Does iMac build smudged dusk mark on its LCD so fast?

[iSayuSay]

I have a 3 months-old mid-2011 27" iMac which recently (I don't know when it exactly started) has build a long-painful to look at- streak/smudge mark behind the LCD. Obviously not on the glass surface, it's on or behind the LCD.

Looks annoying when the color is light, but overtime I see it become gradually a bit thicker as if it's dust built by fan (or is it?)

I realize there are some threads discussing this already. But since I need to know your opinion more well, I made a new thread instead, sorry

So .. how about your iMac, does it build up a smudge mark on the LCD? For how long do you have the iMac? Will Apple take care of my iMac if I take it in?

Do all iMac has this problem over time?

What will AASP do then? Replace the LCD? Or can it be simply cleaned and prevented for future build-up? The LCD itself is fine, no dead pixel, yellowing or anything but the smudge marks. But no-less annoying since I can notice it easily. It's on the screen, man

Will it come back again after several months? What's the source of the problem actually? I thought the panel and backlight was sealed from fan and machine behind it?

 

[Detrius]

Can you post a picture?

 

[iSayuSay]

Sure .. here is the pic:


Sorry for blurry picture ..




PS:
Mind you .. my screen problem is the one with long marks. There are 3 or 4 smudge lines on it (or even more) with the one on top being the most visible . Other spots is NOT on iMac display, it's just my camera lens being dirty

 

[jsolares]

We don't have an apple store down here so i took it where i bought it and they replaced the LCD (or cleaned it, but i don't care either way since the smudges of dust are gone), they started to appear after 3 or 4 months i think, took it in just when the first year of the iMac was starting.

Mine were behind the LCD, if it was above you could clean it since it's kind of easy to remove the glass.

Sure .. here is the pic:


Sorry for blurry picture ..

[url=http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/5213/smudgef.png]Image[/URL]


PS:
Mind you .. my screen problem is the one with long marks. There are 3 or 4 smudge lines on it (or even more) with the one on top being the most visible . Other spots is NOT on iMac display, it's just my camera lens being dirty

 

[iSayuSay]

We don't have an apple store down here so i took it where i bought it and they replaced the LCD (or cleaned it, but i don't care either way since the smudges of dust are gone), they started to appear after 3 or 4 months i think, took it in just when the first year of the iMac was starting.

Mine were behind the LCD, if it was above you could clean it since it's kind of easy to remove the glass.

Thanks for the informative response ... well I suspect I shared the same problem as you had ... most likely it's under the LCD too, and it needs to be cleaned or even replaced

But the main concern is, does it come back again? Having dust build up under LCD every few months is just plain crazy and tiring.

Do you come back often just to get this dust "cleaned"? .. Sure normal CPUs are getting dusty too every a few months, but it's visible on the screen which makes me sad

So .. again .. does it come back often, sir?

 

[jsolares]

Thanks for the informative response ... well I suspect I shared the same problem as you had ... most likely it's under the LCD too, and it needs to be cleaned or even replaced

But the main concern is, does it come back again? Having dust build up under LCD every few months is just plain crazy and tiring.

Do you come back often just to get this dust "cleaned"? .. Sure normal CPUs are getting dusty too every a few months, but it's visible on the screen which makes me sad

So .. again .. does it come back often, sir?

that.. no idea, just got the machine back this past saturday, hopefully they've modified the LCD so that it doesn't happens again.

 

[MacHamster68]

Apple might replace the panel, but you will get smudges again as happend to a Mate ,they replaced the lcd panel 3-4 month later smudges again ,and they are annoying as you constantly have to look at them .

D.I.Y is the only option to get rid of the smudges , having said that some at Apple repair centres do get rid of them with the following method , but sadly only some do that .
dismantle the iMac , like if you did want to replace the harddrive , take the lcd panel apart , clean it, seal it with duct tape and put all back together .. sorted , no more smudges will build up, after i done it to my mate 's iMac now a year later still no smudges visible , done it to 2 other mates iMac's too works like charm , simple and not to difficult and no new display needed .


and taking the iMac apart is something you should do on a regular basis at least once a year , because dust is building up inside too which leads to higher temperatures and /or higher revving fans , and just holding a vacuum cleaner from the outside to the ventilation holes does not remove all the dust that builds up inside ,between the fins of the GPU/CPU heatsinks is the most of it , and because of the location inside the iMac even the strongest Vacuum cleaner wont reach the dust there .
To prevent dust building up quick inside use smc fan control and let the fans run at higher speeds , so the dust (most but not all of it )gets blown out again.
The low revving fans are a nice thing in terms of noise , but they manage to suck in dust from the bottom , but are unable to blow out the dust on the top again

 

[iSayuSay]

@Machamster68 .. Thanks for the tips .. but which part of LCD does commonly get smudged dust like this? Maybe I dont have the courage nor patience to disassembly and clean the iMac myself.

But as you said, you can apply some protective layer (duct tape or something). So .. on which part of LCD/glass layer should I apply this to so it can prevent build up like this in the future?

I'll tell the technician to put some protective layer when I take it in this weekend. I dont know whether they will replace the panel, or just clean it up and plug it in again. Dang .. It's just 3 months old