I don't often use the camera in my Tilt, that is to say I never use it on purpose. If I need a camera on the spot, I'll use it. It's better than nothing sometimes.
I hadn't used it in a while and this weekend I needed to grab a photo of something and I noticed that the window on the battery cover was very strange looking, almost a fractal pattern of scratches or etches on it. Very light, but making it very foggy. Unfortunately I didn't notice until later, and my shots were horrible. After I noticed the fogginess, I took a few test shots with and without the cover, and without the cover the shots looked as 'good' as they ever do.
So I got out my Novus plastic polish that I use to polish up light scratches out of gadgets (similar to Applesauce and other products) and polished the window for a few minutes and all of the weird foggy layer went away. It took a few times, so it wasn't simply dirty, etc. Now I have a 'ring' of this weird looking fogginess around the edges of the lens but that doesn't affect the camera. So I took a few more test shots and the different between with the battery cover and without are back to negligible.
Just thought I'd mention it for folks who are taking off the battery cover to take photos or thinking about removing the 'lens' in the battery cover. If you have something to polish plastic and your lens looks foggy, give this a try.
I might try to take a picture of it sometime, but not sure I'll be able to really capture it well.
I used brasso brass polish for the same result, works well with a bit of elbow grease. As for the "halo" left around the edges I took a wooden toothpick and covered the end with a bit of paper towel and got rid of the "halo" by polishing in circles against the edge to remove that halo. Now my cover is like new!!!
mk69 said:
I used brasso brass polish for the same result, works well with a bit of elbow grease. As for the "halo" left around the edges I took a wooden toothpick and covered the end with a bit of paper towel and got rid of the "halo" by polishing in circles against the edge to remove that halo. Now my cover is like new!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was yours similar to how I described? Not just foggy, but kind of a weird pattern on the plastic?
khaytsus said:
Was yours similar to how I described? Not just foggy, but kind of a weird pattern on the plastic?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it looks like a "rainbow" on the surface almost like if you were to blow a bubble and catch it and look at it you can see a rainbow of colors in the bubble.
After I polished it it was clear, the before and after effects were enough for me to see.
must have been somthing on our fingers that got on the cover or something like that.
mk69 said:
yes, it looks like a "rainbow" on the surface almost like if you were to blow a bubble and catch it and look at it you can see a rainbow of colors in the bubble.
After I polished it it was clear, the before and after effects were enough for me to see.
must have been somthing on our fingers that got on the cover or something like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm beginning to think you're right, it was a suspicion of mine to start with as the only thing that could have really made a lot of contact with it is my fingers. And sure enough after a week or so, the window is starting to get funny looking again. I touch it all the time by accident, it's just in a perfect spot to get fingers on it.
khaytsus said:
I'm beginning to think you're right, it was a suspicion of mine to start with as the only thing that could have really made a lot of contact with it is my fingers. And sure enough after a week or so, the window is starting to get funny looking again. I touch it all the time by accident, it's just in a perfect spot to get fingers on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just in case people aren't aware, the lens cover is not plastic but really thin coated glass. The coating thats been applied to it clearly isn't heavy duty enough for the type of ordinary use the device gets as mine also developed this problem, even though I'm very careful with how I treat it. I too used brasso to polish the coating off and then cleaned it with my Klearscreen and microfibre cloth and all is now well. I thought the blurry photos I was getting were because I wasn't holding the device still enough but it turned out to be Chromatic Aberation (click the link for an excellent Wikipedia description).
thanks for the advice, now my pics won't look like they've been altered by some cheap gaussian blur effects,
Okay, I'm gonna start with this that I have OCD. Now that you know, Let's get on with business.
This happened to my beloved tablet:
Don't ask why or how, it's a long story and frankly it doesn't matter now, it's done.
my purpose for this thread, was that how can I fix it?
I've tried ceramic paint, it was okay, but it had some serious flaws.
1. Hard to paint it with that. huge PITA with brush, better with a sponge but still really hard.
2. It's very stable, and can't be removed easily, but, it cracks and falls off after a while.
3. only one coat is not enough. it needs at least 3 coats to completely cover it, and with that many coats it is creates a big bulge which is a huge eye sore.
Now, I've came to this conclusion that paint is no good. I thought I going for a complete re-paint (as I really like black for these stuff, I thought that may be a good idea), but when I opened the back cover of the tablet, I changed my mind. Now, I need some suggestions.
Thank you.
Before you post something, remember, I have OCD.
so, replacing the back cover is out of the question.. Going be a tricky one to solve.
thats going to be a pain to fix but i still think paint is the way to go.
Use a high grit sand-paper and sand it down until its smooth.
Use a spay of black primer and put like 2 coats of primer on and allow time to dry between hands.
Then i would use a high gloss black spray paint. 2 to 3 light coats of that.
Then very lightly sand it down(more of roughing it up a bit, not actually sanding it down) with the highest grip sandpaper you can get your hands on.
Apply 2 coats of clearcoat.
finally use a buffing compound and lightly buff the surface, that will give you a mirror black finish.
Those are steps i have taken in the past to paint electronics and they lasted a while under normal use and i was happy with the results. You could probably find a better step by step guide online somewhere.
Oh, and make sure you mask the screen and the side panels with MORE then one layer of masking tape or you will scratch it.
m1l4droid said:
Thanks for the reply. You mean full body paint? But it's very sensitive, slightest mistake and you lost your USB or speakers... and it's very hard to cover the speakers, am I right?
And you mean to scratch the whole paint off? That's really hard, on this device which is quite big, and has markings on the back.
I was thinking maybe covering it with something like leather... I can design a pattern for it or something, no?
Sent from my Nexus S with CyanogenMod 9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, the back cover pops off and you can do anything youwant to it without affecting device functionality. Iknow from my a500. As for the scratching, I meant that you dont want to scratch by accident your screen and the sides of the tablet, where the Ports are located. the paint will be a pain to do but with patience you could pull it off. you need to understand that since you are not a paint pro there will be a trade-off between the quality of the work and the self satisfaction of doing it yourself.
As for covering it, go to an upholstery shop and look at different fabrics. Get a really good glue, an exacto knife and a heatgun and get on it. Keep in mint that once the glue touches the tablet, there is no going back.
Finally got home after being on duty for the last four days and found my skin waiting for me in the mailbox. started smiling like a school kid and went inside to see about putting it on. I must say I think this is the first time I have put anything on that is a dry installation. I was wondering how the install liquid would work on the back of the phone... Yea... Perhaps I should do more research huh?
Any way installation was a breeze. I had to lift it to re align it once as I was off just a touch, but the 3M material lifted clean and re-stuck with no issues. One thing I would note, once you align the camera, IR lens and flash cutouts, check the spacing around them VERY CLOSELY! I didn't know at the time but I was still just a touch off. it is really hard to see that I was off, but once I got the edges heated and pressed down and the corners formed to my device on two corners the material was right at the edge and I could tell that over time with me constantly inserting and removing from my pockets like I always do the material would start getting peeled back and eventually need to be removed. My solution was simply to gently trim with a razor. again this was due to MY install issue and not a problem with the skin.
I was wondering how the rounded corners were going to stick, and with a few seconds of warming with my wife's hair dryer, and a little gentle persuasion with my palm all the corners stuck nice and smoothly.
At first I wasn't going to install the two small front pieces, but so that I could review for the OP I decided I would. Again, just a simple matter of aligning and gently pressing down and all the cutouts lined right up and you would think this was installed by someone who knew what they were doing! I normally don't like screen protectors around the ear piece cutouts because the inner edges of the cutouts tend to be sharp and slightly rough against my ear, but I will leave the pieces on for at least a week to see how the feel.
Overall the quality of the skin and the ease and accuracy of install is way better than I was expecting. I am definitely impressed with the initial fit and finish of it. i will post back after a week of wearing it to post my opinion of how it is holding up.
Ok, here are some pics...
Overall shot of the back...
Here are shots of all the cutouts. Notice how exact they are. Little attention to detail needed for install, but once they are lined up they look GREAT!
Close up of the back cutouts... If you look at the IR lens and the left side of the camera cut out you can see that I am off with my alignment. I didn't notice until I had about 90% of the skin pressed down and just decided to live with my mistake.
And the bottom cutouts...
Top cutouts...
Speaker cutout...
Side view. Notice how close to the screen edge of the phone the skin goes to.
Here is my one boo-boo on install. Notice the slight rough edge on the side piece just below the face piece? that is where I trimmed just a bit off. it isn't noticeable on the phone, and again it was MY fault...
Here are a couple of the corners. they were easy to smooth out and make look good.
Cutouts for the ear piece, front camera, sensor, and what ever that little dot is... Microphone??
All in all, I really like the skin, and since it is cut from the 3M material I can only assume it will last. I just want to see how long the edges stick and look good with my use. I tend to be hard on them...
I also want to thank the company for doing this and going above and way beyond.
Here is a LINK to where you too can purchase these skins. (thanks for the reminder about this Sweets55)
That little dot next to the sensors is the front facing LED light. Its tiny, but very bright.
Flex · D950G · ROGERS
huh. no kidding. I should have known that.... lol
Nice review. I have the White Carbon Fiber on the way. Maybe put the link of the company in the OP. I thought about not putting on the front pieces as well.
http://www.xgearlive.com/products/android/lg/exo-skin-6
well sweets, that would have made sense to put a link there... I couldnt remember about the front LED, you really expect me to remember to include a link to the product?
So everybody know that chamfered edge scratches very easily, for me solution is metal polish, my was for bronze etc , after polish cures it leaves protective layer, and my scratch problem is now reduced to minimum , hope it help someone regards
mortusqz said:
So everybody know that chamfered edge scratches very easily, for me solution is metal polish, my was for bronze etc , after polish cures it leaves protective layer, and my scratch problem is now reduced to minimum , hope it help someone regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the same with mine, but not only with the chamfered edges. Also with the matte strip. Now the whole phone is glossy and looks and feels like a new phone!
Wow! What product are you using galaxynote2? Standard Bronze or Silver polish? My edges are scuffed real bad. Not deep scratches just scuffed. I cant get the stuff in the OP.
airwa1kin7 said:
Wow! What product are you using galaxynote2? Standard Bronze or Silver polish? My edges are scuffed real bad. Not deep scratches just scuffed. I cant get the stuff in the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that any car aluminium polish would do just fine , I am in need of one myself.By the way that glossy finish doesn't look bad at all comparing it to the mat finish, would it look the same on the black variant?
airwa1kin7 said:
Wow! What product are you using galaxynote2? Standard Bronze or Silver polish? My edges are scuffed real bad. Not deep scratches just scuffed. I cant get the stuff in the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used Autosol Aluminum Polish this time. But the last time I've used a generic unbranded polished and did the job flawlessly :good:
Edit: Almost any metal polished does the job. Some are less abrassive than others. As they're designed for car paint which is much more thicker than the phone paint, It could result in damages externally or even internal (be sure to tape microphones, usb and 3.5mm jacks before doing this). So beware before you buy any product. Buy only known brands.
Ashatar said:
I think that any car aluminium polish would do just fine , I am in need of one myself.By the way that glossy finish doesn't look bad at all comparing it to the mat finish, would it look the same on the black variant?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Ashatar yes, It would look the same, just make sure to polish it neatly as the black color will be more noticeable if it has some parts that aren't polished good (specially the zone where the volume rocker and power buttons are placed).
This may void your warranty
galaxynote2 said:
I have used Autosol Aluminum Polish this time. But the last time I've used a generic unbranded polished and did the job flawlessly :good:
Edit: Almost any metal polished does the job. Some are less abrassive than others. As they're designed for car paint which is much more thicker than the phone paint, It could result in damages externally or even internal (be sure to tape microphones, usb and 3.5mm jacks before doing this). So beware before you buy any product. Buy only known brands.
@Ashatar yes, It would look the same, just make sure to polish it neatly as the black color will be more noticeable if it has some parts that aren't polished good (specially the zone where the volume rocker and power buttons are placed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still like my mat finish, but when the time comes I will be polishing it
galaxynote2 said:
As they're designed for car paint which is much more thicker than the phone paint, It could result in damages externally
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The clear coat on cars actually damages easier than bare aluminium, so any car polish is fine for using on the aluminium edging, and the paint. The abrasiveness of car polishes is so fine that there's no chance of you causing any damage to either the paint or the aluminium. And the results you will get are amazing. It'll make it like a new phone.
If you use it on the paint though, it will take away the matt look, and make it glossy instead. It looks really good though, and you've said yourself that it makes the phone grippier, which is always a good thing.
I also mentioned in another thread about Autosol metal polish. It's amazing stuff, and it doesn't cost much, so that's your two different options to get perfect results.
---------- Post added at 07:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 PM ----------
airwa1kin7 said:
I cant get the stuff in the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any decent car polish, or autosol metal polish will give you perfect results mate..
Polish your chamfered edges in the mean time as this shouldn't void your warranty as it will be difficult for a service center to discern especially in low light conditions.
Ashatar said:
I still like my mat finish, but when the time comes I will be polishing it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
arjun90 said:
Polish your chamfered edges in the mean time as this shouldn't void your warranty as it will be difficult for a service center to discern especially in low light conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They be like "Why does this look so amazing? Warranty Void!"
arjun90 said:
Polish your chamfered edges in the mean time as this shouldn't void your warranty as it will be difficult for a service center to discern especially in low light conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do, just need to get my hands on a car polish...the bottom edges are mostly scratched, the rest is ok.
Ashatar said:
Will do, just need to get my hands on a car polish...the bottom edges are mostly scratched, the rest is ok.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont want to make the matte strip "glossy", then you will need to tape it perfectly. If you rub inadvertently it will have stain , and you must polish the entire surface to fix it. Belive me I didn't wanted to polish the matte part, but after I saw some stains, I didn't had other choice (I don't regret btw)
galaxynote2 said:
If you dont want to make the matte strip "glossy", then you will need to tape it perfectly. If you rub inadvertently it will have stain , and you must polish the entire surface to fix it. Belive me I didn't wanted to polish the matte part, but after I saw some stains, I didn't had other choice (I don't regret btw)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it, just don't know which tape to get though...
Ashatar said:
Got it, just don't know which tape to get though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used this one. It's perfect for painting or prevent the leaking of the liquid in sensitive parts of the phone (like the gap between the frame and the screen).
galaxynote2 said:
I have used this one. It's perfect for painting or prevent the leaking of the liquid in sensitive parts of the phone (like the gap between the frame and the screen).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info mate.
thanks for Info
Or second method , besides tape use cotton bud ,this thing to clean ear canal
galaxynote2 said:
Did the same with mine, but not only with the chamfered edges. Also with the matte strip. Now the whole phone is glossy and looks and feels like a new phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's so sad that after few months or weeks you need to do something like that so the phone still looks like new...
At least we have creative people on XDA with creative Minds. :good:
As a couple others users already mentioned, scratches are present on virtually every Note 4 device that is out there. Get a magnifying glass and you are deemed to see a tiny scratch or two. Some don't care, but some do, and I respect them.
A case might make the scratches worse, might not, depending on what case you use.
Standard scotch tape (or Plastic Military Film) works, and you can hide the chamfered edges by using a case. It works well with my Defender Series Case.
The entire time I've had my N4, I've been protecting the edge with kapton tape. Despite always keeping my phone in a case, it's been somewhat of a PITA; I've had to reapply sections of it several times when switching up cases, or just wiping the whole thing down, and naked, it doesn't look quite as good as the polished pics above (or "good" by any definition....)
Polishing the edge is a much better solution! I took a look on Amazon for Autosol Metal Polish and found that they had it for $15, more than I really cared to spend (could potentially get 2 decent cases instead!) Browsing around a bit, I came across BlueMagic 100 Metal Polish Cream - 3.5 oz which seemed like it would do the trick for only $5 http://www.amazon.com/BlueMagic-100...rds=BlueMagic+100+Metal+Polish+Cream+-+3.5+oz I just ordered and it should be arriving Sunday (nice!) via Prime. I'm not sure when I'll get around to applying it to confirm the results, but perhaps someone else is familiar with this brand and can offer an opinion on it for this use. Again, looks good to me and I feel perfectly comfortable applying it to my phone based on the description and reviews, so just wanted to post up the link for anyone who defaults to Amazon for online shopping and is looking for a less expensive product than the Autosol.
TOAST
Note: all pictures are hidden inside spoiler tags. Pictures are not downsized. All pictures and videos were shot on my old Galaxy S6. Videos will be 1080p 60fps (installation) and 4K (end result).
A little bit of a personal background on me first. I am a repair tech for a Houston-based phone/tablet/computer repair shop. I have been doing this for over two years, and I have seen and fixed just about everything imaginable. Phones with cases, skins, and screen protectors, and those without. Tablets with cases, skins, screen protectors, etc. You get the idea. I know exactly what kind of protection every type of material can provide, be it TPU, polycarbonate, silicon, and others.
Let me start off by saying that I have never encountered actual real wood in a protective or decorative scene before. Faux wood, sure. But not real wood (not counting the wooden backs on the Moto X here, since they're part of the actual device). I hadn't even heard of Toast before this first post here almost two weeks back. Let me tell you, the second I found my way to their homepage, I was captivated. I had never thought something like this would even exist. It's brilliant. I spent the next two hours watching every YouTube video I could that showed off these "skins". I use the word skin lightly, here. This is the only skin that I would say provides real protection. But I'll touch on that later.
I received a full set of a style of my choice with the option of a design. I decided on Walnut with no design. I figured most people would choose it this way, and personally I find it the most attractive.
First, the packaging. The skin is shipped via USPS first class, inside a small and nigh-indestructible cardboard box. Not cheap UPS-style cardboard, but that solid white American ****. You can see for yourself below. Everything was snuggled neatly inside paper gift wrapping. I had a shipping confirmation on 11/12, and it got to my apartment on 11/16.
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I'm waiting on the videos I took of the skin installation to upload and process on YouTube, and I'll embed that below as soon as I have it ready. I need to cut out a lot of wasted time and replace the audio, but I'll have it ready in a few days I hope. By the end of the weekend, worse case.
*edit, 11/21/2015*
Here's the installation video:
But, words will have to do for now. I started by installing the back. It was very easy to simply line up the camera, fingerprint scanner, LED flash, and laser focus. The corners, sides, and camera folds all folded up/down nicely. Next I installed the right side with the buttons. That was also as simple as the back, just line up the buttons and you're good to go. After that I did the top, then left, then bottom. Things were going smoothly until the bottom. The part that goes over/around the 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone, at least for my set, seem to be shifted 1 mm too far to the left (towards the USB C port). I'm not sure if the laser cutter became misaligned or what happened there. It's not a fatal flaw, the microphone hole and 3.5mm jack are still totally open and accessible, they're just shifted a little bit. They didn't square up perfectly with the back and the right piece. You'll see what I mean with the pictures below. Finally, we have the buttons and camera cover. You'll be able to see how those are packed once the video is ready. Again with these, there may have been an issue with the laser cutter. The longest sides of the power and volume buttons, along with the sim tray, were cut properly, whereas the short sides were only cut with the laser through what appeared to be most of the wood. You'll see this in the video as well, but I had to take a razor blade to these parts to separate them from the packaging. The buttons all turned out fine, but if you don't have anything tiny and sharp around, you would likely break the buttons. The camera cutout did not suffer from this problem.
Here now are some HD pictures of the finished installation. I was sent a front cover along with the back and sides, but I decided to keep my tempered glass screen protector installed on top and not the wooden skin. It is definitely possible to install the skin on top of the tempered glass, but that would raise it a far amount off of the phone. To me, it wouldn't look as good like that. If I had a thin film protector, I would go ahead and install the skin on that, but I would not install it on tempered glass. Just my two cents there.
Now, for my thoughts after the installation. The feel of real wood is much better than polycarbonate. You can immediately feel the change in grip. The texture of everything looks and feel perfect, just like real stained walnut. Hell, it even smells like it. I'm going to get weird looks from people seeing me smelling my phone now. Points off for that (kidding). The way the back bevels itself into the sides make it a little more comfortable, too. The buttons are pretty tactile, just about as much as without the skin. My volume buttons seem to be a little mushier, but that's probably because I cut it out of the packaging myself. I will say though that since even 12 hours later, the buttons feel a little better, so we'll see how that plays out. The power button is just as clicky as ever. I really like how the skin raises above the tip of the camera lens, I have always hated (hate is such a strong word) putting my phone back-down on rough surfaces because of it. The opening for the USB C port is plenty big, and should fit even the largest chargers (I'm looking at you, cheap cables).
And finally, my thoughts on protection. By no means is this an Otterbox replacement. Time will tell if this can substitute thing cases like the Spigen Thin Fit (which I was previously using). Without a doubt though, this skin can provide minimal basic protection. Since it is actually real wood, I can see it providing some impact protection on the corners. The wood should cave in first before it starts to put too much stress on the housing. Now, don't expect it to save you if you drop it onto tile or concrete from 3 or 5 feet up. But I can see it providing decent if not good protection from a small drop, like slipping out of your pocket when sitting down.
Finished results video:
Do you like wood? Damn right you like wood. Do you not want a case, even though you've used one for years despite the fact you have never dropped or broken a phone? Buy. Buy buy buy. It's going on all of my future devices.
I just got mine as well and will add my $.02 to your excellent review.
I also had a slight misalignment for one of the wrap pieces but mine occurred between the top and the left side. It's about a 1 mm gap so not really that noticeable, but will be curious to see if it snags pockets over time and pulls away. It also took a very bright light (and for a 48 year old reading glasses) to make sure the top microphone holes aligned. My only other installation issue was even with using a blade to help cut out the small cover punchouts, the sim card cover broke above the removal hole since it is such a thin piece there. If they could fully cut around those pieces with their lasers so they came off with the adhesive backing that would make it much easier and less likely to break. I've also noticed a slight lifting on a couple of the backs corner wrap pieces, once again it will be worth seeing if they become a snag hazard and potentially get pulled away. But overall installation was easier then most screen protectors I've put on.
Post install, a couple of items to note. I came off an Adopted case so this skin is definitely much slicker. It does feel when I'm retrieving it from my car mount or grabbing it quickly off my desk that it might slip out of my hand and given the minimum protection hitting the pavement may not survive (thank goodness for Google insurance The other issue I've had post-install is getting my headphones to seat well in the 3.5 mm jack. As noted in other threads, you need them in pretty tight to get connections and the first time I put mine in (I use the Bose QuietComforts) they didn't seat right and I had to really push on them to get them to connect. We'll see if things shift a little over time and it gets easier.
That all said, I'm very happy with the overall look and would definitely buy one again.
dpwhitty11 said:
TOAST
Note: all pictures are hidden inside spoiler tags. Pictures are not downsized. All pictures and videos were shot on my old Galaxy S6. Videos will be 1080p 60fps (installation) and 4K (end result).
A little bit of a personal background on me first. I am a repair tech for a Houston-based phone/tablet/computer repair shop. I have been doing this for over two years, and I have seen and fixed just about everything imaginable. Phones with cases, skins, and screen protectors, and those without. Tablets with cases, skins, screen protectors, etc. You get the idea. I know exactly what kind of protection every type of material can provide, be it TPU, polycarbonate, silicon, and others.
Let me start off by saying that I have never encountered actual real wood in a protective or decorative scene before. Faux wood, sure. But not real wood (not counting the wooden backs on the Moto X here, since they're part of the actual device). I hadn't even heard of Toast before this first post here almost two weeks back. Let me tell you, the second I found my way to their homepage, I was captivated. I had never thought something like this would even exist. It's brilliant. I spent the next two hours watching every YouTube video I could that showed off these "skins". I use the word skin lightly, here. This is the only skin that I would say provides real protection. But I'll touch on that later.
I received a full set of a style of my choice with the option of a design. I decided on Walnut with no design. I figured most people would choose it this way, and personally I find it the most attractive.
First, the packaging. The skin is shipped via USPS first class, inside a small and nigh-indestructible cardboard box. Not cheap UPS-style cardboard, but that solid white American ****. You can see for yourself below. Everything was snuggled neatly inside paper gift wrapping. I had a shipping confirmation on 11/12, and it got to my apartment on 11/16.
I'm waiting on the videos I took of the skin installation to upload and process on YouTube, and I'll embed that below as soon as I have it ready. I need to cut out a lot of wasted time and replace the audio, but I'll have it ready in a few days I hope. By the end of the weekend, worse case.
But, words will have to do for now. I started by installing the back. It was very easy to simply line up the camera, fingerprint scanner, LED flash, and laser focus. The corners, sides, and camera folds all folded up/down nicely. Next I installed the right side with the buttons. That was also as simple as the back, just line up the buttons and you're good to go. After that I did the top, then left, then bottom. Things were going smoothly until the bottom. The part that goes over/around the 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone, at least for my set, seem to be shifted 1 mm too far to the left (towards the USB C port). I'm not sure if the laser cutter became misaligned or what happened there. It's not a fatal flaw, the microphone hole and 3.5mm jack are still totally open and accessible, they're just shifted a little bit. They didn't square up perfectly with the back and the right piece. You'll see what I mean with the pictures below. Finally, we have the buttons and camera cover. You'll be able to see how those are packed once the video is ready. Again with these, there may have been an issue with the laser cutter. The longest sides of the power and volume buttons, along with the sim tray, were cut properly, whereas the short sides were only cut with the laser through what appeared to be most of the wood. You'll see this in the video as well, but I had to take a razor blade to these parts to separate them from the packaging. The buttons all turned out fine, but if you don't have anything tiny and sharp around, you would likely break the buttons. The camera cutout did not suffer from this problem.
Here now are some HD pictures of the finished installation. I was sent a front cover along with the back and sides, but I decided to keep my tempered glass screen protector installed on top and not the wooden skin. It is definitely possible to install the skin on top of the tempered glass, but that would raise it a far amount off of the phone. To me, it wouldn't look as good like that. If I had a thin film protector, I would go ahead and install the skin on that, but I would not install it on tempered glass. Just my two cents there.
Now, for my thoughts after the installation. The feel of real wood is much better than polycarbonate. You can immediately feel the change in grip. The texture of everything looks and feel perfect, just like real stained walnut. Hell, it even smells like it. I'm going to get weird looks from people seeing me smelling my phone now. Points off for that (kidding). The way the back bevels itself into the sides make it a little more comfortable, too. The buttons are pretty tactile, just about as much as without the skin. My volume buttons seem to be a little mushier, but that's probably because I cut it out of the packaging myself. I will say though that since even 12 hours later, the buttons feel a little better, so we'll see how that plays out. The power button is just as clicky as ever. I really like how the skin raises above the tip of the camera lens, I have always hated (hate is such a strong word) putting my phone back-down on rough surfaces because of it. The opening for the USB C port is plenty big, and should fit even the largest chargers (I'm looking at you, cheap cables).
And finally, my thoughts on protection. By no means is this an Otterbox replacement. Time will tell if this can substitute thing cases like the Spigen Thin Fit (which I was previously using). Without a doubt though, this skin can provide minimal basic protection. Since it is actually real wood, I can see it providing some impact protection on the corners. The wood should cave in first before it starts to put too much stress on the housing. Now, don't expect it to save you if you drop it onto tile or concrete from 3 or 5 feet up. But I can see it providing decent if not good protection from a small drop, like slipping out of your pocket when sitting down.
Do you like wood? Damn right you like wood. Do you not want a case, even though you've used one for years despite the fact you have never dropped or broken a phone? Buy. Buy buy buy. It's going on all of my future devices.
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Thank you so much for the in-depth review, and sorry to hear of the alignment issue! Looking at the picture #2 of the Toasted 5X, it appears that that side wrap is a little low. I suggest (and thought it was mentioned in the instructions) using the scorelines of the actual back cover to align the sides. The ports may not be perfectly centered within the cutouts, but they should all be fully functional. We have a "butterfingers" replacement policy on everything, so if you'd like another set of wraps, just shoot an email to [email protected] referencing your order.
In regards to the sim/button covers, it's best to peel the paper off and then push them through the little slots. Those guys can be tricky to get the laser to cut all the way through, but our QA should have caught them in the production process. We'll gladly send replacements any time!
Thanks again, and enjoy your Toasted 5X!
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rgerrans said:
I just got mine as well and will add my $.02 to your excellent review.
I also had a slight misalignment for one of the wrap pieces but mine occurred between the top and the left side. It's about a 1 mm gap so not really that noticeable, but will be curious to see if it snags pockets over time and pulls away. It also took a very bright light (and for a 48 year old reading glasses) to make sure the top microphone holes aligned. My only other installation issue was even with using a blade to help cut out the small cover punchouts, the sim card cover broke above the removal hole since it is such a thin piece there. If they could fully cut around those pieces with their lasers so they came off with the adhesive backing that would make it much easier and less likely to break. I've also noticed a slight lifting on a couple of the backs corner wrap pieces, once again it will be worth seeing if they become a snag hazard and potentially get pulled away. But overall installation was easier then most screen protectors I've put on.
Post install, a couple of items to note. I came off an Adopted case so this skin is definitely much slicker. It does feel when I'm retrieving it from my car mount or grabbing it quickly off my desk that it might slip out of my hand and given the minimum protection hitting the pavement may not survive (thank goodness for Google insurance The other issue I've had post-install is getting my headphones to seat well in the 3.5 mm jack. As noted in other threads, you need them in pretty tight to get connections and the first time I put mine in (I use the Bose QuietComforts) they didn't seat right and I had to really push on them to get them to connect. We'll see if things shift a little over time and it gets easier.
That all said, I'm very happy with the overall look and would definitely buy one again.
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Thank you so much for the feedback! As I'd told OP, in his second picture of the Toast 5X, it appears that his side wrap is a little low. I suggest (and thought it was mentioned in the instructions) using the scorelines of the actual back cover to align the sides. The ports may not be perfectly centered within the cutouts, but they should all be fully functional.
With the sim/button covers, it's best to peel the paper off and then push them through the little slots. Those guys can be tricky to get the laser to cut all the way through, but our QA should have caught them in the production process. We'll gladly send replacements any time. We even have a "butterfingers" replacement policy on the actual covers; just send a picture of the misaligned cover and we send a replacement. Please shoot an email to [email protected] referencing your order and we'll send another set of buttons, as well as wraps, if necessary.
Thanks again, and enjoy your Toasted 5X!
Looks really nice but it's a shame that they don't have mahogany, dark reddish wood alá art deco..
So I had one of these toast covers a few years ago on my Nexus 5. Sure they're ok for the feel and all but the adhesive they use picks up a lot of lint from pockets, general dust etc.
If not for that, I may consider them again.
LAURCORE said:
Thank you so much for the feedback! As I'd told OP, in his second picture of the Toast 5X, it appears that his side wrap is a little low. I suggest (and thought it was mentioned in the instructions) using the scorelines of the actual back cover to align the sides. The ports may not be perfectly centered within the cutouts, but they should all be fully functional.
With the sim/button covers, it's best to peel the paper off and then push them through the little slots. Those guys can be tricky to get the laser to cut all the way through, but our QA should have caught them in the production process. We'll gladly send replacements any time. We even have a "butterfingers" replacement policy on the actual covers; just send a picture of the misaligned cover and we send a replacement. Please shoot an email to [email protected] referencing your order and we'll send another set of buttons, as well as wraps, if necessary.
Thanks again, and enjoy your Toasted 5X!
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On the alignment, it's tight on the power button side, just 1 mm short of full wrap and/or the sim card side is just short of coming up high enough. Thanks for the offer on the replacement but it's such a small piece that snapped off that it's barely noticeable and not worth the effort to replace.
For me the bigger issue is turning out to be the size of the 3.5mm audio cutout. I can't get my Bose to get a secure connection. Unfortunately, it looks like the only way to get the opening big enough would be to actually take it into the first bend cut since the Bose plug cover is 6mm in diameter vs. what looks like a 5mm cutout now. Not sure if that's even an option? May have to see if I can cut back part of the plug cover on the Bose.
Other then that, still liking the cover. No issues with snagging or extra lint pickup from the small side gap or any of the corner cuts.
I was thinking of picking one up for my 6p and debating one for my 5x. I kinda like leaving my 5x naked.
If I were to get it I would for sure get it engraved with the nexus logo text across the back. You can request this as they can't put it as an option on the site due to trademark. You select the custom text engravings option ($5 more) and then in the custom text field write: "Nexus etching" or "X etching" (for the X in nexus only) as the custom text.
My videos have processed and are live on YouTube. I've embedded them into the first post.
littleguevara said:
So I had one of these toast covers a few years ago on my Nexus 5. Sure they're ok for the feel and all but the adhesive they use picks up a lot of lint from pockets, general dust etc.
If not for that, I may consider them again.
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There's typically a little bit of exposed adhesive around the edges, but this should never be an issue after a few days of use. We always tell people to just leave it be and it will go away on it's own. :good:
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ElecTriX666 said:
Looks really nice but it's a shame that they don't have mahogany, dark reddish wood alá art deco..
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Sorry for the disappointment, but we plan on adding a cherry wood this Spring!
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graffixnyc said:
I was thinking of picking one up for my 6p and debating one for my 5x. I kinda like leaving my 5x naked.
If I were to get it I would for sure get it engraved with the nexus logo text across the back. You can request this as they can't put it as an option on the site due to trademark. You select the custom text engravings option ($5 more) and then in the custom text field write: "Nexus etching" or "X etching" (for the X in nexus only) as the custom text.
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Thanks for sharing the Nexus etching info, and you won't regret Toasting them!
---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 PM ----------
dpwhitty11 said:
My videos have processed and are live on YouTube. I've embedded them into the first post.
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Excellent video - thanks again! Those button covers were definitely underscored by the laser... don't know how that passed through QA. Please let me know if you'd like a replacement set of wraps & buttons!
So, a little update for me here.
I have, to my own disappointment, dropped my phone. It slid out of my pocket when I was getting into my Jeep and fell onto a parking lot. The skin performed just as I thought! The wood caved/dented in where the impacts were. There is no actual damage to my phone. A++.
Another note, we have finally had some colder days here in Houston. Because the skin is real wood, the ambient air temperature and relative humidity factor into the grippiness of the skin. It is definitely much more slippery in colder & drier weather, about as slick as an iPhone 6 (at least that's what I would compare it to).
dpwhitty11 said:
So, a little update for me here.
I have, to my own disappointment, dropped my phone. It slid out of my pocket when I was getting into my Jeep and fell onto a parking lot. The skin performed just as I thought! The wood caved/dented in where the impacts were. There is no actual damage to my phone. A++.
Another note, we have finally had some colder days here in Houston. Because the skin is real wood, the ambient air temperature and relative humidity factor into the grippiness of the skin. It is definitely much more slippery in colder & drier weather, about as slick as an iPhone 6 (at least that's what I would compare it to).
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Thanks for the update. In general, would you say the wooden toast skin is more or less slippery than the naked device?
These look amazing. I'm thinking about getting the darkest (teak?) one for my 5X. Just had a quick question. I use a Mountek magnetic phone holder in my car. What I currently do is put the thinner of the two metallic "badges" (that hold the phone to the magnetic mount) under my phone's case. Do you think it would it work to do the same under the Toast skin? I don't have calipers, but the piece of metal is quite thin.
Great review thanks!
bblzd said:
Thanks for the update. In general, would you say the wooden toast skin is more or less slippery than the naked device?
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Can you use the skin without the button covers? I like cases/skins that keep the buttons free or is the thickness too much and the buttons are lower than the wood?
bblzd said:
Thanks for the update. In general, would you say the wooden toast skin is more or less slippery than the naked device?
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Here in Houston, I'd say (generally) more grippy. But like I said, once it got cold and less humid, it easily became more slippery.
bkjones88 said:
These look amazing. I'm thinking about getting the darkest (teak?) one for my 5X. Just had a quick question. I use a Mountek magnetic phone holder in my car. What I currently do is put the thinner of the two metallic "badges" (that hold the phone to the magnetic mount) under my phone's case. Do you think it would it work to do the same under the Toast skin? I don't have calipers, but the piece of metal is quite thin.
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I use a similar kind of magnetic mount. I have mine just stuck right on the back. If the magnet is strong enough it should be okay.
radeon962 said:
Can you use the skin without the button covers? I like cases/skins that keep the buttons free or is the thickness too much and the buttons are lower than the wood?
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You could, but they're basically flush with the skin. It would be pretty hard to press.
Does the camera lens ring affect light going into it? That's my only concern, as this phone is marketed with more light capturing capabilities.
ShishkaBerry said:
Does the camera lens ring affect light going into it? That's my only concern, as this phone is marketed with more light capturing capabilities.
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Not a bit.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
dpwhitty11 said:
Not a bit.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
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Sweet! I've been working on a custom case design since yesterday, the first time I've ever used photoshop lol. The fingerprint sensor looks like a full moon to me, so I'm thinking forest treeline with orion constellation above it on ebony. Currently waiting for the ice blue 5X, just ordered it Friday.
dpwhitty11 said:
You could, but they're basically flush with the skin. It would be pretty hard to press.
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I ended up just trimming the opening for the buttons with an Exacto knife so that I could leave the buttons bare.
Just a quick update to my experience with my Toast cover. Unfortunately, after 7 months I had to take it off. The cover on the power button had slowly chipped off (kept snagging on my pocket) down to the point it was difficult to press and a couple of the corner curve pieces had snapped off. Fortunately using a hair dryer helped it come off with no leftover adhesive.