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Will the gold finish in the Gold 5S tarnish and fade causing "discolor-gate"?

ET iPhone Home

ET iPhone Home

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 5, 2011
3,823
529
Orange County, California USA
Looking very closely at the Gold 5S photos at Apple.com, it seems the gold finish in the gold iPhone 5S will fade and tarnish into a dull finish with normal use, unlike the White and Black colors.

Unlike the previous iP5 where the black can easily scratch and get nicked around the edges, I see, on the other hand, the gold 5S loosing it's golden luster.

What do you guys think? Any info.out there on this?
 
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ET iPhone Home said:
Looking very closely at the Gold 5S photos at Apple.com, it seems the gold finish in the gold iPhone 5S will fade and tarnish into a dull finish with normal use, unlike the White and Black colors.

Unlike the previous iP5 where the black ca easily scratch and get nicked around the edges, I see the gold 5S loosing it's golden luster.

What do you guys think? Any info.out there on this?
Click to expand...

The phone hasn't been released yet so how can we know?
 
lol another round of "gates" are approaching. But my guess would be that since Apple caught a lot of crap last time, they will "double down" on the process to avoid a repeat of the same issues that plagued the initial release of the iPhone 5
 
why would it tarnish? It's an aluminum powder coating, not actually gold :rolleyes:
 
solace said:
why would it tarnish? It's an aluminum powder coating, not actually gold :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Exactly my point, coatings do have a tendency to tarnish and fade in some certain colors like gold for example. I see this more on the gold colored 5S over the black and white. I was wondering what process Apple took, whether it be baking in the color, painting it, or even filming the gold over the aluminum (which I highly doubt the latter).

Black paint in cars lose it's shine. Silver fades, and gold loses its luster. I realize it's not the same painted process on iPhones, but was just wondering:confused:.
 
ET iPhone Home said:
Exactly my point, coatings do have a tendency to tarnish and fade in some certain colors like gold for example. I see this more on the gold colored 5S over the black and white. I was wondering what process Apple took, whether it be baking in the color, painting it, or even filming the gold over the aluminum (which I highly doubt the latter).
Click to expand...

Do you even know what powder coating is?
 
AppleFan91 said:
lol another round of "gates" are approaching. But my guess would be that since Apple caught a lot of crap last time, they will "double down" on the process to avoid a repeat of the same issues that plagued the initial release of the iPhone 5
Click to expand...

Bet they won't. There wasn't an issue with the the iPhone 5. People scratching or scraping their iPhones is called "life."
 
ET iPhone Home said:
Exactly my point, coatings do have a tendency to tarnish and fade in some certain colors like gold for example. I see this more on the gold colored 5S over the black and white. I was wondering what process Apple took, whether it be baking in the color, painting it, or even filming the gold over the aluminum (which I highly doubt the latter).

Black paint in cars lose it's shine. Silver fades, and gold loses its luster. I realize it's not the same painted process on iPhones, but was just wondering:confused:.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should read up on the process of anodization before making such rash and frankly foolish comments.

"Looking very closely at the Gold 5S photos at Apple.com, it seems the gold finish in the gold iPhone 5S will fade and tarnish into a dull finish with normal use, unlike the White and Black colors."

So you can tell from a promo picture on a website? It is probably not going to end up like the black iPhone 5 if that's what you are afraid of. Scuff gate was last years news.
 
Defender2010 said:
Perhaps you should read up on the process of anodization before making such rash and frankly foolish comments.

"Looking very closely at the Gold 5S photos at Apple.com, it seems the gold finish in the gold iPhone 5S will fade and tarnish into a dull finish with normal use, unlike the White and Black colors."

So you can tell from a promo picture on a website? It is probably not going to end up like the black iPhone 5 if that's what you are afraid of. Scuff gate was last years news.
Click to expand...

LOL! Respectfully, you should be the one to read up on the process of anodization. Anodization is the treatment of aluminum, since aluminum is a soft metal, the anodization process make the aluminum metal sturdier to last longer. Unfortunately, color cannot be treated in the same fashion, therefore, will fade. You rushed to judgement. My advice to you is to educate yourself first and foremost, before making rash and frankly foolish replies to comments. I'm sure you're "somewhat" intelligent to google all this yourself.
 
Apparently gold is the easiest colour to anodise onto aluminium. Black is the hardest.

The gold one should stand up to wear and tear much better, the "space grey" colour seems to have been a response to the poor durability of the black.
 
Chundles said:
Apparently gold is the easiest colour to anodise onto aluminium. Black is the hardest.

The gold one should stand up to wear and tear much better, the "space grey" colour seems to have been a response to the poor durability of the black.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this. The was the reason why I made the inquiry. Anything other than solid gold seem to tarnish. Even 14K gold fades. I was wondering if the coloring process of the gold was similar to the process done with carbon fiber, where carbon is milled with the color and later harden. This is the only process I know that maintains the integrity of color.
 
AppleFan91 said:
You seem to forget about the ones that shipped from Apple already scratched and dented?
Click to expand...

Doubtless few and far between. You have to remember how many of these things were shipped. Bajillions. Sure, there were some that fell through the cracks and were damaged out of the box. Apple users are a pretty vocal crowd, though, so things ALWAYS appear to be worse than they are. My wife and I are day-one iPhone 5 owners, and had no issues.

I'm assuming the process is easier for the assemblers to put together (and they're more experienced), but that's nothing to do with what people end up doing to their phones after the fact, which is what this thread is about...
 
ET iPhone Home said:
LOL! Respectfully, you should be the one to read up on the process of anodization. Anodization is the treatment of aluminum, since aluminum is a soft metal, the anodization process make the aluminum metal sturdier to last longer. Unfortunately, color cannot be treated in the same fashion, therefore, will fade. You rushed to judgement. My advice to you is to educate yourself first and foremost, before making rash and frankly foolish replies to comments. I'm sure you're "somewhat" intelligent to google all this yourself.
Click to expand...

Try reading your first post again. It's ridiculous. In the English way.
 
ET iPhone Home said:
Thank you so much for this. The was the reason why I made the inquiry. Anything other than solid gold seem to tarnish. Even 14K gold fades. I was wondering if the coloring process of the gold was similar to the process done with carbon fiber, where carbon is milled with the color and later harden. This is the only process I know that maintains the integrity of color.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much? For a guess? "apparently"! Get some links with concrete proof of gold scratching easier and I will at least try to take you seriously.

Just in case you forgot your first post -

"Looking very closely at the Gold 5S photos at Apple.com, it seems the gold finish in the gold iPhone 5S will fade and tarnish into a dull finish with normal use, unlike the White and Black colors."
 
Defender2010 said:
Thank you so much? For a guess? "apparently"! Get some links with concrete proof of gold scratching easier and I will at least try to take you seriously.

Just in case you forgot your first post -

"Looking very closely at the Gold 5S photos at Apple.com, it seems the gold finish in the gold iPhone 5S will fade and tarnish into a dull finish with normal use, unlike the White and Black colors."
Click to expand...

Yes, I do recall my post vividly. It was based on observation like anything else, similar to hypothesis and science. You've never made an observation before and questioned it. I won't waste my time linking you to proof. You have the same capabilities of researching it yourself. If you doubt the anodization process you commented on, then go find your own answer. I'm satisfied with my research - Gold will fade.
 
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