I originally purchased a Wrapsol Original and it sucked. So i set off to get another skin to protect my iPhone 4.
I decided to giveCarbonShield Carbon Fiber skin a try from eBay. I have to admit... i am a car guy and i can't stand faux carbon fiber and i don't understand why people use the stuff. But i have read a lot of excellent reviews of the 3M DI-NOC carbon fiber vinyl so i thought i'd give it a try.
Rating system 1 poor - 5 excellent
Ease of installation: 4 Installation was simple and straight forward. Installing of the side piece was MUCH easier to that the Wrapsol Original that i installed two weeks ago. The Wrapsol was 6-8 different small side pieces, read pain in the ass! This is a single piece that wrapped around the phone. And i especially like the way the ends of the side piece was designed. See the pics below.
Back piece was a breeze also. My only suggestion would be to install the back piece using an application fluid to get it absolutely perfect in one try. Application fluid: cup of water and a couple drops of dish washing liquid. Be careful cause water and iPhone do not mix very well. But if you use a light amount of application fluid, have a cloth handy, handle the iPhone on a flat surface, and don't carelessly force the water into the top and bottom ports you will almost certainly not damage your iPhone. However be careful and do this at your own risk. FYI: Window tinters and vinyl installers also use application fluid to install their product. Anyway... Apply the application fluid to your finger tips and the adhesive side of the back piece. Place CF piece on the back of the iPhone, slide into place, and use a credit card to squeegee the fluid out using your cloth to absorb any excess fluid. Once squeegeed, the rear skin is on there really good but allow for a full day to dry before rigorously handling your iPhone.
Dry application of the side piece is recommended. With wet application, the side piece will not stay put due to low surface area and it'll just make things much harder.
Why didn't it get a full 5 stars?
1) Because there were no instructions... however that is why we have reviews, right?
2) The side piece was ever-so-slightly too big in one area. [EDIT: Right after i installed the CarbonShield skin I emailed the seller to let him know the side piece was slightly too big and he just emailed me recently to tell me the side piece has been corrected. And he was nice enough to mail me the updated side piece even though i told him the piece i currently have fits perfectly after shrinking with the hair dryer. So please disregard #2.] The area between the earphone jack and rocker switch was a little too long (~-0.5mm). Therefore if you are installing the side piece from one end continuously to the other, the "other" side will be off by ~-0.5mm and the holes will not line up. My suggestion is to install the right side first (facing front of phone) up to the earphone jack. Then install the other side from the rocker switch continuing to the end... leaving a little bulge of excess material between the rocker switch and earphone jack. (i hope i am making sense here) Then use a hair dryer to heat and shrink the excess material. Apply heat on low at about a foot away for 15-30 seconds and press it into place. Be careful not to melt the vinyl.
Despite my somewhat long and detailed instructions, it is actually very easy. Take my advice with a grain of salt and install it however you want, this is only my suggestion.
Quality: 5 The skin is made from very high quality 3M DI-NOC Carbon Fiber vinyl. Very high quality, excellent feel, and very classy looking. Much better than the cheap printed carbon fiber pattern vinyl you see in a lot of cheap quality skins. And in my opinion (and only my opinion) offers better protection than InvisibleShield and Wrapsol from scratches and damage to the surfaces of the iPhone due to the high quality vinyl and the textured surface allowing for some give to absorb indentations from pointed objects.
Value: 5 Selling price is $18.99 and includes free shipping. It is priced similarly to other skins on the market but why does it deserve a rating of 5? Based on its high quality, good fit, excellent feel, and classy design i would rate this as a very good/excellent value. I am meticulous in keeping everything of mine in excellent shape (as well as in my reviews, lol) and i am positive this will hold up.
Notes I have been using this skin for several days now and i love it. I'm not planning to change the back and sides anytime soon... unless i get a different color from the same seller.
I will be using this along with a SGP Oleophobic screen protector. Look for that review shortly.
I am not the maker or seller of this Carbon Fiber skin, just an enthusiastic and excited customer.
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And a pic of my photography studio setup... AKA very messy bachelor pad bed room and my trusty SureFire 6P Defender LED with CREE XPG LED upgrade and NetFlix envelope for fill lighting.
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I decided to giveCarbonShield Carbon Fiber skin a try from eBay. I have to admit... i am a car guy and i can't stand faux carbon fiber and i don't understand why people use the stuff. But i have read a lot of excellent reviews of the 3M DI-NOC carbon fiber vinyl so i thought i'd give it a try.
Rating system 1 poor - 5 excellent
Ease of installation: 4 Installation was simple and straight forward. Installing of the side piece was MUCH easier to that the Wrapsol Original that i installed two weeks ago. The Wrapsol was 6-8 different small side pieces, read pain in the ass! This is a single piece that wrapped around the phone. And i especially like the way the ends of the side piece was designed. See the pics below.
Back piece was a breeze also. My only suggestion would be to install the back piece using an application fluid to get it absolutely perfect in one try. Application fluid: cup of water and a couple drops of dish washing liquid. Be careful cause water and iPhone do not mix very well. But if you use a light amount of application fluid, have a cloth handy, handle the iPhone on a flat surface, and don't carelessly force the water into the top and bottom ports you will almost certainly not damage your iPhone. However be careful and do this at your own risk. FYI: Window tinters and vinyl installers also use application fluid to install their product. Anyway... Apply the application fluid to your finger tips and the adhesive side of the back piece. Place CF piece on the back of the iPhone, slide into place, and use a credit card to squeegee the fluid out using your cloth to absorb any excess fluid. Once squeegeed, the rear skin is on there really good but allow for a full day to dry before rigorously handling your iPhone.
Dry application of the side piece is recommended. With wet application, the side piece will not stay put due to low surface area and it'll just make things much harder.
Why didn't it get a full 5 stars?
1) Because there were no instructions... however that is why we have reviews, right?
2) The side piece was ever-so-slightly too big in one area. [EDIT: Right after i installed the CarbonShield skin I emailed the seller to let him know the side piece was slightly too big and he just emailed me recently to tell me the side piece has been corrected. And he was nice enough to mail me the updated side piece even though i told him the piece i currently have fits perfectly after shrinking with the hair dryer. So please disregard #2.] The area between the earphone jack and rocker switch was a little too long (~-0.5mm). Therefore if you are installing the side piece from one end continuously to the other, the "other" side will be off by ~-0.5mm and the holes will not line up. My suggestion is to install the right side first (facing front of phone) up to the earphone jack. Then install the other side from the rocker switch continuing to the end... leaving a little bulge of excess material between the rocker switch and earphone jack. (i hope i am making sense here) Then use a hair dryer to heat and shrink the excess material. Apply heat on low at about a foot away for 15-30 seconds and press it into place. Be careful not to melt the vinyl.
Despite my somewhat long and detailed instructions, it is actually very easy. Take my advice with a grain of salt and install it however you want, this is only my suggestion.
Quality: 5 The skin is made from very high quality 3M DI-NOC Carbon Fiber vinyl. Very high quality, excellent feel, and very classy looking. Much better than the cheap printed carbon fiber pattern vinyl you see in a lot of cheap quality skins. And in my opinion (and only my opinion) offers better protection than InvisibleShield and Wrapsol from scratches and damage to the surfaces of the iPhone due to the high quality vinyl and the textured surface allowing for some give to absorb indentations from pointed objects.
Value: 5 Selling price is $18.99 and includes free shipping. It is priced similarly to other skins on the market but why does it deserve a rating of 5? Based on its high quality, good fit, excellent feel, and classy design i would rate this as a very good/excellent value. I am meticulous in keeping everything of mine in excellent shape (as well as in my reviews, lol) and i am positive this will hold up.
Notes I have been using this skin for several days now and i love it. I'm not planning to change the back and sides anytime soon... unless i get a different color from the same seller.
I will be using this along with a SGP Oleophobic screen protector. Look for that review shortly.
I am not the maker or seller of this Carbon Fiber skin, just an enthusiastic and excited customer.
And a pic of my photography studio setup... AKA very messy bachelor pad bed room and my trusty SureFire 6P Defender LED with CREE XPG LED upgrade and NetFlix envelope for fill lighting.
