SL-Class (R231) 2013 on: Discussion on the SL550

SL/R231: COMAND Screen Cleaning

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Old Apr 12, 2020 | 12:12 PM
  #1  
Panama's Avatar
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2017 SL450, 2017 Ford Expedition, 2007 CLK 550, 2019 Buick Enclave
COMAND Screen Cleaning

Our COMAND screen has some discoloration. I am not sure exactly what it is. It is very visible when the sun hits it at a certain angle. It is sorta purple in the tint. It does not cover the whole screen. Most of the time you don't notice it but when the sun hits it right, you do. I am not sure it is oil from the hands of the previous owner or if it is something on the screen from a previous cleaning before we bought the car.....like a treatment for the leather and a mist hit the screen. It happens so seldom that we forget about it or don't notice it. We are not 100% positive, but we think that it happens only when the top is down. I want to try to clean it first. Have any of you experienced this and what do you use to clean this screen.

My search on this topic revealed two or three different remedies suggested. Could somebody with real world experience relate what they did and did it bring the screen back to 100% like new... what works the best for a long term fix?
. Thanks.

Last edited by Panama; Apr 12, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
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Old Apr 12, 2020 | 02:47 PM
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Panama - I've clipped from my '18 Owners Manual -

* Without putting too much pressure:* Clean the display surface using a commercially available microfiber cloth and TFT/LCD (I added LED or Plasma) display cleaner.

* Dry the display surface using a dry microfiber cloth
>> there are dozens of products labeled as such in Auto Supply shops / Walmart / etc.

Good luck
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Old Apr 12, 2020 | 08:12 PM
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2010 g
There is a very thin "anti glare" coating on the screen. It appears that it is very lightly sprayed on.

The first time someone cleans your screen with ammonia-based window cleaner or something strong, it starts to come off. I had my car washed and they cleaned the screen. Next day I noticed a small spot about the size of a finger print.

You have two choices..
1. Use the gentlest of cleaners (ie water) and a microfiber and your screen will stay "as new" for a long time. This seems like a waste of time to me, because it will eventually start to fade in spots and looks bad.
2. Get some plastic polish that is used for convertible top windows etc. Completely safe for our screens and will not scratch. apply to a microfiber and buff the coating off completely. I had to use a popsicle stick wrapped in micro fiber to go back and forth to do the edges (can't use your finger.. needs to get right into the very edge).. Once done the screen looks exactly the same as it did when you started but no anti glare coating. I don't find the screen to have any more glare than before. I guess if it really bugged me, I could always get one of the anti glare screen protectors.. I believe there are custom sized ones for the car, but i'd probably just measure and cut a piece from an iPad anti glare screen..I believe I bought my spare one for $8 on amazon.. so it's cheap and will work fine.

However mine has been off and looks great.. I don't think I'll put a screen on it at all.

MB only has one solution.. replace entire display. VERY expensive. Don't bother.
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Old Apr 12, 2020 | 09:09 PM
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bha1 - great suggestion
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Old Apr 13, 2020 | 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by iridium18
bha1 - great suggestion
A Brillo pad and gasoline works for me.... 😊
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Old Apr 14, 2020 | 10:53 AM
  #6  
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Thank you for the help. I appreciate the time and help.
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Old Feb 28, 2024 | 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by bha1
There is a very thin "anti glare" coating on the screen. It appears that it is very lightly sprayed on.

The first time someone cleans your screen with ammonia-based window cleaner or something strong, it starts to come off. I had my car washed and they cleaned the screen. Next day I noticed a small spot about the size of a finger print.

You have two choices..
1. Use the gentlest of cleaners (ie water) and a microfiber and your screen will stay "as new" for a long time. This seems like a waste of time to me, because it will eventually start to fade in spots and looks bad.
2. Get some plastic polish that is used for convertible top windows etc. Completely safe for our screens and will not scratch. apply to a microfiber and buff the coating off completely. I had to use a popsicle stick wrapped in micro fiber to go back and forth to do the edges (can't use your finger.. needs to get right into the very edge).. Once done the screen looks exactly the same as it did when you started but no anti glare coating. I don't find the screen to have any more glare than before. I guess if it really bugged me, I could always get one of the anti glare screen protectors.. I believe there are custom sized ones for the car, but i'd probably just measure and cut a piece from an iPad anti glare screen..I believe I bought my spare one for $8 on amazon.. so it's cheap and will work fine.

However mine has been off and looks great.. I don't think I'll put a screen on it at all.

MB only has one solution.. replace entire display. VERY expensive. Don't bother.

Which exact polish did you use? For some reason this is hard for me to find. Thanks @bha1
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Old Feb 28, 2024 | 03:35 PM
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I used good old 3M pink "fill n glaze", which is just a very fine polish body shops use. Worked perfectly to remove the purple anti glare mess.
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Old Feb 28, 2024 | 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by TripleDown
I used good old 3M pink "fill n glaze", which is just a very fine polish body shops use. Worked perfectly to remove the purple anti glare mess.
thanks, so Maguires plastic X would work fine?
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Old Feb 28, 2024 | 04:09 PM
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I would imagine so, yes.
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Old Feb 29, 2024 | 06:58 AM
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I have seen a few R231 cars in person now and they all have had that, including mine. My former CLK430 and E350 also had it. Never bothered me as it is only visible when the unit is off. Can't see it at all when the unit is on.




Originally Posted by Panama
Our COMAND screen has some discoloration. I am not sure exactly what it is. It is very visible when the sun hits it at a certain angle. It is sorta purple in the tint.
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Old Nov 30, 2024 | 05:50 PM
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2 products I used

My 231 came with a hazy and scratched screen, and I couldn't see the Night Vision function well.

There are the two products, one is called polyWatch Polish, the other is TopCare cotton rounds.

I had them around to gently clean and remove some abrasions on a watch plastic crystal. Therefor I tried it on the Comand screen with good results. One needs only a minuscule amount of the polyWatch. I put a drop on one of the rounds. After cleaning I used a second round to throughly wipe off any excess. Little pressure is needed.

In the USA these can be obtained from Amazon.



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