Converting glossy screens to matte?

Because of the continued absence of matte screens on the main consumer ranges of laptops, some of you have been wondering if there's a way to convert a glossy screen to matte.

A reader asked us if any of the following methods might help to take the shine off a glossy screen:

• spraying it with a matte coating
• adding a special film
• sanding off the reflective coating
• having a specialist replace the reflective layer from the front of the screen.

Our answer is that we just don't know. But why not try it out? So, this summer, we'll be attacking glossy screens for real. After criticising them time after time in our reviews, it's time to roll up our sleeves in the lab. It's not like we haven't already made our feelings clear ...

I promise we won't start by hiring a sandblaster like the one above, if only to avoid having to spend forever cleaning the sand out of the lab. But we will try the best methods we can find to see if they work. At best, it will work, but at worst, we'll challenge a few ideas about what you can and can't do, we'll break a screen and have some fun along the way. We'll keep you updated, and if you have any ideas, let us know!

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