Database Users

Polishing the cover to mirror-like finish

Well, after being infected with this uncurable decease called "Polish-o-mania" a while back, I just decided that the matte finish of my S100 cover wasn't just enough for me.
Also, the fact that my friend recently polished his SE T610 cover probably didn't make me NOT want to polish it...
Now, since I'm quite new into this polishing-thingy, I don't have the stuff at home to make it really, really nice, but I'm gonna go shopping tomorrow for some better polishing fluids.
Now, this is my equipment:
-A plastic bucket with water.
-An eraser
-Some sheets of grinding paper (P320, P800, P1200, P2000, waterproof)
-A tube with metalpolish (this is now what is limiting my finish...) and a piece of cloth.
And for the procedure: (remeber to use a lot of water and clean the cover during!)
-Take some 320 grain paper, wrap it around the eraser, and start grinding away. Go in one direction (ex. up and down along the back cover) until you've grinded away all of the matte surface.
-Then you go up a little (i did go to 800 grain) in grinding paper, and start to grind some more, but in a 90 degree angle to what you just grinded. And when you've grinded off all of the scratches from the previous sanding, go up in paper and rotate 90 degrees again.
-When I had grinded it down with 2000 paper, I took the metalpolish, and started rubbing away. And after rubbing a little, I took a clean cloth, and wiped it off.
Voila! A nice, shiny, reflective batterycover!
Now, the problem is that I want the fron cover as shiny, but since I don't want to do it while mounted to the phone, I wonder if anyone could advise to how to remove the front cover?
I unscrewed the torx-screws (4) which held the phone together, but as I started to pull things apart, it seemed to me as if all the inner workings of the phone are attached to the front cover.
But if someone knows (I've tried googling and searching through forums about this...) IF you can separate the front cover from the rest of the phone, and HOW to do it, I would appreciate it greatly!
I will attach some pics, but they are of Nokia 7610 quality, and not at such a high finish as I want it. As I said earlier, I now need finer polishing-liquids... But I hope you get the idea!
(It is at least shiny enough to read a magazine in it's reflection...)
Cheers, and I hope someone can help me with dis-assemblying!

Cool to finally see some casemods being done. I've been thinking about painting mine somehow. I have a pretty nasty scratch in the original paint I'd like to cover.

Check this.
http://www.ppcsg.com/index.php?showtopic=47359&view=findpost&p=299925
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mrbjtan/detail?.dir=2b3c&.dnm=8207.jpg&.src=ph
http://www.skinit.com/

Nice, but quite ugly designs

very nice... i think i will polish mine as well..... lots of scratchs

Wow.. Looks realy nice.. plz post more pictures when U polish it more..
Help on open the case ..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=18384&highlight=
Would love to se the SE t610 to .. plz mail me a picture of it..
palm_m505(at)hotmail.com
Thx ..

It looks like you have ground off the two little nubs on the bottom of the case that protect the case from scratches when it is laid down on the back cover. Did yours have these nubs to begin with?

What about the part above the battery hatch? It is made out of plastic, and presumably cannot be polished!

Does anyone know if that Vinyl Skin Wrap thing is available in the Uk or do any companies provide a mail order service for the XDA 2i?

Carlis said:
Wow.. Looks realy nice.. plz post more pictures when U polish it more..
Help on open the case ..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=18384&highlight=
Would love to se the SE t610 to .. plz mail me a picture of it..
palm_m505(at)hotmail.com
Thx ..
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Yes, but of course! Will try to find some better polisher today...
And about the T610, I will post pics of it as soon as I can. (Will try to get hold of a better camera too...)
And thanks alot on the document, will read it later on...
Matterhorn said:
It looks like you have ground off the two little nubs on the bottom of the case that protect the case from scratches when it is laid down on the back cover. Did yours have these nubs to begin with?
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Yes, I did grind of those nubs. I could've tried to go around them, but it would have taken forever, and I also very rarely lay the phone down anyway.
LeSkip said:
What about the part above the battery hatch? It is made out of plastic, and presumably cannot be polished!
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Well, as you said, it is made out of plastic, so it can't be polished. But sending it to a chromer to have it chromed out shouldn't cost much since it is so small...

Where is the *.PDF file? to dissasembling the device.... And what is the situation right now?

sipdawg said:
Where is the *.PDF file? to dissasembling the device....
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check this post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=18384&highlight=sound

don't like it awful! :?

Underworld said:
don't like it awful! :?
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Yeah, it's a bit of a love/hate-thing...
But my cover looked like s**t before (scratches!) and this is ALOT better...
And always nice if a girl needs a make-up mirror, "Wow! Always someone there when I'm in need!"

I like it verry much... But when is the front side polished?
After that i think i will do the same! It looks damn good!

im so damn wondering how that looks like with the front polished

how is it going maytey

Well, I'm a little lazy, and I don't have as much time on my hands as I would like to (work and other hobbies).
Maybe sometime this weekend, it all depends on how easily I can rip the front part off of the phone...
Will keep you posted.

well how is it pall?

Now, I feel like it is time for a small, small update...
Update!
Now, after going to a couple of stores that I thought would have some better polisher, I still havent found any. So, no better polish yet.
And since I haven't had the time I would like on my hands, I haven't polished the front yet either.
"So, what exactly can he be updating?" you might ask yourselves?
Well, I now have better pictures of it, taken with a REAL camera! (Wow!)
Here you are, might give a better look at things...
(Will try to snap some of my friends T610 tonight too... Will see if I have the time to polish the front this weekend...)
Cheers!

Painting Hermes Housing

Im planning on painting the housing of my Hermes a gloss black. I've been reading on how to take it apart and some people complaining of a screen alignment problem.. what are the chances of this happening? has anyone taken it apart and put it back together with no problems? thankss

realslimb said:
Im planning on painting the housing of my Hermes a gloss black. I've been reading on how to take it apart and some people complaining of a screen alignment problem.. what are the chances of this happening? has anyone taken it apart and put it back together with no problems? thankss
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Sounds like a cool idea, I fancy a go at that too!!
Let me know how you get on! If possible, can you take pics of the deconstruction process?

ashleyhall said:
Sounds like a cool idea, I fancy a go at that too!!
Let me know how you get on! If possible, can you take pics of the deconstruction process?
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If it's pics and a dismantling process you can find them on the wiki. Alternatively go here. The downloadable service manual has a full dismantling guide with pics- more than you need, cos you would only need to take the case off not take every last bit apart. Also there are links in the practical section to more basic but pretty clear guides:
http://michael-channon.spaces.live.com
Mike

trade/swap/exchange or buy a orange spv m3100 tis black.
Unless your a professional sprayer, your more than likely to make a hash of it.
painting plastic is 2x more difficult than metal, I'd advise against your idea. it will chip or be blotchy at best.

well im actually getting my car repainted black and they said they will spray down the pieces to.. they would be sanded.. primed.. painted.. and glossed so the painting isn't a problem.. im just worried about the screen alignment.. will I even need to touch the screen in order to take off the housing?

That'll look nice, I had the black case from mertiline and it looks pretty cool.
It'll be nice if you upload some pics after the job is done.

realslimb said:
well im actually getting my car repainted black and they said they will spray down the pieces to.. they would be sanded.. primed.. painted.. and glossed so the painting isn't a problem.. im just worried about the screen alignment.. will I even need to touch the screen in order to take off the housing?
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Just make sure they don't put it in the oven after all that or you'll end up with a blob of nicely painted plastic..

I will definatly post pics.. but I need to find out first.. will it effect my screen alignment.. and will I even need to touch the screen in order to get the front of the housing off?

realslimb said:
I will definatly post pics.. but I need to find out first.. will it effect my screen alignment.. and will I even need to touch the screen in order to get the front of the housing off?
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Have you not seen the dismantling guides including those I linked to above - they show the steps involved.
Re screen alignment, I doubt anyone will categorically say you will not have any problems. All we can say is that quite a few folks have had theirs apart to replace screens etc and have not had any problem. However bear in mind many of these folks only did it because they had the SA issue to begin with.
I do worry a bit about how you would ensure the grooves around where the two sections of the casing click together are going to be masked off. To make this durable you will need quite a few layers of paint but to get a good bond to the plastic would require roughing the surface first - certainly an all or nothing process.
Mike

realslimb said:
Im planning on painting the housing of my Hermes a gloss black. I've been reading on how to take it apart and some people complaining of a screen alignment problem.. what are the chances of this happening? has anyone taken it apart and put it back together with no problems? thankss
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Suggestion: Look on ebay for snap-on skins for your phone. Paint the skin instead.
These skins snap over the phone perfectly so you won't have to take the phone apart to style it. And yes, you can still extend the keyboard and access all of the buttons with the skins on it.

Paint a Wizard, hide my scratches and blemishes

I wanna paint my Wizard. It's got more wear than a 50-year old prostitute. Can anyone give me some tips as to protecting the screen, buttons, and camera lens as well as using a certain kind of paint? Thanks.

I have also been thinking of doing the same and downloaded the Wizard Service guide thinking I would disassemble, paint and then reassemble. I did this in particular because I also hoped to fix the slider which has become loose and the wizard opens on its own and sometimes gets stuck when shifting between potrait and landscape. But the process is just too much to handle and will need heavy studying of the manual.

Befor you should know how to put your mobile in parts. It's explain on this website :
http://www.ce4you.cz/articles/detail.asp?a=263
good luck

Well I was just thinking using masking tape and spray paint of some kind; no dissassembly required. But fixing your slider problem... maybe should be put in a separate thread.
And yeah... these parts are very delicate. I wouldn't want to dissassemble this thing.

I really want to paint my Wizard too, I was thinking about painting the whole thing black. I'm not afraid of taking the device apart, but I have doubts about the paint. Isn't it just gonna fall off like the oruiginal paint did? What paint are you going to use? Please update this thread if u succeed and tell us how did you do it (and what paint did you use)

Search for 'White Wizard'

qntos said:
I really want to paint my Wizard too, I was thinking about painting the whole thing black. I'm not afraid of taking the device apart, but I have doubts about the paint. Isn't it just gonna fall off like the oruiginal paint did? What paint are you going to use? Please update this thread if u succeed and tell us how did you do it (and what paint did you use)
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I would think that if you painted then put a shieldzone on it would protect your new paint nicely. Any thoughts?

there was a previous thread in the upgrading section, i think it was "badbert" who posted a ford GT look on his wizard, and he even included tips, how and what he used
opps sorry, it was the clear case he painted, but check it out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=306568&highlight=badbert

lol - without disassemble the wizard will look like a piece of sh**. In addition you have to know something about painting. Its not like just spray with a cheap can of paint. After two weeks the painting will be of.
I know that because i've painted a lot of stuff (like cars, PC's and so on)

I started off with an Audiovox SMT 5600 and bought a dummy phone on Ebay for $8.00. Took apart both and used the dummy phone's casing and it turned my Audiovox into a brand new phone.
Maybe you could find a dummy Wizard or a Wizard with a broken screen on the Cheap and use the casing to bring yours back to snuff?

Now I have the HTC TMO Wing -- You can buy the battery cover back door on Ebay for around $10.00. I bought two of em. So now when I **** up the finish - just replace the door which essentially half the phone.

2 Tips i thought of today at lunch!

Now i am sure that people have thought about this in the past but i searched the interwebs and have not seen anyone actually post this. I decided to spend my lunch time putting my G1 under the knife.
First of all. I am not responsible in any way for whatever YOU (the end user) does to your phone. Im not just a ass hat wanting people to break they're phones, but do this at your own risk.
now.
anyone that has ever been unable to hear the conversation normally (with your phone at your ear no speakerphone) might be able to benefit from this.
If you remember the 2g iphone trick of making the speakers louder this is essentially the same thing. get yourself a paper clip and bend one of the sides out so you have a poker. clean all the ear gungle out. then from the far left of the ear piece poke GENTLY through then sorta dig it out so you dont leave pieces behind. in the center of the hole you will run into a more solid piece leave it alone when you hit it. then you can repeat from just a touch left of the LED.
I did this and went outside my building (i work right next to a major freeway) for the first time i was able to hear my call VERY clearly. I was very excited.
okay now for the second tip.
This one is pretty useful for people who put the phone to their left ear. reason being is (at least for me) my finger always finds a way to leave prints on the camera cover.
simple fix.
take the battery cover off and use the rounded part of the paper clip you may have used earlier. get a square of Toilet paper and put a little force onto the camera cover from the INSIDE OF THE BATTERY COVER.
You will notice on the front that you can use your fingernail to peel the piece off.
The pictures i will add are at 1mp so most people can see them in full size on their monitors without having to zoom out/in or whatever.
once again. use at your own risk. let me know what you think!
The first two are with the cover on, and the second two are without.

Uhm I think you posted the wrong pictures or something because that is def. not a G1 haha.

crpercodani said:
Uhm I think you posted the wrong pictures or something because that is def. not a G1 haha.
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Actually, those are pictures demonstrating the difference with the camera cover on and off

not really worth it unless you got extra time and my lunch time is not... juss plain but yea nicce lil mods might try them out and post my results
umm nice system btw

Ohhh I see. I didn't read in your post that you were adding pictures to compare the difference, but geez it sure does make one. What about protection though? won't the lens be exposed?

crpercodani said:
Ohhh I see. I didn't read in your post that you were adding pictures to compare the difference, but geez it sure does make one. What about protection though? won't the lens be exposed?
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the camera eye has another cover over it. ive been using it this way now for a few days. doesnt seem all that more exposed.

That extra cover on the camera broke on my G1 a couple months ago. There's only one problem with this idea. If the back cover gets scratched it's pretty cheap to replace, if the camera lens gets scratched it's not so cheap.

Nice Fireberds btw. Looks like you keep your equipment clean. I have a similar playground here at the office

My little Review... and experienced (Mate-Case)

Dear all,
I have been using LEO for few months now and really happy about it. Since this is my first-Extra large screen phone (my previous phone is Diamond2), I very worry about how to handle this phone. I've read some user have drop their phone and braking the screen mirror which really look bad.
Also in my country's forum also have talke about this accident and I have learn that t replace the mirror screen will cost them about 130-140 US dollar (when converted from my Home currency) and extra 20-30 US dollar for edge's housing.
On the time I bourght my LEO, the shop that sale me also give me a Case-Mate for free. My first impression about this case is look very promissed for protect this device because it made from Hard-rubber. the only negative point for this case is installing!! since is made from hard-rubber, it's really hard to install and remove it.
At first, I really don't feel like to install it because I don't want to make scratch on my LEO. However, when I thought about broken front glass. it's better to install it. I have using Case-Mate from the fist day until now and all I can said it's seem to protect my device as promise (I have droped my LEO once, from the car's seat to the floor which it's not too high).
For all reader, you may feel that this case is too good to be true which is YES!.... In addition, I also have a bad point of this case too! As I mention before. This Case-Mate is made from Hard-rubber. When I remove and reinstall it often (yes! you need to remove this case in order to remove the back cover when need to reset or remove battary), this case can give scratch on the hard-edge of your device. As you can see it on my photos. Also once you intalled this case. it's give you a little density to the phone and t will not fit to the standard bag.
It's took me more then 2 weeks to find a bag that fit with my LEO+Case-mate. Finally! I've found that "Golla" bag (as seen in photo) is allow me to fit my device and also it have a nice design's bad too.
In Summarize, even the Case-mate can scratch your device, but in my opinion... it worth that can give me an extra bit of protection. even my LEO's body may have scratch but it can be easy replace at service center with litte cost. On my other devices that I previous used, I often change my phone body once in every 2 -3 years...
So I hope that my little review can give you a clear picture of my case and again! Sorry for my english if everything I wrote does make sence at all.

Awesome review. and awesome pictures. thank you.
do you think putting electrical tape could of prevented those scratches or will it eat right through the tape as well?
and what color was that casemate? because their black comes very close to their gray.. do you have the original box that says what it was? thanks again.

lemonspeakers said:
Awesome review. and awesome pictures. thank you.
do you think putting electrical tape could of prevented those scratches or will it eat right through the tape as well?
and what color was that casemate? because their black comes very close to their gray.. do you have the original box that says what it was? thanks again.
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Thank you for your comment!
My Case-mate is black colour as it said on the box, So it same colour as LEO. Sorry that I don't have picture of the case-mate box since I throw it always.. Also about electrical tape, it's a good idea too but I don't think you can't fit the case-mate once you use the tape.. because it really almost 100% fit wit LEO.

Nice review mate. I got one of these as well - a few months ago - and it has saved the (fragile I reckon) corners of my phone a few times. As long as you are careful when you remove it it's a cool case.
Cheers

nice review. im actually using in iphone leather case , i had to make a we mod so that it would shut, but it does the job and it goes on my belt. i found it so

open-air tomorrow.. need a protection for my hd2, and now just saw this, and i like that golla bag, maybe i go get one today, looks perfect for concerts (it just needs to be protectet in my pocket, i dont record vids on concerts T.T xD)

...... my review
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=642714

NightFire123 said:
...... my review
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=642714
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thank for sharing your review, it's a very nice review you have.