Started working on the TV that I had found in this thread:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=6100

I was on the phone with Rob last night and he was talking about a procedure that a couple of the guys here had done with a heat gun to remove the glass and laminate on the 21" color set. So, yanked the tube last night in prep for doing it this morning. It was easy as pie! :D

Here's what I did:

1. I placed the picture tube neck inside a shop vac canister with the top motor removed, to give it some place to sit. Naturally take all safety precautions as you see fit, I just wore goggles.

2. When you do it, make sure that you do it in sunlight or a good bright incandescent light, so that you will see the laminate soften up. Make sure that the tape on the edge of the picture tube (if there is any there) is peeled free.

Through trial and error, I realized that the only way to make it happen was to have the heat gun on its highest setting, holding about 3-4" from the glass, and just work it slowly starting with one spot along the cataract line. You have to do it all at once, or the laminate will get sticky again, and you're back to square one. With the light reflected from the sunlight or bulb on the picture tube surface, you can see the little goopy "fingers" of the glue beginning to let go. Once you work your way around the whole tube, just grab a small thin stick, and "Pop!", the glass pops free and you're done! The laminate peels free from the tube, and it's time for resealing. Mess-free, and the whole process took about 15 minutes!

So fear cataracts no more! If I can do it, anyone can :)