The screen on my N900 has had show up on it some areas that look like splotches of silver paint, but seem to be a thin film delaminating from the screen. A couple of tiny spots have flaked off, but otherwise it still seems to work.

Is this a layer delaminating from the screen?

Do I need to replace the digitizer? If so, can anyone recommend a source for a replacement digitizer?

I had the same effect on my N900, probably.

Fortunately, I had a defect N900 (with unrepairable SIM-card recognition error) in my drawer, so I could exchange the whole upper half with screen. This seems to be much easier than replacing the housing part (its like replacing the digitizer).

I cant provide you with a good source for buying a replacement. You might have seen this thread http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=88815 , which sounds like it is more kind of luck catching a good one (eBay or Alibaba and all the Watto's places).

But at least you are not alone with those delamination symptoms.

Cheers from Berlin
Ulle

I've had the same problem. I think it's a hardening coat.
My solution: The layer came off with such an ease, that I used an adhesive tape to remove it completely. Afterwards i put an protection screen on. That works fine for over a year now.

I think this is an age-ing problem. I've had mine since launch and I never used a screen protector for 4 years. November of last year i started noticing this delamination occuring. That's when I finally decided to buy a screen protector to stop it from spreading further.

Lucky. On one of my devices, a perfect non-scratched screen went totally fubar after applying - and removing - faulty screen protector. Part of coating went off, part remained where it was, overall, it looks worse than scratched. I would like to remove remnants of coating for at least having uniform surface, but the things seems rock-hard solid, and doesn't want to get off by any means short of sanding it, which doesn't sound like good solution.

Since then, I never use screen protectors that I don't trust already... (Even though I guess, that the coating must have been faulty already, to go off with silicone-glued, popularly called "glueless", screen protector...)

/Estel

There were some smaller parts which stuck to the screen. I used a soft wooden toothpick to rub them off. That worked quite well and all of the coating came off, without scratching the surface of the Screen.

I haven't used screen protectors before the coating pealed away.