Dealing with shattered cell phone glass

[Peabody]

My Moto G6 fell from a good height to concrete below, and the front glass is shattered.  I guess the front glass is tempered since it seems to have released *ALL* of its stored energy into a massive spider web that covers the whole screen.

I have a new phone coming from Motorola (Lenovo has a 10% veterans discount) but the old one seems to still work perfectly as far as I can tell, so I'd like to repair it if possible, and keep it as a backup, or maybe use it as a wifi tablet.

I understand I have two options.  I can replace just the front glass for about $13 or I can replace the entire glass, digitizer and LCD screen module for about $26.  Of course that's with my labor.  From what I've seen online, the big problem with replacing just the glass is getting the old glass unstuck from the digitizer.  Apparently the glue they used there was never intended to be unstuck.  I dont have a heat gun, just a hair dryer, and there's one video that says a hair dryer isn't enough.  So pretty much all the videos on Youtube are about replacing the whole LCD module.  But I don't know if there's a visible difference in quality between the original Moto LCD, which still works fine, and the 'generic' replacement.

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone here has done this kind of repair and might have some advice about what to do, and what to look out for.  So far I've successfully removed the back cover of the phone, using a hair dryer, which wasn't that difficult.

I found several videos about using various fillers to repair the broken glass itself - nail polish, epoxy, windshield repair compound, etc., but in all cases the phones still looked like crap afterward.  So as far as I can tell that just doesn't work, which is too bad.

[mr.fabe]

I would replace the entire display panel assembly (glass, digitizer and LCD screen module).  Provided that you purchase the correct replacement panel, you will not notice any difference in the screen display quality.  It will be difficult to separate the different layers and you will most likely end up purchasing the whole assembly later.  You will need to use a heat gun to aid in loosening the screen adhesive.  Using a hair dryer will take forever even if it is able to generate enough heat.

[Koray]

That glue requires some special chemicals to clean. During the process it is very easy to damage the LCD. Once clean you have to use LOCA UV adhesive to combine the layers and it is best applied in a vacuum chamber to get the bubbles out. You will need plenty of UV, too. For home DIY people, the best option is to use complete/finished LCD/digitiser assemblies.
Good luck.
K.

[Peabody]

Thanks for the advice.  I will order the complete LCD assembly.