I'm sure all of us here love the look of our iPhones - 3G or otherwise. The glossy chrome bezel look spectacular out of the box. To maintain the same elegant look, most of us here have been over-zealously protecting it. But alas, these scratches are close to impossible to avoid. My chrome bezel had its fair share of scratches too. Honestly, it wasn't too bad but that evening i was bored. So i decided to give this simple mod a go.

Of course this mod is nothing new. We've seen the same mod many years ago on the first iPod. But no one seems to talk about it here and i thought, hey why not share this with the community? This simple guide was done based on the actual process i went through. And as always, do it at your own risk.

So, here are what you guys need:
- Scotch-Brite™ Power Sponge (any brand would just do actually)
- Electrical tape (or anything similar)
- An iPhone, of course!

1. First up, use the electrical tape to cover the area (eg: back cover and screen) around the chrome bezel while leaving the chrome bezel itself exposed (obviously!). This to make sure other parts of the phone will not be damaged in the process.


2. When everything is all well and taped up, use the rough side of the sponge and start brushing. Don't be afraid to apply some pressure when you're doing so. I don't have my own image for this part, so i took this from some where:

TIPS: Make sure you have a steady hand when you brush. Give it a long, consistent and straight brush. The result will be marvelous.

Repeat the process for all sides. Be more careful when it comes to the edges. I realized that the edges are the hardest part to give the bezel a consistent brush.

3. And.....we're done! Simple? You bet it is.

Here are some of my own Before & After photos:

Before


After


Sorry for the lack of photos. It is quite difficult to capture the details with my ancient digicam. But you get the idea. There are several good photos available here. There is also a video tutorial available here should you need more detailed explanations.

I actually prefer the look of the chrome bezel now. Sure it isn't glossy anymore, but it is still as elegant in my opinion. Finger prints on the bezel aren't as visible as before and scratches can hardly be seen now. The verdict? I am absolutely happy with it.

Hope you guys like this simple guide. Adios.

This post has been edited by zc_squash: Oct 23 2008, 02:41 PM

Cool~~

Awesome sharing mate. Love the chrome work.

Cheers

very nice

nice job

waowao...nais nais..

Thanks all

Initially i was thinking to get one of those chrome scratch removers. But couldn't get myself to fork out so much money for a small bottle of solution which is only somewhat effective. I guess this cheap mod was just right for me

This post has been edited by zc_squash: Oct 23 2008, 03:59 PM

Anyone dare? Is the bezel actually plated or stainless steel? im afraid its gonna be thin and peeled off (If plated)

Awesome .. now i want to try this too ..
Thanks for sharing ..

Just curious, can we brush it several times after that?
i mean will this leave any side effects?

This post has been edited by Fighteden: Oct 23 2008, 04:23 PM

@Fighteden

Yeah you can do it over a several times as i did it to polish up the look a lil.

@Jaslyn

I can't answer you for sure but I don't notice the bezel got thinner. Perhaps it did, but it is so little that it is negligible.

If the bezel can get thinner .. then i dont think doing it often is recomended ..

I tatau man...so far don't notice it got thinner. Like i say, it's negligible. But of course, overdoing anything would mean destruction.

Thats cool ~ Maybe next time would able try it

thanks for sharing mate

Cool.... Well, that's unexpected. I never knew a simple sponge could do that, thought it'd require some machining... Great share, mate.

Nice tips over there! Thanks!

alright the next TT, zc_squash is coming along with his sponges!

@Nokia

LOL, and i'll be busy 'stroking' everyone's iPhone!

@Samanoske Akechi

Yeah mate, it does give professional-looking brushed metal. What i am really happy with this is no more fingerprints!!!

that sounds abit off

oh well will giv it a try xD . cool man looks awesome

I pretty comfirm the bezel is stainless steel.Since crxr help me to wash and clean the bezel with water also nothing happen.

haha yeah that's the whole point!

Back to the topic, with a lil creativity, you guys can have something like this:



But since our bezel is so tiny, it is close to impossible to have any 'pattern' on them. Anyway for those that wants to try with their iPods, do post up your photos here next time

nice mod.. will try out if got chance.. hehe

how much is the magic sponge? should not be expensive right?

Not more than RM 5 i believe. And it's not magic sponge. 'Magic sponge' a.k.a melamine foam is something like this:



That not what you need. The one you need is often found at your kitchen to cuci pinggan mangkuk.

This post has been edited by zc_squash: Oct 26 2008, 12:47 AM

Nice one there but i prefer the chrome look. Fingerprints can wipe. Thats just me la.

@Frozzbyte

Yeah but i'm a lil sick of its tendency to attract fingerprints. Plus, i don't wanna look like i have an OCD towards the iPhone

this mods shall easily minus the fingerprint on the chrome ring aite?

kewL mods

need help guys...
just bought a classic 160gb, and the back is so reflective i could trim my nose hair with it...
How do i maintain its reflectiveness without having to "chrome" scratch it...
kinda heartache to scratch the ipod on the first day i bought it @_@...

*i opened within 5 minutes already got a small scratch on it T_T and plenty of fingerprints+oil -____- currently its protected with those wrapper plastic you get from the kitchen hahaha (the ones to wrap watermelons)

@Ryuuga

You could either get GelaSkin or wrap ur iPod at handphone stalls that offer wrapping service.

@Ryuuga

Get Gelaskin.. It rock..

Protect and look cool too.. (2 in 1)

Peace..

thx guys.. how much is this gelaskins or the wrapping service?
sry, im still very new to this... (my first ipod >.< which seconds as a backup drive for my massive music collection)

please share with us your gelaskins picture.

Still using rebel atm..
Will post when im bored using this rebel..

my gelaskin still in plastic wrap..
Peace..

???!!!

@ Ryuuga


this is how a gelaskins look on an (my) iphone.


p/s this is really a babe magnet if you must know and i'm NOT fabricating this up.

if applied Gelaskins, I think it no protect the chrome ring right?

rebel > gelaskin

nope

Luv to do that...
But..but.. but..
still luv the apple sign..

Hehe...

after brushed , u cant regret anymore...cant recover to chrom already ~~

jus found we can buy chrome bezel

errr sure?

i think so . check the site out.

i jus check ebay. they sell it also .

hehe ~ quite expensive ..i rather take care well better lo `

I think 3rd party replacement parts have always been available. The LCD screen, the back cover, etc etc. So the chrome bezel is just one of the many spare parts sell online. How to fix that thing by the way?

i guess have to dismantle your iphone to fix it . well if u buy the chrome bezel d can ask crxr fixed for ya.

so this trick can hilangkan all the scratch behind my ipod touch scratch?

never use any protective case before. drop a few times. you know how it look like

can use this trick? will try soon if it does.

check carefully before u do anything oh ~

check what?

i already got the ipod +scratches and the normal sponge with kasar side.

can i start now?

one more thing, let say after i do this thing on my ipod successfully, when the scratch come back can i re-do it again or cannot already?

This post has been edited by Balok: Oct 28 2008, 08:33 PM

i mean check this solution really work or not ~

Ok, ok.

hope it's working. Anyway if there is still scratch after we do this method can we do it again?

@Balok

It doesn't magically fix all your scratches. Don't be alarmed but what you're doing with this mod is actually adding more scratches. It does conceal your current scratches though. I'd call this a controlled damage exercise. And it'd turn out to be nice.

To answer your question, yes you can re-brush it if necessary.

hi, Balok have you done the method? so how was it? i also want to try on my ipod but dont have the guts to do it...

@Putera_Stephen

I would suggest you only do it when your iPod condition is beyond your tolerable threshold.

Use scratches to hide scratches...cool
Any methods to ensure that our hands motion are straight enough when brushing?

@Alexio82

I guess you will need a steady enough hand. But since the chrome bezel of the iPhone is so small, you can hardly go wrong (read: brushed pattern not straight).

OOh~ Looks even better than the original!
Apple should have this mod incorporated at design stage!

Hey, i wanna know I can buy those metal polisher from places like ACE hardwareshop to polish my iPhone 3G chrome border ah? Mine got tiny scratches.

If can please recommend a particular brand thank you very much ;-)

toothpaste would do

Abrasive enough?

I tried with toothpaste..no use

How did you apply the toothpaste? And which toothpaste brand?

Darlie loh. Applied on fingertip and scrub with my finger.

lol i use darlie too and i use the cloth that comes with the screen protector to wipe it
u must use the force..no force no results
although its just a small change