Database Users

DIY scratch protection

I noticed the first scratch on the corner of my Jam today. Since electronics always take the most abuse on the corners, I devised a quick and easy way to protect the corners of my Jam while I'm in Europe for the next 3 weeks. Take electrical tape or clear satin tape and place a piece over the corners. Works best if you cut a slit in the tape so you can fold it around the corner without wrinkles. In all probability the device will land on its corners if dropped or take the most abuse on the corners if scraped against something. Thus, problem solved; I did it to my digital camera too. It doesn't look half bad on either device, and if you can't stand the black corners, just use clear tape. Any tape works as long as the adhesive won't stick to the advice after you remove the tape.

damn that's dead sexy :lol:

Damn! Why didn't I think of that????
Why don't you run the tape all the way round? I think it will look somewhat better!... :wink:

I'm sorry, but that has to be the stupidest looking thing I've seen in a long time. Why don't you just get a silicon case for about $10 off of EBAY? I mean, if you REALLY need electrical tape and that's all you can find...great. But just get a cheap latex or silicon case such as the ones from JavoEdge.com.
Do you put electrical tape on the front and rear bumper of your car too?

GHETTOOOOOOO

Just curious, what specifically do you expect to happen in Europe over the next three weeks that would necessitate such a precaution when you don't prepare against similar risks at home :wink: ?

hehehehe... Good point JPreston!!! :lol:

I don't get it! People seem to get very upset when they discover they scratched the ball mirror on the back of their JAM. Now we have a JAM covered in electrical tape. Should we all carry our devices in the original box? Or better yet never use them to keep them in pristine condition? I am not saying I didn't get a little ticked off when I found a nice big scratch in the corner after a small drop but come on! I think we're all getting a bit too precious. Anyway, to each their own.
Of far more concern is the gunk that gets on the screen from my face every time I hold the JAM to my head! I mean yuck! What the heck is up with that? Is there that much oil on my face??? I just washed it! I gave my phone to my friend the other day to make a call and his face left some sort of super oil on the screen that wouldn't scrub off for several minutes! Its gross and embarassing! I think we need some sort of face oil protector!

Does anybody have any idea for cheap screen protection? I think the prices are outrageous for the slices of film sold as protectors.

I use the cheapest of them all...
They are made for Palm devices and are sold on flea markets or "One Dollar" stores... :lol:
They cost $1 dollar the 12 Pack!
Just cut them to size and go!

scratch? i've droped my mini 2 times and got 3 dent edges. damn sad. The stupid casing they gave me is getting pretty loose. I put it on my belt.... so everytime i knock it seems that pouch just flings out. The screw and the plastic seems to have worn off.
I think i'm gonna go to a skinning shop to hide the dent edges.

try to buy a leather case for Nokia 7610. it fits.
You dont use that in the box lether case. It will easily fall of that tiny hook.
Wit the lether case of Nokia, it is mounted sideway into the belt by a leather that is sewed.
mine has never fallen. Even if it falls off the belt when you undress, the leather case is so stiff that it will not dent the mini.

@Emil...
Can you post a picture of your JAM in the Nokia case for us to see?

vmirage said:
scratch? i've droped my mini 2 times and got 3 dent edges. damn sad. The stupid casing they gave me is getting pretty loose. I put it on my belt.... so everytime i knock it seems that pouch just flings out. The screw and the plastic seems to have worn off.
I think i'm gonna go to a skinning shop to hide the dent edges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dropped mine on a concrete floor from about 1.5 meters and got a really ugly dent on one of the corners of the battery cover. The cover wouldn't even go back on!
Easy fixed though. Just took a plastic pen and pushed the dent out from the inside. It still shows a slight dent and small scratches if you look closely, but what the heck...

Anyone know of any metallic paint (model, SKU, UPC code) that I could use on my JAM? I rarely put on my seatbelt, and the one time that I decide to play safe, I scratch up the corner of my JAM. I'd never go "ghetto" as one person put it in the thread, but I'm sure there's something out there to match it up. Any ideas?

Get the jam off of your belt and put it in a proper car holder and you will not only protect it from getting scratches from your seatbelt, you will also get it charged while driving. And also one less reason not to wear a seatbelt that could save your life in the case of an accident.

Incidentally, can anyone recommend a decent car kit for the JAM? I want one I can mount with some amount of ease somewhere on the console... I don't like those ones that stick on the windscreen.

elyl said:
Incidentally, can anyone recommend a decent car kit for the JAM? I want one I can mount with some amount of ease somewhere on the console... I don't like those ones that stick on the windscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
www.brodit.com

Just don't order it from Expansys as all their product descriptions for Brodit are messed up. Does anyone know where else to buy Brodit because I still need the mounting clip for my car (Expansys kept sending the wrong one). Can you buy from them (Brodit) directly?
Thanks.

Solved my stylus problem

Okay, I posted before about droping my stylus in a store while trying out a case. Well it almost happened again, except this time it stuck to the magnetic clasp on the case. I got to thinking that this is too big a risk. I took some invisible Scotch tape and rolled about 1 1/4" (~32mm) around the stylus at the handle end and voila, the perfect amount of friction. Now this is how I like it of course and if you have the problem then you may want to add more or less tape to get the feel you want.
Just my experience, dhatw.

can you post the picture? I lost my stylus today

There really is not much to see but here is a pic anyways. The tape is not that obvious, the flash made it stand out more.

Tribute to XDA Developers

Well it's me again.
This time, i had some spare time and thought of making something i wanted to do for some time ago. It's my first time doing this (although i'm familiar with the process since i use it for PCB making) but i thought i should give it a try. And in great recognition of what the XDA community enabled us - the users - to do with our phones, i wanted to brand my phone's battery cover with the XDA logo next to the andoid logo, the thing (os) that xda developers made possible to us. Ah and in the xda spirit, i thought it would be kind of cool to handcraft the design of that battery cover.
Here's the story of today's afternoon for me
...and possibly a guide for you, daring folks around there who just happen to have a spare scratched and ugly looking battery cover like i did
So.. i had this hd2 battery cover, from a dead HD2 that i have (poor fellow died during testing of the cpu bga problems and my tries to find a fix for them). The battery cover was in really bad shape, scratched, the finish was torn out.. looked like... crap.
I saw a topic around here about how to make your battery cover to a chrome-like finish by using some sandpaper and stuff like that. I think the idea is good, but the result is well... too shiny for my taste...and i want a "custom made one". I also wanted to have the xda and android logos onto the battery cover but i could not afford some laser etching on it, i can't even find one shop to do this here were i live in Romania. So here's how i did it.
1. I opted for a brushed metal design. A clear look design is just to shiny for my taste and... well, i guess it scratches more easily. So, using sandpaper, i've begun clearing away the original paint on the battery cover. When i was done with that, i begun sanding in only one direction and in straight line, in order to have a more symmetrical brushed metal look.
After some time sanding and after changing the sandpaper roughness to more finer ones, here's how it looked. Note that this is not the final design.
2. Next i needed some sort of logo - the stuff i'll be putting on the battery cover. I googled around, and got the xda text and android logo. I've edited them to a black&white design (you'll see later why..) and it looked like this.
3. I mirrored the logo, using irfan view and selecting horizontal flip from the image dropdown menu. You'll also see why. Then I've printed the logo onto a glossy a4 paper sheet, like the ones used for foto printing. I've used a laser printer, this is really necessary, inkjet ones won't work for what i'm about to do. You'll also see why
4. I draw some guiding lines for helping me center the image once i place the battery cover over it. Here's how i did.
5. I now placed the battery cover over the sheet of paper, using the lines i already drawn as a template to help me center it. As the image is mirrored, as you may guess, i will be transferring the logo from the paper to the metal surface and once there, it will look normal (not mirrored). More on that later. I also secured the paper to the battery cover with some electrical tape. Don't get upset, you'll also see why.
6. Well, i did use some fair amount of electrical tape to secure that piece of paper to the metallic surface. It needs to be as stretched as possible, not able to move around.
7. I used a smoothing iron (i don't know the exact word in english, aah, that thing you use to smooth out clothes) to heat up and press the piece of paper to the metallic surface. I pressed the iron and move it around the logo zone for about 15 minutes, at maximum temperature. Because the battery cover is not exactly flat, i was careful to follow the contour in order to leave no metal part unheated.
8. I then placed the heated battery cover with the paper on it, under a jet of cold water. I left it under the water for 15 minutes. This is important. The water must be cold, never use hot water.
9. I carefully begun peeling of the paper from the metallic part.
10. I peeled of almost all the paper, one thin layer still remained over the logo area. Don't rush things, place it under a water jet for yet another 5 minutes.
11. Ahh, there it is, the thing starts to look like something, ain't it
12. In the photo above, you can see that the toner from the paper was transferred to the metallic piece. That's why you need a laser printer, because of this property of it's toner. And also that's why you needed to heat it up with the iron. In fact, you're simulating what the laser printer does every time when you print something. Well, you done it on a curved metal piece.
In this last picture you'll also see that the logo isn't exactly 100% black, there are some grey or white spots on it. That's residual paper left over it. If you carefully rub it with your finger or a fine brush, you can actually remove it if you insist. You'll get a pure black logo (or other color if you wish and if you have a color laser printer available). At this stage you could also stop, if you like a black/color logo. You could then apply some lacquer, the spray-able variety to preserve the surface from scratches. I chose another design so i will go on with some other steps from here.
13. If you want something different, you may skip rubbing the logo to remove all the paper. If the logo looks as in the above picture, you're good to go for the next step. Remove the metallic piece from the jet of water and let it dry. If while it's wet you see that the black toner has gone away from some points, you'll need to use a little bit of paint to cover them out (you'll also see why). So if you see points where the toner is gone (after you removed the paper at the 9-10 steps) try to memorize where the areas affected are, then let the piece of metal to dry out for some half hour. After it's dry, you'll probably see that it turned kind of gray or even white-ish. It's no problem, it's normal, but it will be harder now to see those affected areas i was talking about before. That's why you memorized them. Now use a paint marker (one that has real paint in it, not the ones used to write on cd's or similar to those) or if you can't get one, you may also use some fingernail polish. Make some small dots over the affected areas. After you complete this, let the paint/fingernail polish to dry out. Be careful not to spoil the logo YOU WILL HAVE TO START OVER FROM STEP 1 IF YOU GET IT WRONG HERE... and that sucks )
14. After the paint has dried out, place the metallic piece under a water jet again. Cold water. Remove it after 1 minute, recheck for afected areas, if you still find them, you'll have to let the thing dry out again, and cover those parts with paint dots, again.
Here's mine.
and here's once i've done with the painting
After you're done, leave the whole thing to dry out for about 1 hour.
15. Get yourself some ferric chloride. You can get it from electronic components store, radioshack etc. It's used in electronics by hobbyists who want to etch their own pcb's. You'll need this stuff also. About 300ml will do.. The stuff is toxic, you don't want to touch it or spill it over clothes or other things, it will leave out some nasty spots that you can't remove. Use some gloves while handling this stuff. Now pour the ferric chloride into a plastic recipient big enough to fit the battery cover into.
Well i ignored the safety tip, but i'm being careful, i know the stuff, have been working with it for some good years.
16. Now you want to drop the battery cover...into the black stuff . Drop it with the logo side up. NOT DOWN. I really mean it. UP. Carefully swing the plastic recipient, just enough to move the liquid around. Try not to expose the metallic part, you must keep it submerged all the time. If you want to check the progress, be quick, lean the plastic recipient to one side just to expose the metallic piece, look at it, but then quickly lean the recipient back and keep the metallic piece submerged. Prolonged exposure to air in this stage can ruin your progress.
Here's how mine looks after 5 minutes into the ferric chloride. You'll be wanting to keep the metallic plate there for about 15-20 minutes. If you let it longer it will turn to a more darker color. If you let it just for 10 minutes you'll get a light gray. However you can't get an uniform black (or something as dark as an original battery cover) because if you let it this much you risk that the ferric chloride attacks the toner and paint surface, making holes in it or braking it apart.
Like i've said, here's the thing after 5 minutes. I want to let it for another 10-15 minutes.
17.
Once you left it for enough time, lean back the plastic recipient and look at the metallic piece once more. Take note that the color you see now will get a bit lighter once the whole process is finished. If you're satisfied, prepare a big water boll and quickly remove the metallic piece from the ferric chloride and drop it in the water. Be as quick as possible, while being careful not to drop the ferric chloride. Use gloves when doing this. Once the metallic piece is in the water, steer up the water with your hand.
Here's how mine looks now.
Your plate could be lighter or darker at this stage, depending on how much you left it in the ferric chloride. Don't worry if the color is not uniform. Instead, while the plate is still under water, get yourself a kitchen sponge, the one with one abrasive side and with the metallic plate still under water start rubbing it on the direction of the original brushed metal design you made in the start. Rub in only one direction, with the sponge and the plate always under water and continue to do so until the color becomes more uniform. Then use some isopropyl alcohol (also from radioshack - or the place you got the ferric chloride from.. they should also have this) and remove the metallic board from under the water. Now while the thing is still wet (don't let it dry!!!), get another sponge (clean dry one) and pour some isopropyl alcohol on the abrasive part and start rubbing the metallic piece once more, on the same and only direction (not back and forth). Rub in a parallel direction with the original scratches that makes your "brushed" design. The isopropyl alcohol should begin to disolve the toner and the paint. It should also help you to remove residual oxides left since you placed the metallic piece into the ferric chloride.
Here's my progress.
toner is starting to break down
18. aaaand... in the end, if you did it right, you should have something like this :
19. once the surface is of uniform color, wash the whole thing under a jet of hot water with some soap to remove any residues left by the chemical processes.
20. You're done! Now you have your custom made-hand crafted-geeky-logo. The logo itself won't peel off and the surrounding stuff is actually chemically embedded into the metal by a process similar to industrial aluminum anodizing (the same process used to cure aluminum used in unibody designs). Although it is scratch resistant to some degree, you may want to use some spray lacquer to protect your work.
I haven't got any lacquer yet but i'll use some if i can get some quality stuff. Here are some more photos with the thing so far.
(please excuse the photo quality, my camera and it's flash produces a weird looking effect, it seems that the metallic thing is kind of made from small dots, not brushed metal.. damned thing.. guess i'll be needing a new one)
...and a small video (with the same crappy camera)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtuRn02lPgY
Well, all in all, i like the thing. It's my first try at this, although i've done dozens of toner transfers to copper pcb's. I cannot be perfect at first try, probably neither you guys but is a good DIY afternoon fun.
I would also like to thank the xda community for giving me such a good times with my hd2's along with my other htc phones in the past. XDA has become such a successful community because of it's dedicated developers and users. I'm proud to wear the xda letters next to my phone.
PS: i promise i will also add a website link in the next version, if i get a new and more powerful iron, i was afraid this one won't be hot enough to heat the thing properly and transfer smaller text or details

amazing stuff dude!!!
i had lots of fun reading it and seeing the progress along the way and you've explained all the steps really well...the result speaks for itself!
++respect!

you my friend always surprise me, first with thermal solution and than THIS awesome " discovery ", thanks again .

Just like the user above said!
+respect Sir Facdemol!
awweeeeeeeeeeeeesome!!!!!

awesome....but tedious !

Its pretty cool but alot of work
Sent from the land were pigs fly

fantastic. really nicely done!

Love the mod.

thanks for the feedback
the mod took me about 3-4 hours to make. More complex designs are possible, ore similar designs on a mirror like finish. If the HD2 had an aluminum case.. hahah, that would have been fun...

I would vote for you for King of the HD2 hardware!

Very well done. I very well may have to try this. My battery cover is starting to look very bad.

OMG this is amazing! I may need to buy a metal backing for my phone just so I can do this.

this really looks sooo amazing. gread work!

That's bloody impressive! Might have to do this to my HD2

Damn that's awesome
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

Holy crabcakes. That's rad
. . NS4G . . MIUI . .

Is it for sale? (jk)
Really really nice, I like it!
+1 on everything was said!

Amazing. Well done!

Awesome!
Very very cool!

WOW! "applause"

I did a carbon-look back cover :D

So i did this with 3m 1080 scotchprint carbon series and with nail scissors cutting it from 10x20cm took a while, about 2 hours to get it look nice i also cut a piece for the home button which took awhile too to get it fit perfectly!
to make this thread not so useless, recommend or post pictures of your customized gs2
anyway, what do you think ?

Looks excellent mate, would love a tutorial wouldn't mind that look myself.

Very nice...
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

Nice, I have a Samsung mesh case on mine which would cover that off

Does it say 0.8 MP?

That looks really nice, shame your not selling them

Its 0.8 because is on mirror ( 0.8 | 8.0 )

cost of this project was about 10-20 bucks. really, its not that difficult to make, just needs patience and good light. that is the first one i've ever made!
@itehappy most definitely hope its not a 0.8mp unit anyway nice to see people here from i8910 community!

Thanks for the prompt... Just ordered a sheet of 1200 x 300 for under $AUS 10 .
What did you cut it with? Just a normal sharp knife/razor blade? Any tips on cutting the corners, makig the holes, putting the sides and corners on etc???
I know it doesn't require a huge 20 page instruction book but if you could provide some tips or suggestions I think that would be great... Unless you plan on selling them then I suggest not to give the tips
Edit: Just realised you only did the back cover and not the edges... Maybe I will report back when I finally get my sheet and start cutting.

Nice! Tutorial would be appreciated!

When I read the thread title I imagined it would look tacky, but it actually looks really good

Nice. If you want to make some to sell I will buy.

I have a Silver one and you buy them online... o.o

looks great dude, what's the texture of the tape like though? The phone is slippy enough with the stock cover, with smooth tape it must be worse!

i want this too! Looks very nice!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

+1 for you making them and selling them. (I don't have the patience)

viva.fidel said:
looks great dude, what's the texture of the tape like though? The phone is slippy enough with the stock cover, with smooth tape it must be worse!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually textured, the "weave" is bumpy, raised a few cm, provides a bit of a rough, oil free surface without being uncomfortable. And you can do a fun DJ scratching imitation if you run your fingernail over it quickly.
I've been using it (they call it 3M Dynoc in North America) on the back of my SGS1 for over a year now, and on the back of my Tab 7" for nearly as long.
I couldn't be arsed to cut my own, so I bought mine pre-cut from PhantomSkinz (Skinomi also sells a very similar "skin"). The phone kit costs ~$25 before coupon, and it covers the entire back, the sides, and even comes with a wet-apply screen protector.
It's dead easy to apply, though the edges take a bit of practice...but if you screw up, just lift it up and try again.
It's durable as hell, the SGS1 has one minor, nearly invisible scratch in it after a year of abuse in my pocket, in my motorcycle jacket or tank bag, dirty tables, etc. They look far more "high tech" than the funky designs Samsung used on the back of those devices, especially the Tab.
Occasionally, I'd catch the bottom edge of the tape on the SGS with my fingernail when removing the battery cover and it'll lift a bit. Apply some heat and it goes right back into shape.
Little trick with the rough feel on the edges...heat it (desk lamp or hair dryer both work well) and run your fingernail over the edge...this thins it, making it much smoother.
I just placed an order with Skinomi for both a SGS2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 "carbon" kit. On the SGS2, I'm thinking about leaving the battery cover naked since it's cheap to replace and already textured, and just using the carbon on the chin and sides. The chin on mine is starting to show some friction wear along the edge closest to the battery cover, and the sides get slippery as a bar of soap.

pbrown77 said:
Thanks for the prompt... Just ordered a sheet of 1200 x 300 for under $AUS 10 .
What did you cut it with? Just a normal sharp knife/razor blade? Any tips on cutting the corners, makig the holes, putting the sides and corners on etc???
I know it doesn't require a huge 20 page instruction book but if you could provide some tips or suggestions I think that would be great... Unless you plan on selling them then I suggest not to give the tips
Edit: Just realised you only did the back cover and not the edges... Maybe I will report back when I finally get my sheet and start cutting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait wait whaaat? 1200x300 for $10 dollars??!? is it 3M 1080 series or 3M Di-noc?
i cut all this with little scissors, about the length of a palm, maybe just a bit more. corners wont need any special stuff, just a hair dryer to get it a little more flexible. ONE THING, when i bought the carbon, I tought that i'll just bend anything which comes over the edge, to backside of the plate. well its not that easy. gs2 cover is so precisely cut that it doesnt allow any kind of extra stuff under the cover, so you just need to cut it little bit at a time, then try it, and cut a bit more and try, untill it fits properly. this will take most of the installation time. just be careful not to cut too much! same goes for the camera hole. very carefully and take the time it needs, even if there is 0.1mm too much, the camera wont fit properly. not difficult, but takes time. a hour atleast.
meh, im a nice guy, i'll give all the tips needed
@viva.fidel
the surface of the new 3M 1080 series has more rubbery feel than the Di-noc (what skinomi uses) and there is seriously good grip! Doesn't feel sticky, but still offers awesome grip believe me! maybe because of the carbon texture i dont know but has good grip for sure!
sorry if theres typos, wrote whole message with GS2 in PORTRAIT mode

Hi, If you were to sell any, I would buy one, It look really nice

ignore now!

[Guide] Turn your G4's glossy black edge into a matte black edge! No paint and easy!

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any unwanted damage you may cause to your device, this is to be a sharing of an idea which happened to work for me and a sort of framework for how you may also accomplish this.
So basically, I despise how terribly fingerprints show on my G4's edge, that's a nit pick. My main complaint is that because it's a glossy plastic, it gets scratched very easily and shows that just as bad, not to mention it's obviously plastic masking as metal and not doing a good job, or more simply put, makes this flagship look cheap. I had a vision of a G4 with a flat black edge, I thought I'd grab a nail file from my bathroom -the giant popsicle stick ones- and use it to gently wear away at the shiny coating. My nail file had two sides, a fine side and a coarser side, I used the fine side exclusively with higher pressure strokes in the beginning to remove the shiny coating, using gentler and broader strokes to smooth, got one of those crazy nail file tools that have multiple sides and are made of two sides with softer layers of material in between, the two sides are also split into different functions, ones usually a buffer and the other is a super fine nail file, fine than the former one.....then I used this same tool to buff and clean up the edges and make sure all is smooth and nice, worked excellently, can also probably use super fine sandpaper and a cloth.
My back plate was off and battery removed, I used the popsicle nail file one side at a time starting with rougher strokes to get rid of the shiny coating -which will distinctly flake away as white little crumbs of plastic- it will take a few passes to completely strip the coating off the edge, you'll notice it lingers like a sort of residue as it contrasts quite distinctly against the revealed plastic, once the coating is nonexistent begin to smooth and finish the side until it is uniform in color and looks completely smooth, you want to keep the direction of the strokes consistent as it will impact the uniformity and smoothness, I went horizontally around the phone if it were laying flat and that gave me great results, give the corners some extra attention but its the same idea, and thanks to the battery back being off I was able to make the finish meet the edge of the battery door by angling the file accordingly, repeat these steps loosely and gently with either the multi-tool-file or extra fine grit sandpaper, use your judgment, buff and finish to your heart's desire. During the entire process be sure to regularly clean off the sandpaper, file and sides of the phone on a cloth of some sort between passes as you will notice the sandpaper glide and will be clogged with material, I was wearing some bumming pants so I just rubbed it off on those, worked wonderfully. Obviously you are removing incredibly small layers of material so guys be careful, you could probably remove quite a bit before anything happens but that can also effec look of things quite badly so try to make it even. I plugged important holes with bits of tissue, only the headphone jack really, the usb port is shallow enough where some air remove any particles.
The file helps especially because of its rigidity and shape, allowing me to have a lot of flexibility when dealing with such a small surface area.
You are putting files and sandpaper near your screen, be careful. I had a very good screen protecter but even then I didn't touch my screen once, you can get at a pretty steep angle like 45 degrees away from being parallel with the screen and still be fine, maybe less, just be wary, it's easy to slip and scratch, I don't think a soft brush would do much but a rough scratch could leave marks.
My IR blaster still works and it received the same treatment, I made no effort to avoid it.
I will post pictures soon, I wish I could use my phone to take a picture of my phone. I'll use someones phone tomorrow to do so.
Feel free to ask me anything if you have a question or I left some vital info out.
:laugh:

okay, waiting for the pics and a more detailed steps before jumping in.

superbonto said:
okay, waiting for the pics and a more detailed steps before jumping in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, I don't know how to post the pics cus as a new user I can't use links...

Also, you might consider adding a step of using progressively higher grits of sandpaper, and even going all the way to a rubbing compound to get super fine control over how much matte effect you desire. The matte of 300 grit sandpaper is different than the matte of say 450 grit etc.

KingFatty said:
Also, you might consider adding a step of using progressively higher grits of sandpaper, and even going all the way to a rubbing compound to get super fine control over how much matte effect you desire. The matte of 300 grit sandpaper is different than the matte of say 450 grit etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes absolutely, this is worth considering. I merely outlined how I did it to show that its not really necessary to get specific, I didn't go out of my way to get any of the tools I used and it came out satisfactory. I'll probably add it in once I get pics up and if people feel it's not as accessible as I thought.

mp2195 said:
So, I don't know how to post the pics cus as a new user I can't use links...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
give us the link like www. linkhere.com/blah.img

mp2195 said:
So, I don't know how to post the pics cus as a new user I can't use links...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use https://imgur.com/ to upload the picture and then post the direct link here, I'd love to see some pictures of this.

mp2195 said:
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any unwanted damage you may cause to your device, this is to be a sharing of an idea which happened to work for me and a sort of framework for how you may also accomplish this.
So basically, I despise how terribly fingerprints show on my G4's edge, that's a nit pick. My main complaint is that because it's a glossy plastic, it gets scratched very easily and shows that just as bad, not to mention it's obviously plastic masking as metal and not doing a good job, or more simply put, makes this flagship look cheap. I had a vision of a G4 with a flat black edge, I thought I'd grab a nail file from my bathroom -the giant popsicle stick ones- and use it to gently wear away at the shiny coating. My nail file had two sides, a fine side and a coarser side, I used the fine side exclusively with higher pressure strokes in the beginning to remove the shiny coating, using gentler and broader strokes to smooth, got one of those crazy nail file tools that have multiple sides and are made of two sides with softer layers of material in between, the two sides are also split into different functions, ones usually a buffer and the other is a super fine nail file, fine than the former one.....then I used this same tool to buff and clean up the edges and make sure all is smooth and nice, worked excellently, can also probably use super fine sandpaper and a cloth.
My back plate was off and battery removed, I used the popsicle nail file one side at a time starting with rougher strokes to get rid of the shiny coating -which will distinctly flake away as white little crumbs of plastic- it will take a few passes to completely strip the coating off the edge, you'll notice it lingers like a sort of residue as it contrasts quite distinctly against the revealed plastic, once the coating is nonexistent begin to smooth and finish the side until it is uniform in color and looks completely smooth, you want to keep the direction of the strokes consistent as it will impact the uniformity and smoothness, I went horizontally around the phone if it were laying flat and that gave me great results, give the corners some extra attention but its the same idea, and thanks to the battery back being off I was able to make the finish meet the edge of the battery door by angling the file accordingly, repeat these steps loosely and gently with either the multi-tool-file or extra fine grit sandpaper, use your judgment, buff and finish to your heart's desire. During the entire process be sure to regularly clean off the sandpaper, file and sides of the phone on a cloth of some sort between passes as you will notice the sandpaper glide and will be clogged with material, I was wearing some bumming pants so I just rubbed it off on those, worked wonderfully. Obviously you are removing incredibly small layers of material so guys be careful, you could probably remove quite a bit before anything happens but that can also effec look of things quite badly so try to make it even. I plugged important holes with bits of tissue, only the headphone jack really, the usb port is shallow enough where some air remove any particles.
The file helps especially because of its rigidity and shape, allowing me to have a lot of flexibility when dealing with such a small surface area.
You are putting files and sandpaper near your screen, be careful. I had a very good screen protecter but even then I didn't touch my screen once, you can get at a pretty steep angle like 45 degrees away from being parallel with the screen and still be fine, maybe less, just be wary, it's easy to slip and scratch, I don't think a soft brush would do much but a rough scratch could leave marks.
My IR blaster still works and it received the same treatment, I made no effort to avoid it.
I will post pictures soon, I wish I could use my phone to take a picture of my phone. I'll use someones phone tomorrow to do so.
Feel free to ask me anything if you have a question or I left some vital info out.
:laugh:
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I just came across this. I will be doing this tonight whn i get home from work. My otter box has scuffed mine pretty good. I like the nail file idea. Its work. Lol make u respect it a little more from the hard work.

make pressure on him so he shares the pics. :/

can the leathe from back cover be removed, am should be getting mine and it might be with leather.. i dont like it. just wondering if someone has taken the leather off the cover.. what it looks like. just plain molded plastic?

raptorddd said:
can the leathe from back cover be removed, am should be getting mine and it might be with leather.. i dont like it. just wondering if someone has taken the leather off the cover.. what it looks like. just plain molded plastic?
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Dont do it! It will look horrendous! You better get a plastic back cover from eBay, I got one so I could use a Spigen Neo Hybid without damaging the leather back cover.

pakitos said:
Dont do it! It will look horrendous! You better get a plastic back cover from eBay, I got one so I could use a Spigen Neo Hybid without damaging the leather back cover.
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i think leather looks GAY . no offense guys its just my opinion.. so it would be just a molded plastic right.? ill try see some stuff on amazon. what is the variant you have? is it from mexico..

raptorddd said:
i think leather looks GAY . no offense guys its just my opinion.. so it would be just a molded plastic right.? ill try see some stuff on amazon. what is the variant you have? is it from mexico..
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Not molded plastic but lots of glue and sew points. Mine is from Telcel H815P

pakitos said:
Not molded plastic but lots of glue and sew points. Mine is from Telcel H815P
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Unless glue cant be removed then itll look ugly... as foe the sewing points , thats a plu you get ventilation there.
this weather up north isnt very friendly... too bad you cant unlock bootloader.. whers the fun ?

Matte G4 Edge https://imgur.com/a/Bzspg

solventh said:
make pressure on him so he shares the pics. :/
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Matte G4 Edge https://imgur.com/a/Bzspg

Thanks. Gold idea. Will try this when my broken test g4 arrives.
Can you pls seit the first post with the pics?

mp2195 said:
Matte G4 Edge https://imgur.com/a/Bzspg
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thanks so much, man :]

Bullnados said:
Thanks. Gold idea. Will try this when my broken test g4 arrives.
Can you pls seit the first post with the pics?
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For some stupid reason it won't let me edit my original post, weird. I'll try on my PC when I get a chance.

Perhaps to old?