great in full on sun. I still get reflections. I think I'll remove it and see if I could do a polarizing film of some kind on the screen.

I'm also not sure if that highly reflective plastic panel needs to be over the display panel. It's just a normal LCD panel.
 

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michail71

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I removed the plastic cover today. It seems to have cut the glare down. Glare mostly turns into lost contrast now.

I drove around in the later part of the day and it was much better. I'll see how it does tomorrow.

The second shot was me trying to catch the most glare with some overexposure on the shot.

Unfortunately, as a permanent solution this would leave a big gap. :(

And OMG, so much wasted display panel! About an inch on the top and on the corners. This is a design example of form not following function.
20180718_191318.jpg
20180718_190846.jpg
 
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michail71

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It crazy how much better this is driving around in the daytime now. The screen clarity is much sharper without the plastic window distortion and glare is eliminated.

In my photos I had it resting on the pins so it was angled up. Once it placed property any remaining reflection was gone.

It is just a normal lcd panel like on a laptop. So I don't think it is required. The trick will be removing the window and filling the gap.

I'm open to suggestions on how to accomplish that but I think this may be a nice "delete" mod.

Perhaps a gasket made with a 3D printer?
 
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michail71

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This is the worst case scenario with full sun overhead. Most of the reflection is coming from the exposed metal on the steering column since the trim piece is off. With the trim in place and no plastic window it gets reduced even more.
glare.jpg
 

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How about trying a antiglare screen protector and putting it on the window and reinstalling? I don't think I'd get used to it looking incomplete like that.

Screen protector for a laptop would work, just cut it down to size.
 
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michail71

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It looks good with the trim on but the gap is the issue. If I could remove the window and add a gasket or spacers it would solve the problem.

It almost has a Mercedes E/S class look now with the trim completely off.
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