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If Apple bumpers scratches the frame, don't all cases?

Macula

Macula

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 23, 2006
434
21
All over the place
Simple theoretical question, as I don't (yet) have an iPhone 4/4S.

I have heard that Apple's bumpers, and all bumpers for that matter, my scratch the metal frame of the phone.

If so, aren't all cases susceptible to the same issue?

I am about to choose a case for my upcoming iPhone.

Thanks.
 
Only the cases that have hard plastic in contact with the phone scratch it. Bumpers like the Neohybrid and TPU cases do not cause scratches.

I love the Apple bumper and use it with spectrawraps that way it won't scratch and fits better.
 
charlesdayton said:
Only the cases that have hard plastic in contact with the phone scratch it. Bumpers like the Neohybrid and TPU cases do not cause scratches.

I love the Apple bumper and use it with spectrawraps that way it won't scratch and fits better.
Click to expand...

Still not sure how plastic can scratch the metal case. ANyone explain that one on this forum, especially since the apple bumper is not even hard plastic.

I've used mine for a good 6 months and have absolutely no marks or scratches from the Apple bumper case.
 
I wouldn't call them scratches really. It's more like rubbing the band causing the brushed metal to become smooth or polished in the area making it looked scratched.

QUOTE=Lindenhurst;14036889]Still not sure how plastic can scratch the metal case. ANyone explain that one on this forum, especially since the apple bumper is not even hard plastic.

I've used mine for a good 6 months and have absolutely no marks or scratches from the Apple bumper case.[/QUOTE]
 
Lindenhurst said:
Still not sure how plastic can scratch the metal case. ANyone explain that one on this forum, especially since the apple bumper is not even hard plastic.

I've used mine for a good 6 months and have absolutely no marks or scratches from the Apple bumper case.
Click to expand...

It is hard plastic on the inside. only the border is rubber. Here is a pic:

http://www.tekunoloji.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bumper-inside-4.jpg

And the scratching/wear:

http://www.tekunoloji.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/iphone4-scratch-2.jpg

If you search MR there are many threads on the subject.
 
Also a lot of cases that are silicone (or otherwise very soft) can let in dirt and small hard stuff (like sand) that can scratch your phone.

In my experience a tight fitting hard plastic case will not wear the phone very much (not nearly as much as a loose fitting super soft silicone case).
 
a) Almost any case will do this

b) they aren't scratches

what is happening is small bits of dirt/cloth/etc get inside the case. After use these small pieces work like sand paper and "polish" the matte finish of the iPhone making it shiny = looks like it's a scratch

I polished my iPhone 4 band that had a few of these markings and now it flawless.

P3083992.jpg


Your options are to a) stop worrying about it b) Get a clear sticker to protect your band c) polish the band
 
rgarjr said:
I wonder if anyone has went with a really fine sandpaper to get rid of some marks.
Click to expand...

I used a Magic Eraser. The side with the "scrubber" on it. It is smooth, but rough enough to polish without damaging it. A couple of seconds of back and forth "cleaning" with it gets rid of the majority of the marks. A few minutes of this gets rid of the rest.

Since the antenna is anodized, it isn't really a scratch so just simply polishing/cleaning it with the magic eraser gets rid of the couple unsightly marks that a bunch of cases left on my phone.

Other than that stay away from hard plastic cases that are tight fitting. Both the Otterbox Reflex and Incase Slider left marks on my antenna due to their tight fit. Also clean out the cases before sticking them on. This is for all cases, not just plastic ones.
 
Yes that seems to be the way of treating it if u had a bunch of marks.

rapaleeman said:
I used a Magic Eraser. The side with the "scrubber" on it. It is smooth, but rough enough to polish without damaging it. A couple of seconds of back and forth "cleaning" with it gets rid of the majority of the marks. A few minutes of this gets rid of the rest.

Since the antenna is anodized, it isn't really a scratch so just simply polishing/cleaning it with the magic eraser gets rid of the couple unsightly marks that a bunch of cases left on my phone.

Other than that stay away from hard plastic cases that are tight fitting. Both the Otterbox Reflex and Incase Slider left marks on my antenna due to their tight fit. Also clean out the cases before sticking them on. This is for all cases, not just plastic ones.
Click to expand...
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

My TPU case has caused these marks or rub/wear lines. They just don't bug me that much.
 
rapaleeman said:
Since the antenna is anodized, it isn't really a scratch so just simply polishing/cleaning it with the magic eraser gets rid of the couple unsightly marks that a bunch of cases left on my phone.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can anodize stainless steel. Anodizing is common on aluminum though.

Greg
 
In my acquaintance a bound applicable harder artificial case will not abrasion the buzz actual abundant (not about as abundant as a apart applicable cool bendable silicone case).
 
rapaleeman said:
I used a Magic Eraser. The side with the "scrubber" on it.
Click to expand...


The Magic eraser is just one side (white sponge).

Are you talking about the Scotchbride pads that have two sides?


Magic Eraser:

mr-clean-magic-eraser-24-cs.jpg


Scotchbrite:

photo3.php


----------
mpossoff said:
The new version Apple bumper fixed this issue.
Click to expand...

The new bumper uses the same hard plastic on the inside. It has the same problem. The only things different in the new bumper are the CDMA/4s cutout for the vibrate switch and larger dock port.
 
Shenaniganz08 said:
a) Almost any case will do this

b) they aren't scratches

what is happening is small bits of dirt/cloth/etc get inside the case. After use these small pieces work like sand paper and "polish" the matte finish of the iPhone making it shiny = looks like it's a scratch

I polished my iPhone 4 band that had a few of these markings and now it flawless.

Image

Your options are to a) stop worrying about it b) Get a clear sticker to protect your band c) polish the band
Click to expand...




Do you mind sharing what did you use to polish your phone? Thanks a lot :D
 
Macula said:
If so, aren't all cases susceptible to the same issue?
Click to expand...
Nope. Not all are designed the same and not all use the same materials.

Lindenhurst said:
I've read the threads, but I'm simply stating that mine is not scratched and I really don't see how the case should scratch the steel band.
Click to expand...
Try reading this thread. It's not the case that causes scratches. A material has to be harder than the material it is scratching. Whether yours has scratched or not is a irrelevant -- it's just one data point. "Hasn't happened to me" != "Cannot ever happen" despite what many forum users seem to think.
 
this is exactly why i invested in wrapsol full body protectors before we even activated the phones...
 
rgarjr said:
I wonder if anyone has went with a really fine sandpaper to get rid of some marks.
Click to expand...

nope apple uses a medium blasted finish to produce their matte finish

ss-beadblasted-l.jpg


vs a sanded finish
CR-UhYmQ18zel.jpg


If you sand it down you might mask the shiny area, but this is going to also make the area larger.
 
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