Abstract: The disclosed CRT overlay, which is mounted to the display face of a CRT, comprises an overlay panel (typically a non-glare optical filter) mounted at its edges to the CRT display face and a layer of transparent glass beads interposed between the overlay panel and the CRT display face. The glass beads maintain a thin (in the range of 0.005 inches or less) gap between the overlay panel and the display face, such that display clarity is substantially unaffected by the mounting of the overlay panel. The use of the glass beads enables the overlay panel to be mounted without a relatively expensive bonding process, while at the same time avoiding the display clarity degredation associated with currently employed air-gap mounting techniques.