On the day I picked up my Canon EOS 5D Mark II body some years back, I had a Canon brand screen protector applied for the very same reason when I got my second 5D Mark II body — to protect the screen from scratches and damage like we all do with our prized smartphones. I never liked the idea of adhesive based screen protectors because removing them later would be difficult due to the residue they tend to leave behind. I had assumed these would have been safe because they’re made by Canon but I was wrong. Last week I tried to peel the protector off and to my horror the glossy layer came off leaving behind a hardened stubborn residue with a matte finish (as you see in the picture right below).
Hardened layer of adhesive residue leaving the screen unusable for critical viewing.
I immediately searched the web for safe solvents I can use that would not attack the plastic screen. The last thing you want is to use a corrosive solvent that attacks the screen leaving it permanently opaque. I found suggestions of WD40 to effectively remove sticker residue but it didn’t help at all. Next, there was mention of Eucalyptus oil (I was running out of household items to try that are intrinsically safe. Thankfully this works …
Apply generous amount of eucalyptus oil to cover the adhesive residue and leave it to soak for a few minutes. The idea here is to soften the layer to prepare for the next step — scrapping the adhesive off using a credit card (I used what was within reach at the time, my Canon CPS membership card).
Handy use for an expired Canon CPS membership card
Be prepared to do a lot of here before you begin to see encouraging results. I applied more eucalyptus oil to keep the screen lubed while I continued scrapping — you can only do so much with a plastic card. I finished the job by buffing the screen with a 3M Microfiber cloth soaked in eucalyptus oil until the entire screen is perfectly clean (I’ve had the same piece of blue cloth for many years and have used it to clean my desktop monitor and laptop LCD — amazing technology.
After spending close to 45 minutes scrapping and buffing, it’s good to have clean, usable LCD again.
If you’re looking to clean your Canon EOS 5D Mark II’s viewfinder or camera sensor you may be interested in the following posts: Cleaning the EOS 5D Mark II Viewfinder | Focus Screen and Sensor Cleaning
