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First scratch on my iPhone 4 screen today...

F

FragTek

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 29, 2006
377
1
Fredericksburg, VA
Gah! Just thought I'd vent. I've been very careful with my phone since release day, especially about putting it in a pocket with keys or change, I always make sure it's in an empty pocket. I pulled it out on the couch today to check a text message and in the lower right corner of the screen there's a series of 10 or so little scratches. :( So much for the Apple store guy telling me not to worry about getting a screen protector because the new glass will never scratch. What an asshat, now I have a scratched screen, even after being super careful about it anyhow.

Are there any known ways to lightly buff the glass? The scratches are not very deep, but they are annoying.
 
It's glass. Glass can be scratched. If you didn't believe that, you wouldn't have been 'very careful with my phone since release day, especially about putting it in a pocket with keys or change, I always make sure it's in an empty pocket.' ;)

Just put a screen protector on it. The adhesive tends to fill those little scratches and makes them harder to see.
 
Well let's put it this way, I always try and be very careful with my devices, regardless of what anyone says it's durability is. If someone tells me my laptop will withstand a 4 foot fall to concrete am I going to purposely position it on my desk so that it can fall off? HELL NO!

But, I plan on taking my Bumper refund and getting a screen protector, I know that much!
 
Everyone that frequents this board for the past month knows that the glass isn't scratch-proof. I had mine in a small leather pouch I had for my 3G until I go the invisible shield. But as the other poster said, The adhesive tends to fill those little scratches and makes them harder to see. Hope that works.
 
^^^

Always get a screen protector for devices with a screen no matter how durable it is.
 
Been there. I feel your pain. All u can do is what other posters suggested: put a screen protector on it. And when u get your iPhone 5, put a protector on it immediately.
 
Velin said:
What s/he said. Screen protectors, edge guards, bumpers -- all of this junk for a phone? No one cares if your iPhone has a scratch. And it's highly likely you have better things to worry about.
Click to expand...

If you're car got keyed would you say "Oh it's okay. It sill works. I'm not annoyed that my brand new car has a giant scratch on it. Still runs like a champ" People do care about there devices. Why would you want your beautiful display to be covered with scratches?
 
Are there any good thin screen protectors that you can't really feel? And what happened to the screen being unscratchable Gorilla Glass?
 
FragTek said:
Gah! Just thought I'd vent. I've been very careful with my phone since release day, especially about putting it in a pocket with keys or change, I always make sure it's in an empty pocket. I pulled it out on the couch today to check a text message and in the lower right corner of the screen there's a series of 10 or so little scratches. :( So much for the Apple store guy telling me not to worry about getting a screen protector because the new glass will never scratch. What an asshat, now I have a scratched screen, even after being super careful about it anyhow.

Are there any known ways to lightly buff the glass? The scratches are not very deep, but they are annoying.
Click to expand...

Glass can only be scratched by a diamond or extreme hard metal. I think the scratches you see are actually scratches to oleophobic coating.

Scratches to the oleophobic coating show really well on the black iphone 4
 
KratosKilla said:
If you're car got keyed would you say "Oh it's okay. It sill works. I'm not annoyed that my brand new car has a giant scratch on it. Still runs like a champ" People do care about there devices. Why would you want your beautiful display to be covered with scratches?
Click to expand...

Metaphor fail. If I scratched my own car Its a completely different story.



InfinitiG said:
get over it

its a phone
Click to expand...

well put haha..

as far as resale value

People spend $30 on a case $20 on a skin and treat the phone like a newborn child

So people are willingly spending $50 more and not enjoying their phone for a resale value a year- 2 years later ?

Yeah I'll pass and enjoy my phone the way it was intended to be used.
 
Bonds79 said:
Glass can only be scratched by a diamond or extreme hard metal. I think the scratches you see are actually scratches to oleophobic coating.

Scratches to the oleophobic coating show really well on the black iphone 4
Click to expand...

"The only thing that can scratch glass is diamonds" is sort of a fallacy around here. The hardness of glass can vary greatly, so while this may be true for some extremely well crafted types of glass, iPhones are not at this level. This is somewhat concerning since apple specifically bragged about the hardness of the new glass.

I believe that most of the scratches people are getting are from small particles, like grains of sand in their pockets. Sure, many of the hairline scratches are just in the oleophobic coating, this explains why the 3gs and 4 are more prone to scratching, but the scratches do go beyond the oleophobic coating sometimes. I made the mistake of trying to polish out a scratch on my 3gs and removed the coating around the area of the scratch, but you could still see and feel the scratch... I wasn't carrying any diamonds or pieces of metal in my pocket. I would up replacing the glass on my 3gs and I did some tests on the undamaged areas of the old glass to see if I could scratch it. I took some very sharp knives and keys with jagged edges, and I was unable to scratch the surface, an example of how small particles can be more dangerous than things like keys.


On the thread starters original question, no there isn't a way to buff the scratches out of the phone. You'll damage the oleophobic and it will become uneven. Also, depending on how deep the scratches are you may wind up with a rainbow effect.

As far as screen shields go, I have mixed feelings... I'd never use one of those "wet install" skins (zagg, bse, etc) for the screen (I'd use them on the back/sides) as I hate the sticky rubbery texture and the orange peel effect. It takes too much away from the feel and look of the screen. The only screen shield that I've used that I've liked was the power support crystal, its very close to the look and feel of a naked screen... But these are fairly expensive at $20 a pack (includes 2) and they tend to scratch up after a month or two. How much are you really willing to spend on replacing screen shields? Is it worth it to protect the resell value if you spend $80 over a year on screen shields?

For me... I'm a little more protective of my phone because I had to pay the $399 'early upgrade' and I feel like I'll probably skip the next generation of iPhone (meaning I'll have this one one for 2 years), so I went ahead and ordered the power support front/back. But like my 3gs, when the newness wares off, I'll probably stop using them again.
 
I only use a bumper and a leather case that clips on my belt. I never keep the phone in my pocket. This always seems to be the place where unprotected phones get scratched. All the screen protectors I have used seem to degrade the quality of the display so I just don't use them. I would have to agree with the poster. I like to take care of my electronics and even the smallest scratch would drive me nuts! Had my iPhone 4 since launch day and knock on wood no scratches yet!
 
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liamkp said:
^^^

Always get a screen protector for devices with a screen no matter how durable it is.
Click to expand...

+1
 
UCF Sam said:
"The only thing that can scratch glass is diamonds" is sort of a fallacy around here. The hardness of glass can vary greatly, so while this may be true for some extremely well crafted types of glass, iPhones are not at this level. This is somewhat concerning since apple specifically bragged about the hardness of the new glass.
Click to expand...
Actually, glasses used in displays are manufactured using what are called tank melts, which output extremely consistently. The op's scratches are likely due to sand.

Bonds79 said:
Glass can only be scratched by a diamond or extreme hard metal. I think the scratches you see are actually scratches to oleophobic coating.

Scratches to the oleophobic coating show really well on the black iphone 4
Click to expand...

This is a good point. I wonder what the scratch characteristics of this coating are...
 
KratosKilla said:
If you're car got keyed would you say "Oh it's okay. It sill works. I'm not annoyed that my brand new car has a giant scratch on it. Still runs like a champ" People do care about there devices. Why would you want your beautiful display to be covered with scratches?
Click to expand...

Your funny. Does this mean you need to put a scratch protector on your car to avoid being scratched?
 
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