Wacom surface protector?

[Trailblazer]

OK so my Wacom Intuos 3 has a couple scratches on it, but the real problem is two little pockmarks near the center. The pen catches on them fairly often and its becoming quite annoying. I've heard about the Intuos coming with a surface protector, the problem is I'm not sure if mine has one and I'd kind of like to be sure before I buy a new one and go peeling stuff off my tablet. I have some photos so if someone could pipe in and let me know if this is the protector I'd be real grateful.

Thanks in advance.

[joeparis]

The light grey surface sheet (the only sheet on the tablet) is designed to be removed and/or replaced. It is normally held down by one sticky edge at the top therefore you should be able to lift it up from the bottom to see if there are maybe a few pieces of grit underneath that are causing the pocks. You can order a brand new sheet from Wacom. Last time I bought one it was around £25.

[Trailblazer]

Hey thanks for answering. The whole light grey surface on mine seems to be glued down, there's no film or anything that I can lift. It's why I'm worried I may damage my tablet.

The pocks themselves are actual indentations in the surface.

[Trailblazer]

Damn double post.

[joeparis]

Hey thanks for answering. The whole light grey surface on mine seems to be glued down, there's no film or anything that I can lift. It's why I'm worried I may damage my tablet. The pocks themselves are actual indentations in the surface.

Ok, I see. It definitely sounds like the surface sheet needs replacing. There is no film or protector, just that single grey plastic sheet. It may be that it's quite old and has become partly stuck to the base through heat, etc. You won't damage the tablet by taking it off. There are no wires or electrical contacts underneath, just a flat plastic surface. I'd order a replacement and peel off this old one when it arrives. You'll see from the replacement that it's just a sheet of plastic with some double sided sticky tape along the top edge.

[Trailblazer]

Hey thanks for replying again. I feel a lot better about it now so I'll order that replacement soon and have a look at it. Will be nice to have a smooth surface again.

[DanijelC]

I recently bought a used intuos 3 and it has some scratches on it. So I might be replacing my surface in the near future after this one is worn out. Please let us know how your replacement went and any problems you might have had with peeling off the old overlay.

[Trailblazer]

Hey there. I should be ordering my replacement in the next week so once I get it I'll be sure to let you know. I'll take some photos aswell.

[DanijelC]

Thanks man. Just letting you know I'm still watching this thread .

[Frostblade]

I wish the wacom intuos 4 overlay had the same texture as the intuos 3... so it doesn't wear the nibs down so fast and I hate the drag.

The overlays are easy to replace, we replaced about 8 of them at work. Lift the overlay from the bottom corners, it's just dirt making it stick down.

[drakemoonstar]

I enjoyed using my Intuos 3 Pen Tablet for 6 years ( from 2006 to 2012 years now ). I like the smooth and solid surface sheet that didn't wear the plastic nibs down fast for long time. I also used my Grip Pen with one nib that didn't scratch on it for long time as well. I didn't spend my money to buy the new surface sheet and nibs for the replacement since 2006. Really nothing happened until I didn't notice the bottom of the Laptop scratched on my sheet when my friend's wife put it on it. After that, I noticed the first scratch on it but I decided to ignore it until everyday it affected my mood with my drawing up and down on tablet for a year. I felt annoyed when I repeated seeing same scratch and drew on the sheet at the same time to prevent me from feeling free to smoothly draw in any direction on the tablet so I hated experiencing through that.

Last week ago I ordered online for the new surface sheet which is $23.65 in Canada for replacing my old surface sheet because it has one small deep scratch at center of the sheet that interpputed my comfort, focus and workflow to use my Grip Pen to draw or paint everytime so I decided to buy new one and kicked out the problem sheet of my tablet. It's was easy for me to remove my old sheet and install new sheet on my tablet. I feel better very much when I draw smoothly everywhere on it without worry or disturb so I would keep it possible to avoid any scratch next time.

Wacom Staff told me the simple information about replacement instruction for Intuos 3 and 4. Read it at bottom here.

How To Install The Surface Sheet

· Take off the Sheet (The surface sheet is only attached at the top of the active area with a strip of adhesive. Raise the edge of the sheet from the bottom of the tablet and remove by peeling the sheet off at the top.)

· Clean the active area surface before applying the new sheet (Use tape (like masking tape) to take off remaining glue. Do not use alcohol for cleaning. (It might leave a white stain on the tablet)

· Remove the strips covering the adhesive strip at the top of the new surface sheet.. Then, aligning it best as possible inside the active area, attach it starting at the top.

Wacom recommend you to use your soft clothing to clean any greasy oil, dirty and dust but don't use any liquid cleaning such as Pledge, Windex, and Lysol on the sheet.

[toad1971]

[QUOTE=Frostblade;3475771]I wish the wacom intuos 4 overlay had the same texture as the intuos 3... so it doesn't wear the nibs down so fast and I hate the drag.

Don't know if Wacom still sells them but back when the Intuos 4 was newer, they still sold the Intuos 3 covers sheet. I bought the XL size to make sure it would fit my Intous 4 Large size - I cut it down and simply taped the edges to hold it over the I4 drawing area - it doesn't look pretty but works like a charm - nice smooth surface and no erosion of nibs.