[bgadow]

After work yesterday I checked things out-it had been 48 hours. There really was no visible change over the last day. The pva that was exposed had turned a fatty white but there was no sign of delamination. I decided it was time for some gentle coaxing. I grabbed a handful of popsicle sticks and broke them in half. I started inserting them in the corners. I found that the top of the crt had slightly thicker pva than the bottom and thus I could insert them better there. The pva in those areas had softened, it seemed. Upon insert there were some bubbles in the area of insertion. I layed it back down in the water for another couple hours.

When I returned I spent a few minutes prodding the top corners with additional sticks. One corner in particular was responsive. In short order I had the situation shown in the first picture, an area roughly the size of my hand that had popped loose. I was being gentle. I know the crt faceplate is very thick and that did not concern me. The worry is that I have heard from several others about safety glasses that broke. Anyway, the other corners were not as responsive. I layed the glass back down for a few more hours.

At 10pm I went out with my flashlight and checked again. (I knew I couldn't stand waiting all night) After another few minutes of gentle prodding fully 1/4 of the face had popped and the other top corner was starting to loosen. I added additional sticks all around and went inside for about another hour.

When I returned the entire top half-more like the top three fifths-was delaminated. With the crt layed down I prodded and tugged and was able to feel the glass let go. It just took some gentle tugging to break the last bond-it was loose but rubbery.

I took these photos this morning. I left them in the pool for today because I didn't have time to work on it and the additional time under water will make it easier to clean the glass. I plan on trying double sided tape on this one. This is a spare crt that I just had in storage. It's not real strong on the tester but acceptable. It next goes back in the attic.

Is water the magic bullet? It's not perfect but, yes, it does work. I suspect eventually the pva would let loose entirely on its own without any prodding but what I did was gentle-not even as harsh as when I did one with a heat gun. If you have someplace where it can sit out of the weather you could leave it for quite a long time. The crt will float, sinking just enough to keep the faceplate underwater. The biggest advantage over a harsh solvent is that when you are done you can just drain it, and of course there are not the hazards involved with flammability. It may be that things could be added to the water to expedite the process-maybe lots of dish detergent? One issue with a solvent is that I doubt the vinyl of a pool like this would hold up to it. Finding a metal or poly container large enough might not be easy.

Between now and fall I am going to be working on a set with a crt that has the "gray" cataracts. I will try it in the pool-I suspect it will be quicker to respond if anything. I will report the results at that time.