iPhone 12 Pro Silver iPhone 12 Pro does NOT have PVD finish!

[Brettka7]

I always get the silver iPhones because I like how well they wear over time. I was really disappointed to read the silver 12 Pro may have the PVD finish that the other models had because that means there is potential for peeling/chipping and scratches cannot be removed from the frame.

First thing I did when I got home was test it out! Used a white metal polish on a white cotton pad and gently rubbed the lower right corner of the phone. Stainless steel residue did in fact transfer onto the cotton pad, which means no PVD finish!

Only a small amount of transfer is on the pad but rest assured, I only went as much as needed to confirm because the phone is less than 12 hours old at this time so it doesn’t need a polish yet.

EDIT:

I’ve now had the honor of double confirming this.

Today I was trimming my beard in the shower. Suddenly the water turns off and I’m covered in hair. I wasn’t about to get hair everywhere so I decided to wait for my complex’s water to come back on while browsing the web. Suddenly the water comes spitting out but it’s BROWN from who knows what, so my reaction was to jerk backwards. Dinged the upper right corner of my phone and get a little bummed out despite how minor it was.

Eventually I decided to sand and polish the corner already knowing it’s raw steel. Came out beautifully!

Small ding near the screen:

Sanded with 2,000 grit:

Perfect again!

 

[DotCom2]

I’m so glad you posted this because I also love the silver and wanted to buff out any minor scratches with the Cape Cod cloth like I use on my silver stainless steel Apple Watch. But I was concerned about this PVD coating. Thank you for confirming. It’s possible that because the silver SS is natural and just polished that it doesn’t need the PVD coating that the colored SS iPhones do? Dunno 🤷🏼‍♀️

 

[Apleeseed84]

I always used to get silver iPhones in the past, until the iPhone X came into play and noticed how bad the stainless steel polished edges scratched super easily over normal wear and tear. I was even more pissed whenever I notice the other color black didn’t scratch unless it was dropped and ever since then I just stuck to getting other colors than silver/white for the time being, I know for sure they will scratch easily.

 

[IconIc215]

I have seen two 12 Pro’s in Silver and no way these have the PVD coating. They will be like years past where they will be filled with micro scratches soon enough. The positive is you can buff them which is always good but not for me. I also think these scratches are more noticeable with the flatter sides vs rounded so if your one who is OCD about this stay away from Silver.

 

[Brettka7]

Yes, the stainless has always and will always scratch just as easily as the old iPods. It only takes about 10 minutes to get all the scratches out with a good metal polish, though!

The PVD coating is what theoretically would have prevented the scratches but I dropped my X, XS, and 11 Pro exactly once each. The X I was able to sand and polish all scratches and chips out, the XS unfortunately ended up being dented inward so I could only improve it a small amount, and the 11 Pro I was able to improve the scuffs and scratches by about 85% with some sandpaper and metal polish. I like being able to fix the phones (cosmetically) if needed.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

What about pacific blue model! Does it have PVD coating?

 

[BugeyeSTI]

What about pacific blue model! Does it have PVD coating?

Yes, colored stainless steel versions have pvd coating.

 

[CoriG]

Thank you for the FYI. I can get a bit anal retentive about my phones. And For the first time, My 11pm developed tons of micro scratches. I never had a phone get so bad and this was with a case on. I always get silver because I can buff the scratches out and I love the clean color of it.

This year I was trying to decide whether to get the PB but I was nervous about it’s propensity to scratch and I wouldn’t be able to buff it out.

 

[IRobertuSI]

Could you please provide us with a picture of the area where your polished the band?

 

[Renho]

I heard it was just the gold that has the best band coating

 

[nordique]

Nice. I love how you can polish these.

my mom loves the silver colour and I really like it this year too.

 

[Renho]

Nice. I love how you can polish these.

my mom loves the silver colour and I really like it this year too.

I think you read it wrong, you “can’t” polish these. They don’t have the coating

 

[Infinitewisdom]

The stainless steel has always been bare stainless but polish-able. I wish more people on here would pay attention to that rather than complaining about scratches.

 

[Infinitewisdom]

I think you read it wrong, you “can’t” polish these. They don’t have the coating

It's precisely because they DON'T have the coating that you can polish them.

 

[symphony]

I heard it was just the gold that has the best band coating

Yes, it has a something something high magnetronic something something cloating than PVD

 

[Renho]

It's precisely because they DON'T have the coating that you can polish them.

gotcha.... I have never polished one so I guess I don’t know ****. Lol
[automerge]1603569907[/automerge]

Yes, it has a something something high magnetronic something something cloating than PVD

I think this is the year I get a gold

 

[Brettka7]

Could you please provide us with a picture of the area where your polished the band?

I polished this whole corner. No change cosmetically because it wasn’t scratched or scuffed to begin with.

 

[DotCom2]

View attachment 973459

I polished this whole corner. No change cosmetically because it wasn’t scratched or scuffed to begin with.

Beautiful! Congrats!

 

[beach bum]

Ok, this does not change my mind at all. 12PM silver set-up as Favorite on my app and my finger is ready to press that button come pre-order on 11/6. I feel like a kid wanting to ask every 5 minutes... Is it time yet? 😩

 

[mbuhlayaw]

Looks like even with Silver iPhone 12 Pro it does have PVD coating.

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/jbeg4h

Someone has Silver iPhone 12 Pro, and has scratches on the band, however Silver should be the easiest to be polished.

Apple’s professional screen protector installer scratched my iPhone 12 Pro

Bruh, I just went to get my iPhone exchanged and had Apple install a screen protector for me. They clamped it down to a machine, and look what I just found when I got home and inspected my new iPhone.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[doboy]

Why would you want a coating when you can easily polish it without the coating?

 

[CoriG]

I went to the apple store today and the silver was already scratched near the lighting hole from people picking it up off the charger and this was after the phone being out for 24 hours.

 

[whizkid11]

I always get the silver iPhones because I like how well they wear over time. I was really disappointed to read the silver 12 Pro may have the PVD finish that the other models had because that means there is potential for peeling/chipping and scratches cannot be removed from the frame.

First thing I did when I got home was test it out! Used a white metal polish on a white cotton pad and gently rubbed the lower right corner of the phone. Stainless steel residue did in fact transfer onto the cotton pad, which means no PVD finish!

Only a small amount of transfer is on the pad but rest assured, I only went as much as needed to confirm because the phone is less than 12 hours old at this time so it doesn’t need a polish yet.

View attachment 972797
View attachment 972798

Means nothing. Any contamination will turn black. Doesn’t mean that it’s not PVD coated.

 

[Brettka7]

Means nothing. Any contamination will turn black. Doesn’t mean that it’s not PVD coated.

Having previously been in the automotive detailing industry, currently in the automotive/tech industry, and a hobbyist, once you learn the distinct smell of freshly polished metal you don’t forget it. I have zero doubts this is raw stainless steel and I think my photos speak for themselves.

Once my phone starts getting scratches and scuffs I’ll post some before and after photos. Maybe in a month or so depending on how fast I get scratches.

 

[johannnn]

For someone that don’t even know what PVD is. Does these findings, or other findings, suggest that any 12 (not the pro) color is harder to scratch? Or harder to notice scratches?

I wanted the white 12, but if any color is better scratch wise I’ll change my mind