The Amazing liquid glass screen protector! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sparks
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 04:59:53 am
content: A friend just got a Samsung S9 and told me about her screen protector. I've always been rough on my phone's so I had to look into it. Silicon dioxide applied in a micro thin layer which dries to a scratch resistant super shield. By filling the pores of the glass with more glass, it somehow gives a hardness of 9, repels water ( because water always goes through the glass) and protects from fingerprints.Has anyone out there tried any of these products? I just don't believe it's worth the money

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 07:16:18 am
content: To me a screen protector only makes sense if it's sacrificial, so I can't see that working. It needs to be weaker than the screen below so it cracks before and absorbs the energy of an impact. Maybe that's a fallacy, but it makes sense in my mind.I buy the cheap £3 glass screen protectors. If they get cracked, I replace them, and I've never cracked a screen with one of them on a phone.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 08:02:51 am
content: When I got a phone with Gorilla Glass 2 (quite old, but was positioned as super-tough at the time) I thought I'm well protected. But soon I noticed scratches, etc. Turned out some dust and sand can leave scratches. Also, screen is not protected from being dropped, etc. So, I agree with tom66, no coating can provide protection as good as a cheap screen protector that can take a lot of damage without impacting the screen.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 09:49:42 am
content: It "dries"?It's not easy to dissolve silicon dioxide, seeing how it's what sand and glass is primarily made of. Selling it in a form that can be applied to a phone screen and "dry" would be a real trick. I think there must be some confusion here.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 09:56:16 am
content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 10:22:17 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on August 23, 2018, 07:16:18 amOoh, you buy the expensive onesI agree though, I fit a half dozen or more a week here, they are cheap insurance (we pay about 45p each but we import boxes and boxes of them) but they're not a guarantee against a broken screen.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 10:28:58 am
content: Quote from: Sparks on August 23, 2018, 04:59:53 amFilling the pores of the glass?! Uhhhhh... don’t do that. The screens are already chemically treated AND have multiple layers of coatings. If any protection can be achieved by a liquid, they’ll have already done that at the factory!!!

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 10:42:05 am
content: Sounds like one of those water repellent treatments you can get for glass. Except I am sure it is much more expensive when marketed for mobile phones.https://youtu.be/alo7IMj6_9M

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 10:54:26 am
content: Quote from: Sparks on August 23, 2018, 04:59:53 amIt sounds like the mobile phone equivalent of being up-sold "paint protection" or window tinting at a car dealership -- Costs far more than it should and achieves nothing in reality. Gorilla Glass is marketed as being super hard and scratch resistant, the problem with it is that it is very brittle when bent or exposed to stress.There is no coating or screen protector that will protect your shiny new S9 from drops. A decent case is your only sensible (and cheaper) option.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 11:44:06 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on August 23, 2018, 10:54:26 amAre you sure you're not confusing Gorilla Glass and sapphire? Cuz the chemical treatment that turns ordinary* glass into Gorilla Glass makes it muchmoreflexible — it's much, muchlessbrittle than normal glass or tempered glass (or sapphire). Meanwhile, sapphire is much harder and thus much more scratch resistant, but far less flexible.Here's a comparison of sapphire vs an older version of Gorilla Glass from 2014 (when Apple was considering moving to sapphire for iPhones):https://www.ubreakifix.com/blog/sapphire-vs-gorilla-glass-bending-and-impact*of course, it doesn't begin life as ordinary soda-lime glass, but as a specialized blend. Here, I really mean the "raw" glass vs the chemically treated end product.

author: Sparks
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 02:41:00 pm
content: Thanks all for confirming my thoughts on this. My wife has a Note9 pre-ordered for tomorrow and was gung-ho for this stuff. She now agrees a real screen protector is best.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2018, 02:19:16 am
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on August 23, 2018, 09:56:16 amQuote...I don't think so.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2018, 02:37:16 am
content: Silicon dioxide can be made from sodium silicate, but it's an industrial process involving sulfuric acid. It's not something you can put in a bottle.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2018, 10:32:42 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on August 24, 2018, 02:19:16 amI don't think he heats up his reloaded shotgun shells.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2018, 10:51:39 pm
content: Quote from: exe on August 23, 2018, 08:02:51 amSand tends to be super hard. That always seems to catch people by surprise, but it's why sandpaper exists.