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iPhone XS Max Which color XS Max bands will scratch more easily?

rdunlap

rdunlap

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 13, 2013
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Ok, so I purchased an iPhone XS Max in Gold the night they went on preorder. I am now wondering if I made a poor choice with Gold and should have went with Space Gray. I am using the phone in an Apple leather case and am wondering if the Gold bands will scratch more easily than the Black bands. Does anyone have any insight to this? I want to make sure my phone has the least amount of scratches possible from usage over time but love the color of the Gold. Any opinions?
 
rdunlap said:
Ok, so I purchased an iPhone XS Max in Gold the night they went on preorder. I am now wondering if I made a poor choice with Gold and should have went with Space Gray. I am using the phone in an Apple leather case and am wondering if the Gold bands will scratch more easily than the Black bands. Does anyone have any insight to this? I want to make sure my phone has the least amount of scratches possible from usage over time but love the color of the Gold. Any opinions?
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Both the gold and space gray iPhones use a physical vapor deposition coating, but you might likely notice the scratches more on the Gold stainless than you would on the space gray due to the color differences.

One suggestion I can make is make sure you periodically remove the iPhone from the case and clean inside the case to remove any debris that could build up and scratch the bands.
 
The silver will scratch easiest. I had black phones previously but decided to go with silver this time around. Already got a couple scratches but I’m not too worried about it. Got some cape cod clothes ordered.
 
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Silver will scratch easiest, however it can be buffed out.

Where as Gold and Sprsce Grey once scratched that's it, you're gonna have to live it with it.
 
Used cape cod on mine after it slipped off my chair and hit the metal back, buffed right out good as new. Contemplated space black as a change from my ss x but couldn’t be dealing with scratches in the coating.
 
Oreon said:
Used cape cod on mine after it slipped off my chair and hit the metal back, buffed right out good as new. Contemplated space black as a change from my ss x but couldn’t be dealing with scratches in the coating.
Click to expand...

Correct. Once the bands on the space gray are damaged, there is no repairing them with a Cape Cod cloth, which is the benefit to the regular stainless bands on the silver iPhone X. Although I do think the PVD coating is fairly durable for what it is on the space gray iPhone.
 
So I’m contemplating buying the iPhone XS Max but not sure what color to get. I’m going to be purchasing the Apple Leather Case to use with it as well so I know the color won’t mean too much except for on the open bottom. That’s where I’d like to know which color would be least prone to scratching. I’d like to not have to worry about seeing little scratches on the bottom there all day.
 
I have the XS Max, and I'm returning the Apple leather case. I liked the look of leather, but that case is ridiculously slippery -- especially with the heavier weight of the Max. I always felt like the phone would slip out of my hand.

I think there's a thread on which colors were more prone to scratching.
 
rdunlap said:
So I’m contemplating buying the iPhone XS Max but not sure what color to get. I’m going to be purchasing the Apple Leather Case to use with it as well so I know the color won’t mean too much except for on the open bottom. That’s where I’d like to know which color would be least prone to scratching. I’d like to not have to worry about seeing little scratches on the bottom there all day.
Click to expand...
Didn't you already purchase it (and asked about this kind of thing before)? o_O

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/which-color-xs-max-bands-will-scratch-more-easily.2145549/

rdunlap said:
Ok, so I purchased an iPhone XS Max in Gold the night they went on preorder. I am now wondering if I made a poor choice with Gold and should have went with Space Gray. I am using the phone in an Apple leather case and am wondering if the Gold bands will scratch more easily than the Black bands. Does anyone have any insight to this? I want to make sure my phone has the least amount of scratches possible from usage over time but love the color of the Gold. Any opinions?
Click to expand...
 
They both scratch as easily but try removing the scratches in the space Grey. The silver can be polished out without any visible damage to the surface and comes up like new. The Space Grey coating becomes damaged and looks really rough. Scratches always look more visible in darker colours. Go and look at the demo iPhones in the Apple Store, and particularly around the lightning port.

My silver stainless Apple Watch polishes up with a Cape Cod Cloth like new and looks absolutely pristine with very little work.
 
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Ad13 said:
They both scratch as easily but try removing the scratches in the space Grey. The silver can be polished out without any visible damage to the surface and comes up like new. The Space Grey coating becomes damaged and looks really rough. Scratches always look more visible in darker colours. Go and look at the demo iPhones in the Apple Store, and particularly around the lightning port.

My silver stainless Apple Watch polishes up with a Cape Cod Cloth like new and looks absolutely pristine with very little work.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that information! I appreciate it. What is a cape cod cloth and where would I get one? Is that all you need to polish it out or is there a compound you need to use with it?
 
rdunlap said:
Thank you for that information! I appreciate it. What is a cape cod cloth and where would I get one? Is that all you need to polish it out or is there a compound you need to use with it?
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No compound required. The cloths are impregnated and work on all fine metals to produce an amazing result. They’re available in different pack sizes so google to find the best options for you. I’m in the UK and they’re freely available online.

https://www.capecodpolish.com/colle...y-size-tin-of-cape-cod-metal-polishing-cloths
 
Smoothie said:
I have the XS Max, and I'm returning the Apple leather case. I liked the look of leather, but that case is ridiculously slippery -- especially with the heavier weight of the Max. I always felt like the phone would slip out of my hand.

I think there's a thread on which colors were more prone to scratching.
Click to expand...

In terms of scratching, the silver stainless would be the most prone, because it’s just raw surgical stainless steel, but the caveat is that the scratches can be removed with a polishing cloth. The other two colors for space gray and the gold stainless, both utilize a PVD coating, which is protective against minor scratches and scuffs.
 
They are all going to scratch. Silver will show scratches less and space gray will show them most just like a black car shows imperfections more than a silver or white car. My silver has some minor marks already but you really have to look to see them...I would think gold will be kind of in between on showing scratches..
 
I actually went to the Apple Store today and examined a bunch of display models and it seems the silver models scratch much more as they were very bad in the store. The Gold actually seemed to handle scratches the best as I couldn’t find many on them and when I thought I did they weren’t actually scratches and were just an oil swipe from someone’s hand and were able to be quickly wiped away. I wasn’t expecting Gold to be that good. I was able to find a couple scratches on the bottom near the lightning port but you have to look at it at a certain angle and light to be able to see them.

Also, the screens on the phones were scratched up pretty bad. I hold that’s not an indication of how these phones hold up to scratches as I have never used a screen protector on my phones since the original iPhone and haven’t had an issue.
 
I had the X in space grey kept in an Apple case, it didnt scratch at all, anywhere on the band. As long as you take care of your phone I would have full confidence in SG.

I bought the XS Mac in gold and whilst slightly more concerned, so far so good.
 
Well, I guess I got my answer pretty quick. Backed up my X, opened up my XS Max only to be greeted with a nice little ding on the stainless steel band near the lightning port! Right out of the box! I mean I understand these things will get scratched over time no matter what color they are but right out of the box Apple? Really? Should’ve listened to many of you in the first place and just went with the Space Gray.
 

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rdunlap said:
Well, I guess I got my answer pretty quick. Backed up my X, opened up my XS Max only to be greeted with a nice little ding on the stainless steel band near the lightning port! Right out of the box! I mean I understand these things will get scratched over time no matter what color they are but right out of the box Apple? Really? Should’ve listened to many of you in the first place and just went with the Space Gray.
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i think you were just unlucky. My brother has the space gray iPhone X and there are white specks al around his band even though he kept it in a case since the day he got it. Io be honest I think both space gray and gold are equal in quality, but if they do scratch or flake, don’t you think the white would show up more obvious on black than gold?
 
Smoothie said:
I have the XS Max, and I'm returning the Apple leather case. I liked the look of leather, but that case is ridiculously slippery -- especially with the heavier weight of the Max. I always felt like the phone would slip out of my hand.

I think there's a thread on which colors were more prone to scratching.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was surprised at how slippery the leather case is. Almost no grip at all. Doesn’t work for a phone as big as the Max.
 
rdunlap said:
Well, I guess I got my answer pretty quick. Backed up my X, opened up my XS Max only to be greeted with a nice little ding on the stainless steel band near the lightning port! Right out of the box! I mean I understand these things will get scratched over time no matter what color they are but right out of the box Apple? Really? Should’ve listened to many of you in the first place and just went with the Space Gray.
Click to expand...
So you got gold, even though that's what you already had before and returned because you didn't care for gold? :confused:
rdunlap said:
I did. Returned it though as I didn’t care for the gold.
Click to expand...
 
Winryito said:
i think you were just unlucky. My brother has the space gray iPhone X and there are white specks al around his band even though he kept it in a case since the day he got it. Io be honest I think both space gray and gold are equal in quality, but if they do scratch or flake, don’t you think the white would show up more obvious on black than gold?
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Keeping it in the case since day one was his problem. There’s still a chance that little particles can get in between the phone and case. Gotta take the phone out and give it a little cleaning once awhile.
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rdunlap said:
No, I returned the Gold and went with Silver.
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So you returned the gold and went for silver which will show scratches the easiest. /facepalm
 
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