Database Develop

Alternative Back Cover

The polished cover mod didn't really appeal to me or the device as far as finger prints went and the original looks well, too matte. So I tried something a little different. It's basically the standard appearance with the matte coating sanded off as well as some of the grey removed. The result is a satin (not glossy) light grey which complements the rubber backing very nicely (think Mac OS X v10.4's Brushed metal window appearance).

I'm curious - what exactly is it made of? I would be concerned that it might rust with the finish being off of it.

JWhipple said:
I'm curious - what exactly is it made of? I would be concerned that it might rust with the finish being off of it.
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I think that as long as he keeps his phone away from water then rust would never even be a consideration.
Do you get your phone wet often?

Hey guys,
dont know what kind of backcover you have but mine is defintly made of stainless steel or some other kind of alloy. Its no alluminium and its no "normal" steel cause its not going to rust
so dont worry

John: I think he just means from general moisture contact. i.e a slightly moist benchtop, or general moisture in the air. Especially if your palm sweats as it contains small traces of sodium which without a doubt speed up corrosion.
Everyone else: Its definitely steel or a mild alloy of steel as RayDog said. The coating has been scratching off for some time especially at the edges. If it was going to rust it would have started after 1 year of having the device. It cannot be aluminium as it is far too difficult to scratch and Al. is a soft metal. I was etching at the back with a blunt stanley knife and only the coating scratched off.

Had mine rubbed down for about 4 months now and I have no signs of oxidation.

I think a rusted battery cover would look sweet and fit in with my rusting vw golf hood.

fastwanabe said:
I think a rusted battery cover would look sweet and fit in with my rusting vw golf hood.
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hahaha we really need to ask xda for a like button

I like this! How did you do it?
The enamel on my cover is starting to come off. I thought it was just metal, but that was until it started peeling. I also prefer the brushed look instead of the chrome.
Is your cover basically just with all the enamel sanded off or something? What about the HTC logo etc?

Sanding Down The Bezel?

Does anyone have experience with dealing with small chips in plastic? I have some small but noticeable chips on my Bezel. You can't really see them but you can feel the tiny bump. I was thinking of sanding it down... Would this damage it further? Is there some special sandpaper I should use?

Anderdroid said:
Does anyone have experience with dealing with small chips in plastic? I have some small but noticeable chips on my Bezel. You can't really see them but you can feel the tiny bump. I was thinking of sanding it down... Would this damage it further? Is there some special sandpaper I should use?
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I don't think using sandpaper is a good idea. I could be wrong but it would definitely remove the smoothness from your bezel and make it even more rough, and might even cause more damage. I know that in order to get rid of scratches on CDs one method is to use toothpaste (it has very, very fine grit) to 'sand' them out and its worked pretty well for me but you can definitely its been done. If you're worried I'd get a good case man, that'd protect your bezel and hide whatever damage has already been done.

Carefully use a little bit of acetone or MEK on a qtip.
CAREFULLY!

Chance of you ruining the phone are pretty high if you take sandpaper or acetone to it. Just deal with it, IMO.
accidentally scuff your screen or drip any acetone on it, and it will look like crap

I never use phone cases... makes phones too fat lol.

I would strongly advise you not to sandpaper your bezel. It'll just make things worse. Put a case on it and forget about it

In case you are planning to work on it, remove the benzel first. I know it can be done cause I partially removed mine when some paper got stuck in between the screen. It is clipped there.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Anderdroid said:
I never use phone cases... makes phones too fat lol.
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Use a pouch for it for when your not using it.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

Despite what people have said, you can use sandpaper, it just has to be a very high grit. If you want to remove scratches in plastic, I suggest you buy a pentair acrylic scratch removal kit. I have one and use it to remove all kinds of scratches in practically any type of shiny plastic, and I've actually used it to remove scratches on my SNS bezel. I would be very careful using any abrasive around the bezel because I would assume the screen coating is very easy to scratch.

Does that kit actually work? My vibrant tpu case let grit scatch the back and bezel and it drove me nuts. The nxs does easily but I ghost skinned my latest one and not a scrach yet. The full body kit looks great, and covers all but a tiny part on the front of the bezel. Due to the vinyl on there, the bezel is almost recessed so it doesn't seem to get the exposure to scratches that naked did too. If that pentair kit actually works id love to pick one up just in case and have someone do a detailed guide on how to do it right.
Sent from my HTC Dream using XDA App

Just thought I'd say... It's more of an actual chip in the bezel than 'scratches'.
Guess I'll just wait for global direct parts to start selling some bezels. Easy to replace...

Polished chamfered edge

Nice to see Samsung going with a premium metal finish and it does look stunning when new but 2 weeks down the line and it is covered in tiny scratches etc...
I look after my phones, tbh I'm a little bit OCD but even still the edge is looking tatty.
I then got a TPU case to try and protect it... 2 days later, it is scratched to hell! Just the case alone touching the chamfered edge is enough to scuff it...
what did Samsung make it out of? Cheese? A soft cheese at that!
I love my note 4 but...

I have the same experience. Maybe if it gets too bad I'll try the method used in this video.
http://youtu.be/EZuYzQrIHjA
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

MadfishGTB said:
Nice to see Samsung going with a premium metal finish and it does look stunning when new but 2 weeks down the line and it is covered in tiny scratches etc...
I look after my phones, tbh I'm a little bit OCD but even still the edge is looking tatty.
I then got a TPU case to try and protect it... 2 days later, it is scratched to hell! Just the case alone touching the chamfered edge is enough to scuff it...
what did Samsung make it out of? Cheese? A soft cheese at that!
I love my note 4 but...
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Is this the white or black version you are talking about?

I've got the Ringke Slim on mine and it covers the edges. No scratches on mine.

It's the black one I have...
the coloured part is immaculate still but the polished section looks a mess
My note 2 seemed to fair much better in terms of durability.
Also, the camera lens cover is very exposed on these, I hope it can be replaced somehow in the future (although no scratches yet)

Same here with the white one. Got scratches on the chamfered edge from being in a pants pocket for gods sake. Anybody know to go about buffing them out?

Sorry to hear that you are having those problems. I am not trying to burst your bubble but the "metal" finish around the Note 4 is NOT metal. I have have read a post on this forum of another person saying the same thing and so I went down to my nearest BB to check it out. I am now convinced that he was right.
Here is the test I carried out to prove the point. I found a Galaxy Alpha and examined the similar finish and that is truly metal. With the AC in Best Buy I was able to put the Alpha to my cheek and you can feel the coldness of the metal. I then walked over to the Samsung store in BB and did the same with ALL the Note 4s on display and they were all just at reasonable temp. Also on the Alpha it will be noticed that the headphone jack and the charging port is covered in plastic or rubber inside of the metal cutout. Take a look at he N4 slot for the pen or the headphone jack and you will see that the white plastic is just covered by the " metal" finish.
That my friend is why you are having scuff marks already on your new device. It is JUST a "METAL" finish on the outside. Now if there is a metal frame it is on the inside, not on the outside like the Alpha. Can't wait to see a teardown from folks like IFIXIT to confirm. I could be wrong but until proven wrong I will stand by my cheek test.

No, it is metal (aluminium I believe ) but it is very thin. When you look at the headphone jack port like you say there is plastic but there is still a thin metal part of the frame...
Samsung wouldn't have needed to add the spacers in the frame (small white blocks top and bottom) if it was metal effect. These are there for the antennas to work properly in the metal.
Aluminium is a very soft metal, perhaps if they chose a more sturdy, harder metal like titanium for example then we wouldn't be having this problem but then we would have paid more for the already expensive phone.
For me I'll just end up keeping the TPU case on, it feels better in the hand and against the ear (metal frame has quite sharp edges) and offers some protection without adding much bulk to the device. Maybe once the phone has been used a while I'll look into customising the frame with either plastidip or hydroprint.

Yeah it would be made of aluminium. People wanting that "premium" look and feel. Just like the iPhone and any other phone made of an alloy, looks awesome out of the box but after a while scratches will appear. Plastic resists much much better, that's just the way it is.
Also it would have been hilarious watching you going around touching the bezels with your face

remove the back cover and look at the frame closely: you can see that the whole frame is definitely NOT metal. it is plastic with metal coating or layer and some metal inlays.

I highly doubt that the frame only has a metal coating. If you check the YouTube video of the guy bending the ip6p, note 3 and 4 you will see the note 3 bend and bounce back because it's plastic. Alloy on the other hand bends and stays bent. Looking at you note 4.
Of course I could be wrong.

It does seem to be a thin metal covering over a plastic frame...
gives the look of a premium device but the protection and flexibility of a plastic device

The frame is made of metals collected from the moon and the back cover leather is made from the skin of puppies.
Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Whether its a thin metal strip on the top or solid metal, the nature of being aluminium is that it will scratch easily. It is the same with the HTC One that also has a chamfered edge. I have read many reports of it getting scratched too easily. If you look closely at the edge you will see that at the very least it is a metal strip. Thickness has nothing to do with scratch resistance. So we can argue whether it's solid or not, but the relevance to the initial poster's issue that it scratches easily is zero!
Everyone complained about Samsung's cheap looking plastic bezel. Now we are complaining about the upmarket stylish metal one! I guess a finish like the edges of an iPhone 6 are the only option that will satisfy everyone's needs. Incidentally I do remember reports of people with the bumper case on an iphone 4...took it off, to find that the little imperfection nodules of plastic on the inside of the bumper were enough to rub and wear the metal surround of the phone!

And if they had anodized it, it would have prevented scratches (like Nokia n8),but would have caused the frame to crack more easily, unless they used more surface, or thicker pieces of aluminum, which in turn would affect other things. So pointless.
Sent from my SM-N910W8

Even if it was made of adamantium people would still complain.

eddhard said:
Even if it was made of adamantium people would still complain.
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Couldn't agree more!
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

you do know that aluminium and metal phones get scratched up this easy i dont know why ya'll are surprised

hello00 said:
you do know that aluminium and metal phones get scratched up this easy i dont know why ya'll are surprised
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Even in manufacturing these metals are impossible to keep pristine. I had an iPhone 4 with a small nick in the metal band out of the box. I had an HTC One with a couple of little nicks and microscratches in the band out of the box. And my note 4 also has a few imperfections. But then it's best not to study these phones under a spotlight because you will just find things you don't want to see!

I think/hope the issue lies with TPU cases simply because they, as all cases trap dirt under them but because they are TPU they have more movement.... the dirt gets ground against the polished edges. Hard cases like the Ringke do not have this movement...
Would be helpful to others if people who are experiencing this issue state which cases they have used.
Thanks.

Yes, the black paint on the bezel will scratch :(

Just in case you were hoping that the body of this watch was a solid piece of black metal, it's not. If you bang the edge of bezel it will expose shiny silver metal. I know this because my desk at work is glass and I banged the bezel against it's edge when standing up. Nothing I couldn't improve with a little black magic marker. Sigh, oh well, nothing stays brand new forever.
P.S., Apparently no metal is black through and through. That being said, whatever they have used to "paint" this black is not very good and comes off easily.

mitchellvii said:
Just in case you were hoping that the body of this watch was a solid piece of black metal, it's not.
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There is no such thing as "black metal" on this planet, yet. That material does not exist and has not been invented yet. Everything that is made out of metal is PAINTED (with different methodologies, but still, painted). No matter how you will create that paint (melted powder, dissolved material, laser) it will only be a thin layer at the surface of the metal. If you will scratch the coloured layer, the METAL under it will be revealed .
So, the hardness of a color on a metal surface it's given by the paint type and the method of applying it.

Yea.. I went to a shop and the promoter showed me a pretty banged up device.. with liver linings all over.
Does anyone know if the silver version is every gonna come out?

Huh gotta say I find this somewhat discouraging. Barely brushed the metal on the bezel of this watch against another hard surface and the paint came right off. Whatever method they used on this didn't work very well. The Zenwatch is suddenly looking more appealing.

Looked around and this seems to be the best repair item I've seen for fixing scratches on black anodized aluminum.
http://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-Super-Black-Touch/dp/B00BGH0Y0W/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Of course not everyone loves it but most who know what they were doing seem to. Seems to work better than the old Sharpie solution because that dries very flat and you can see it.

This is why I bought a whole case plus screen protector for it.
You might want to consider doing the same.

wtf.now? said:
This is why I bought a whole case plus screen protector for it.
You might want to consider doing the same.
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Yes but none of those kits protect the edge of the bezel which is the most likely place to get scratched.

mitchellvii said:
Yes but none of those kits protect the edge of the bezel which is the most likely place to get scratched.
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Nothing will.
Until they make full case covers and that for sure will look like ****.

wtf.now? said:
Nothing will.
Until they make full case covers and that for sure will look like ****.
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Actually a little adhesive black rubber ring to go right on that bezel edge would to the trick. Sort of a bump guard. That's really the only place you need to protect.

may be that the bezel can be easily changed

I thought that for the price it has to be DLC coated. The ZenWatch should be better, or at least cheaper to replace.

Hi
Do you know if it is possible to change the bezel ?

I banged my watch bezel against a painted wooden door frame today. It took paint off the door frame. But I wiped off the bezel and it was unphased by the event. You'd have to bang the bezel pretty good against something pretty hard to mess it up.

I rubbed mine on a metal surface, at first I saw a nice streak, rubbed it and my watch was fine.

Beware the edge of glass tables. As glass is very hard it will scratch the paint off your bezel with ease. I have a glass top on my office desk. Since I wear the watch on my left wrist, I've put a piece of black rubber electrical tape above where I tend to rest my hand on my leg. Now if I bang the watch on the glass table edge it is protected.

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
I banged my watch bezel against a painted wooden door frame today. It took paint off the door frame. But I wiped off the bezel and it was unphased by the event. You'd have to bang the bezel pretty good against something pretty hard to mess it up.
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A dumbel during fitness

i was wondering if it could be replaced...
daigoro76 said:
may be that the bezel can be easily changed
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Can it be replaced? I want to throw a diamond bezel on it.

klyles said:
Can it be replaced? I want to throw a diamond bezel on it.
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It can't be replaced. But there's a thread in one of these "R" forums. Where someone shows in detail, how to file down the top part and looks nice.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
It can't be replaced. But there's a thread in one of these "R" forums. Where someone shows in detail, how to file down the top part and looks nice.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
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What's so hard about taking a file to it? I just took my wife's nail file and filed the entire top ring off. Some dude, filed the entire thing. too.

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
I banged my watch bezel against a painted wooden door frame today. It took paint off the door frame. But I wiped off the bezel and it was unphased by the event. You'd have to bang the bezel pretty good against something pretty hard to mess it up.
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I too have had some pretty big brushes with objects and the bezel has faired well in every case.

Protect the base of the Gemini

Any ideas on a nonslip thin cover for the bottom of the Gemini or very small felt or rubber feet?

I expect to receive my unit soon.
My idea was to use silicone to create my own "feet".
The idea is to cut feet shaped holes into thin foam, the kind you would use for scrapbooking, stick the foam onto the bottom of the gemini, fill the cut out holes with a thin layer of silicone (should be neutral curing silicone, not the type that causes a vinegar smell when curing), then remove the foam molds and let it cure.
Since I haven't physically held a Gemini PDA in my hands yet I still don't know where the rear feet underneath the LCD need to be so that the device doesn't tilt backwards. Possibly the rubber feet will need to be on the metal hinge itself, which would make things a bit more complicated.
Silicone shouldn't stick that well, so I expect to loose a foot now and then and I hope that it will be easily removable without damaging the devices case.

drwatson said:
I expect to receive my unit soon.
My idea was to use silicone to create my own "feet".
...snip...
Silicone shouldn't stick that well, so I expect to loose a foot now and then and I hope that it will be easily removable without damaging the devices case.
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Or just get wide enough grip tape to cover the entire bottom plate. That's what I plan to do with mine since cases that allow you to keep using it are pretty much impossible with this sort of device.

Oh, how nasty I can't imagine this will ever come off again

If you want to make feet, you guys should really check out Sugru! It's amazing stuff. It makes for a great present too. They should just about give me a commission, haha
https://sugru.com

I had a leftover woven carbon fiber sticky sheet that I cut to size and put on the bottom metal plate. Protects and looks good.