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Graft leverage case - I want I want I want... (Update: I got).
- Thread starter theautopilot
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I don't think the mark is from the installation. It's from the pressure that the latch area puts on the case when the case is on. Just a hunch since I definitely didn't scratch it when installing or removing. Also noticing some discoloration on the white as well and I've been very careful with it. Hopefully I can switch to black if they come out with a fix for the scratching.
Some pictures of black on white. I'm sorry to hear about how quickly the white is discoloring. That fear is what lead me to switch colors and I'm very happy with my choice. Plus after using the White Apple bumper I noticed the same thing.
Short short review since most of us have the case already and have answered most of the questions. I do have the scratch on the top band. But I had an extra set of Lucky Labs wraps so I just put those on and voila, problem solved. Also, I have a screen protector and although it was a bit hard to put on, it does fit with the screen. I do wish that the latch was made out of aluminum instead of stainless steel but this is just preference. I also wish the latch wasn't so smooth, it gets kind of hard to hold it horizontally but meh. I'll just deal with it. The latch sometimes gets hard to click in. I don't know if this is because of Lucky Labs wraps but as a result, my phone is tight and snug. Could be a pro/con depending on how you look at it. My phone looks great. No real reception problems yet. (Texting and web is fine. No one called me just yet. But I don't anticipate a problem with calls.) It may or may not be worth $60 depending on who you ask. It really does look beautiful. I have a white iPhone with a black matte case. Don't have any docks to try with it but I suspect it won't work since there is an additional added thickness. The case will protect most bumps and scrapes, especially with the back plate. Won't protect major falls, say five plus feet, but most cases don't do that anyways. Since it's like a rubbery material, it'll absorb some of the shock and it MIGHT protect it but I'm not going to test that out. Overall, I'd give it a 8.5/10. Cost might be an issue for some and I still prefer the feel of aluminum over stainless steel but that's just me.
Knowing the potential for metal on metal contact, I took extreme caution when installing the Graft Leverage Case. Having read the complaints on scratches I had decided to remove the case with just as much caution to inspect my own phone. Sure enough, the scratch is there on the top band after having the case on one and a half days.
When you loosely latch the Graft Leverage Case it appears that there is no way the case latch could be making contact with the metal band of the phone, but when you inspect it closely (at least on mine) it does appear that the latch would almost be flush with the phone itself and hence the reason this is occurring.
Having upgraded to the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4, I decided to put the case on my iPhone 4 to see if I could recreate it. Installing and removing the case did not cause any scratches. Installing the case again, I decided to try and simulate how I would normally handle the phone, pocketing it and un-pocketing it, etc. I removed the case shortly after a second time and sure enough the scratch was beginning to form. When the case is latched, there has to be some kind of minimal contact occurring. With both phones I am noticing the scratch, if you can call it that, is appearing on the top band towards the front of the device — this also appears to be true of sh0ebox's experience, per his pictures.
It is hard to capture the scratch because, as others have mentioned, it is very much a thing of reflecting light. If any of you have an iPhone 4, it is very much the same thing that happens with the 30 Pin plug making contact with both sides of the socket.
Do I like the case? Yes.
Am I bummed about the scratches? Yes.
Can we take preventative measures in placing tape to prevent wear? Yes, I for one am going to place tape.
Do I recommend it? Your call.
Unfortunately this type of wear seems inevitable, especially when others are sharing similar stories with having Apple Bumpers and that is saying something considering the Apple Bumper does not have any metal latches. Perhaps it boils down to a matter of friction; something happening with the constant contact with the phone and the case. Like my brother said in his experience, sometimes the best case is not having a case at all. It comes down to how we view things. sh0ebox and zelaya said it: "It kinda sucks, but it's not a huge deal. The phone is going to show some wear and tear eventually … no way to keep it perfect forever" and having a case on constantly "at the end of the day 'what you can't see won't hurt you.'" Sucks, but that is the truth.
When you loosely latch the Graft Leverage Case it appears that there is no way the case latch could be making contact with the metal band of the phone, but when you inspect it closely (at least on mine) it does appear that the latch would almost be flush with the phone itself and hence the reason this is occurring.
Having upgraded to the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4, I decided to put the case on my iPhone 4 to see if I could recreate it. Installing and removing the case did not cause any scratches. Installing the case again, I decided to try and simulate how I would normally handle the phone, pocketing it and un-pocketing it, etc. I removed the case shortly after a second time and sure enough the scratch was beginning to form. When the case is latched, there has to be some kind of minimal contact occurring. With both phones I am noticing the scratch, if you can call it that, is appearing on the top band towards the front of the device — this also appears to be true of sh0ebox's experience, per his pictures.
It is hard to capture the scratch because, as others have mentioned, it is very much a thing of reflecting light. If any of you have an iPhone 4, it is very much the same thing that happens with the 30 Pin plug making contact with both sides of the socket.
Do I like the case? Yes.
Am I bummed about the scratches? Yes.
Can we take preventative measures in placing tape to prevent wear? Yes, I for one am going to place tape.
Do I recommend it? Your call.
Unfortunately this type of wear seems inevitable, especially when others are sharing similar stories with having Apple Bumpers and that is saying something considering the Apple Bumper does not have any metal latches. Perhaps it boils down to a matter of friction; something happening with the constant contact with the phone and the case. Like my brother said in his experience, sometimes the best case is not having a case at all. It comes down to how we view things. sh0ebox and zelaya said it: "It kinda sucks, but it's not a huge deal. The phone is going to show some wear and tear eventually … no way to keep it perfect forever" and having a case on constantly "at the end of the day 'what you can't see won't hurt you.'" Sucks, but that is the truth.
I'm sure some kind of mild detergent or perhaps a Clorox wipe followed by rinsing it off with water could brighten up the cases again. It had to be expected with a white case though..
as for the scratches, many have suggested a piece of tape. I was thinking that for those of you with screen protectors, there's usually a little piece or two left over (maybe the piece where the earpiece cut out is) that you could use instead of tape. can't imagine that would be thick enough to cause issues.
as for the scratches, many have suggested a piece of tape. I was thinking that for those of you with screen protectors, there's usually a little piece or two left over (maybe the piece where the earpiece cut out is) that you could use instead of tape. can't imagine that would be thick enough to cause issues.
Well, I tried couple different tapes, both very, very thin. But what I notice is that it makes so hard to latch the case and then to open it up is so damn hard. There is no room in my case to fit even a fine tape. I was able to close it but man....
So, I decided to take the tape out, now I am able to open and close, still not as easy as the video on Graft site, but for sure easier than with the tape. I wonder with wear and tear down the road if it will get easier to open and close.
Anyway, I recommend the case big time because looks really good, but I would hope Graft take care of these issues on their next batch. I am wondering what they will say about these issues.
I have to say I'm pretty upset about the yellowing/dirtying on the white. Design wise it still looks great, but what's the point of getting white if it ends up looking overly dirty?
I don't know if I really want the black. Not sure what I'm going to do yet.
I don't know if I really want the black. Not sure what I'm going to do yet.
Anyone with the white case try to contact Graft yet about the case showing dirt to see if they will exchange it for them? Just curious as I should be getting my white case today. I am kinda pissed really about this as people asked this of their company specifically on Facebook and they said they had not seen any issues with the white case showing more dirt on their prototypes. This is why I decided on the white...
well, after having my white/matte case on my white iphone for a few days I decided to take a look under my latch area. sure enough, there is a scuff mark on the silver band on my phone.
however, luckily for me, the scuff mark is VERY hard to see. that being that, I'm returning the case and going back to what I know works. my good ole Apple bumper.
this is a shame because these cases do look very sweet.
however, luckily for me, the scuff mark is VERY hard to see. that being that, I'm returning the case and going back to what I know works. my good ole Apple bumper.
this is a shame because these cases do look very sweet.
Why don't you get in contact with Graft and ask them for a discounted price , to me there's no such thing on a perfect case because I've own almost every single brand they have for iPhones and they still scratch your phone. I've marks on the frame right now on my phone from using the OEM apple bumpers.
Dissapointing to hear about the scuff from this case, as it really looked like one I wanted to pick up.
This "scratch" is basically what happened to my iPhone 4 with the Apple bumper. The aluminum from of the iPhone 4/4S is blasted/finished to generate the texture you see out of the box. Any significant rubbing or pressure polishes down this finish. So what you are left with is a slightly more shiny area that you can see under certain light. There's no way to remove these short of sanding down the entire frame to reintroduce a new pattern.
The Apple bumper introduced this effect to a lot of people. But with those cases, it wasn't the bumper itself....it was the grit/dirt/junk that got into the case and rested between the phone and the plastic bumper. Over time this caused abrasions against the aluminum band. Basically this Graft case just does the same thing....but faster. The solution for the Apple bumper was to remove it frequently and check for dirt, or put on a skin. This time around I purchased a skin to prevent this issue.
This "scratch" is basically what happened to my iPhone 4 with the Apple bumper. The aluminum from of the iPhone 4/4S is blasted/finished to generate the texture you see out of the box. Any significant rubbing or pressure polishes down this finish. So what you are left with is a slightly more shiny area that you can see under certain light. There's no way to remove these short of sanding down the entire frame to reintroduce a new pattern.
The Apple bumper introduced this effect to a lot of people. But with those cases, it wasn't the bumper itself....it was the grit/dirt/junk that got into the case and rested between the phone and the plastic bumper. Over time this caused abrasions against the aluminum band. Basically this Graft case just does the same thing....but faster. The solution for the Apple bumper was to remove it frequently and check for dirt, or put on a skin. This time around I purchased a skin to prevent this issue.
Sucks about all these issues. They're not that important to me since I ordered a black case and I'll try the screen protector thing on top and hope that works. I bet they felt real good when all these orders started pouring in and now they're probably wishing they never made this case hah.
With other soft touch/matte white cases I've tested, using Clorox Clean-Up spray cleaner (which has a small percentage of bleach in it) will brighten them up a bit if sprayed on, left for about 3-5 minutes, then rinsed off. The problem I've seen is that if done too many times, it tends to start deteriorating the surface. I've tried a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on these type of cases several times, and it doesn't clean them well.
I love this look. I may order this case in the very near future. This look though is why I rock a black bumper on my white iPhone 4.
***Update***
Okay guys my journey has ended. Today I received mine and install it. I did put a piece of scotch tape to prevent the scratches which I can't see the tape after install so no big deal for me. The only downside is in order to install the back panel I had to remove my powersupport film in order to work so for someone like me that changes cases every couple weeks is not good but then again I also like it without the back panel. I'm leaning that this case is a keeper for me. It feels great and nice grib. I hope I won't change my mind later. I might ended up removing the back panel later and install and new screen protector which it was over due for a new one.
Okay guys my journey has ended. Today I received mine and install it. I did put a piece of scotch tape to prevent the scratches which I can't see the tape after install so no big deal for me. The only downside is in order to install the back panel I had to remove my powersupport film in order to work so for someone like me that changes cases every couple weeks is not good but then again I also like it without the back panel. I'm leaning that this case is a keeper for me. It feels great and nice grib. I hope I won't change my mind later. I might ended up removing the back panel later and install and new screen protector which it was over due for a new one.