Chosen Solution
I tried to do a glass-only repair and remove the OLED+digitizer+polarizer from the (cracked) glass instead of removing the digitizer+polarizer+glass from the OLED panel. It didn’t go well… I have a polarizer (I think) that’s flaking off and a small bubble imperfection on the edge of the digitizer. The display and touch both work, but I can’t reassemble it this way. Photos attached. How do I remove the digitizer from the OLED panel without ruining the OLED? I tried heat once and it burned the OLED, presumably since there was no glass to act as a heat sink. What’s the best way to do this? I really don’t want to ruin the panel… they’re so expensive. Thanks in advance!
I ended up very carefully separating the digitizer from the OLED panel by using a 0.05mm molybdenum wire. Lots of glue rolling ensued. Now I have a fully functional bare LCD/OLED panel. Ordered a new glass with digitizer and then I’ll be set. One YouTube example used a hot decal scraper and that was just too scary for something so small. No thanks.
Sadly I have not found anyone with the needed skills or tools to replace the watch crystal reusing the panel without having visible defects. In the end I just replaced the full assembly.
