Develop Bugs

Soft rubberized feel back snap on case

I picked up some black Plasti Dip from Lowes. I sprayed it on to my spare purple back cover that came with the phone. It came out awesome. They have other colors also.
Sent from my SGH-T959
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I've been thinking about trying this since no 3rd party seems to want to supply any decent accessories for this phone.
How much did it cost? Pics?
Thanks for the tip.

Its been done already. Search for post

The spray is under 10 bucks. I also sprayed a usb flash drive
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Looks sweet. Any prep work involved? Or did u just sprayed it on as is??
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I didn't sand it down or anything put you should apply 2-3 coats

I found a can of black (I wish they would have had other colors) at Lowes for $7. 4 coats later, it looks awesome! I love the feel and that it no longer slips out of my hand. No more fatty silicone cases for me. My work colleagues were amazed at how nice this looked and felt.
This was a great tip. Thanks to OP.

dam that looks legit, gonna have to try that!

That looks sweet...

I would like to know how this held up over time..

I am SO glad you posted this! I have been looking at an extended battery on Ebay with a black GLOSSY battery door (BLEH - fingerprint magnet!), but having seen this I'm going to get a can of this stuff and paint the back of that battery door - should be great!

The K-Zoo Kid said:
I would like to know how this held up over time..
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Unfortunately, no too well so far. It has started to peel back on one side from rubbing when it goes in/out of my pocket. I imagine it's because the original surface is so slick/smooth. I think if it gets bad, I'll try again but spray on some kind of primer or maybe just spray paint first so it has something to hang onto. Anyone have any thoughts/ideas? OP, how is yours holding up?

went to Menards and they didn't carry plasti-dip, so I used this Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating instead... gave the backplate a hard, scratchy black surface. It's kind of awesome. Suddenly my Vibrant felt like a rugged industrial device than a shiny, whimpy product-photo-ready gadget. I cracked up at the difference when I first held it in my hand.
process:
sanded down backplate with sandpaper --> applied and dried two coats --> truckbed.jpg (attached)
superglued dorky metal sticker (it wouldn't take to the rough surface otherwise) --> cleaned up superglue around edges --> applied liquid mask over sticker --> applied coat (and repeated last two steps again) --> texturedetail.jpg (attached)
caldjeff: you need to sand the backplate first w/ sandpaper in order to roughen it up, so that whatever you apply to it has something to grip. This is a general suggestion... I don't know about plasti-dip in particular.

seannyb said:
went to Menards and they didn't carry plasti-dip, so I used this Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating instead... gave the backplate a hard, scratchy black surface. It's kind of awesome. Suddenly my Vibrant felt like a rugged industrial device than a shiny, whimpy product-photo-ready gadget. I cracked up at the difference when I first held it in my hand.
process:
sanded down backplate with sandpaper --> applied and dried two coats --> truckbed.jpg (attached)
superglued dorky metal sticker (it wouldn't take to the rough surface otherwise) --> cleaned up superglue around edges --> applied liquid mask over sticker --> applied coat (and repeated last two steps again) --> texturedetail.jpg (attached)
caldjeff: you need to sand the backplate first w/ sandpaper in order to roughen it up, so that whatever you apply to it has something to grip. This is a general suggestion... I don't know about plasti-dip in particular.
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Well done! I'm loving this idea and i think im going to try it when i get my extended battery with a backplate.

Naked case (vinyl and/or rubber battery cover) ??

OK - I've been using the ATT store Body Glove case since I bought the Captivate, which is ok but I don't really like the stripes on the back, and it is a bit too slippery for me.
I just ordered the Seidio case because it has more of a matte finish and I liked the felt interior. So I don't know if I like it or not.
A few minutes ago I took the phone out of it's case to dust it and clean out the case when I got a call. I was surprised at how slim the phone felt without it's Body Glove case on. I liked it. But I also found it a bit slippery. ( A speaker phone call was put on the arm of the chair I was in - with the case it would hold - without it slid away)
Now I am wondering if I should just use some skateboard tape or something similar on key areas to allow me to set it down and hold it comfortably (where it won't slip) instead of using a case. I don't use a screen protector and I don't think this phone needs it.
Any comments or suggestions?

Now that I've thought about it for a few minutes - I think what I want is a rubberized battery cover. That would be the bomb.

I don't use a case on mine and I've yet to get a single scratch on the front or back - the glass is very tough. I cringe at having to use a case, losing accuracy, clarity, and brightness on the screen and having to touch through that...having it hard to slip in and out of my pocket...not looking as nice. It's like if your wife made you use a condom every time.

just "paint" it with some Elmer's Rubber Cement. Im really kidding but I'm with you I like the feel of the phone and I hate the rubber case I got it makes it a pain to get in and out of the pocket. Personally I plan on selling this phone in a couple of months so I want it in good condition.

vsboxerboy1 said:
I don't use a case on mine and I've yet to get a single scratch on the front or back - the glass is very tough. I cringe at having to use a case, losing accuracy, clarity, and brightness on the screen and having to touch through that...having it hard to slip in and out of my pocket...not looking as nice. It's like if your wife made you use a condom every time.
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Agreed that the screen is fine on its own. But I still think the back needs some help.
Also, I do not like condoms. Neither do my wife and kids.

Ah, well I saw something a while back where someone basically took four little rubber/plastic stickers and put one on each corner of the back of the phone to lift the back up off whatever surface you set it on just a hair. I would imagine that you'd get good traction with that too - I can't seem to find the exact application of it though......

This thread is mostly me think out loud.
I believe that what I want is a rubberized battery cover.
The cover is slightly recessed - it is lower then the bottom locking section and the top section with the camera. It also wraps around the sides almost 1/2 of the way.
I think that if the battery cover were coated with a rubberized, non-slip material, it would be better. If the rubberization made the cover stick out slightly, rather than be recessed, it would allow the phone to be set on it's back and not slide away and keep the camera off the deck. Also, the wrap around side parts of the cover would help when holding the phone.
Now, can someone tell me of a place/process that might do this? (Not rubber cement but close) My pickup has a Rhino Lining coating that I love. There is a place nearby that does that work but the coating is like 1/8-1/4 inches and that is a bit to thick for the phone.
Any Ideas?

http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1150/Product/GUN_KOTE_trade__OVEN_CURE__GUN_FINISH
http://www.goboatingamerica.com/products/DM_article.asp?id=3645
Found these

Bought this stuff at Home Depot.

Then tested in on this beer can. I didn't clean or prep the can, just picked it up off of the floor.
This is 5 coats. It is still thin. Dries fast and feels just about how I'd like it to. Not tacky - sort of a hard rubber feel. It is flexible, the can bends and the stuff stays with it.
It can be scratched, you may be able to see a scratch I made with my nail. It didn't go all the way through to the can though - and I had to scratch hard. It looks like it would be easy to spray another coat over any scuffs.
I plan to do the back of the battery cover - thick enough to make it a bit taller than the top and bottom sections of the phone. The way it is going it seem like that may take 15+ coats. I'll keep testing.

Two things about that though, the battery cover is used not only as the speaker output but the battery cover itself also dissipates a good amount of the heat that the phone generates. You probably want to be a more careful than usual in designing something that is going to smother this part of the phone.

not sure how much you're looking to spend but I put the Zagg total protection on mine. You get full protection on your phone but you can't see it, so you still get the sleek look and it's still very thin as well. The clear plastic is also great for gripping, I can set it on the dash of my car and drive normally and it won't budge.

I've had good luck with bestskinsever.com
Used it on my Nexus One and the fit was good, buddy got one for his vibrant and the fit is good as well.

journeyman82 said:
not sure how much you're looking to spend but I put the Zagg total protection on mine. You get full protection on your phone but you can't see it, so you still get the sleek look and it's still very thin as well. The clear plastic is also great for gripping, I can set it on the dash of my car and drive normally and it won't budge.
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Looks interesting. I wish they had the leather skin for the captivate. I would be all over that. In fact I may need to take a trip to the fabric store to see what they have.
Thanks.

Ok to finish up my saga...
I liked the faux leather on the cover mentioned in the post above so I went to the fabric store and ended up with some black, I believe they call it marbled vinyl. It looked and felt similar to the back of a blackberry I once held.
I tested it on my trusty Busch Light can with some 3M spray adhesive and it seemed to hold fairly well.
So I went for it. I taped off the inside and the prongs of the battery cover. Sprayed glue on the cover and the back of a piece of vinyl cut too big. Stuck it on and smoothed it out. I sat the cover on a bag of rice and and put a bag of brown sugar on top (to push around the curves) and topped it off with a gallon jug of tile grout.
Waited an hour, probably longer than needed, and used a pointy x-acto knife to trim off the excess. I had also put a piece of tape over the speaker holes so I cut that back open to. The underside of the vinyl has a white background so once it was trimmed to fit I went around the edges with a fine tipped sharpie, which blended well.
Overall I like it. It is just a bit thinker that the top and bottom bands, so if you lay her on her back those parts don't touch a flat table. It has a leathery, grippy feel without being tacky, which is what I was going for. I do already miss the front edge lip that the Body Golve provided but it is also almost it;s original thickness.
Pics below. (Sorry about the crappy last pic. I had the phone with new back all set up on a white surface, ready for it's glamor shot, when I realized that the phone is my camera)

Staplebox: great job!
Wow that is a nice, careful job.....

staplebox said:
Ok to finish up my saga...
I liked the faux leather on the cover mentioned in the post above so I went to the fabric store and ended up with some black, I believe they call it marbled vinyl. It looked and felt similar to the back of a blackberry I once held.
I tested it on my trusty Busch Light can with some 3M spray adhesive and it seemed to hold fairly well.
So I went for it. I taped off the inside and the prongs of the battery cover. Sprayed glue on the cover and the back of a piece of vinyl cut too big. Stuck it on and smoothed it out. I sat the cover on a bag of rice and and put a bag of brown sugar on top (to push around the curves) and topped it off with a gallon jug of tile grout.
Waited an hour, probably longer than needed, and used a pointy x-acto knife to trim off the excess. I had also put a piece of tape over the speaker holes so I cut that back open to. The underside of the vinyl has a white background so once it was trimmed to fit I went around the edges with a fine tipped sharpie, which blended well.
Overall I like it. It is just a bit thinker that the top and bottom bands, so if you lay her on her back those parts don't touch a flat table. It has a leathery, grippy feel without being tacky, which is what I was going for. I do already miss the front edge lip that the Body Golve provided but it is also almost it;s original thickness.
Pics below. (Sorry about the crappy last pic. I had the phone with new back all set up on a white surface, ready for it's glamor shot, when I realized that the phone is my camera)
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love it, im stealing that!

Go for it. Usually I prefer to buy a second of whatever I am defacing before I deface it but I didn't find any battery covers online. I also didn't look to hard.
It is still on and I still like it. The only thing I don't like too much are the sides. I completely covered the back, right up to the side edges. It is a perfect thickness on the back but feels too thick on the sides. I wish I could have found a thinner material that I could have built up on the back and tapered to one layer on the sides. I really wanted grippyness on the sides so, oh well, it's good enough.
I'm still on the look out for a better spray on rubber. I'll update if I find anything good.
Hopefully someone will start making aftermarket battery covers with some options.
Thanks and good luck,.

Second the stealing. Awesome idea and writeup. Thanks for sharing.
From a phone on an app

I scrapped the vinyl. The edges were just bugging me to much. I still think a thinner material would work well though.
I cleaned up the cover - looked fine again with all the glue off of it.
I went back to the rubber spray. I've got about 8 coats on in the attached pic. Need to wait about 30 min in between coats. I'll keep going until I go to sleep, let it dry overnight - and test it out tomorrow.
ETA - put it on the phone the today. Love it. Doesn't add any bulk and provides a grippyness to the back and sides. I'll find out how durable it is.

Rubberized back cover for Atrix

So I've got to give credit to the fine folks over at the Nexus S forum for giving inspiring the idea. I am a fan of keeping my phone caseless but I'm also a fan of keeping the scratches away. I bought a can of plasti dip in black and sprayed the back cover of the phone. The inside I sprayed 3 coats and the outside I believe 5. I held the can away from the cover about 15 inches while spraying for an even coat. Let it dry 30 mins between coats and sit 4-5 hours when I was finished just as the can said. It turned out great as you can see and now has a scratch proof rubberized cover. The rubber simply peels off if I ever want to remove it.

Looks good, not a bad idea at all. You say you sprayed the inside of the cover as well? Wouldn't think you would need to bother with the inside, why did you cover the inside. Take care.

smsparks said:
Looks good, not a bad idea at all. You say you sprayed the inside of the cover as well? Wouldn't think you would need to bother with the inside, why did you cover the inside. Take care.
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I sprayed the inside as well so it wouldn't start to peel on the edges. It fits just as snug as it did before despite being sprayed inside too. =) I did cover the hole for the speaker before spraying

How well does it slide in and out of your pocket? Is there any spray that would be more of a soft-touch rubber feel?

icedwhiskey said:
How well does it slide in and out of your pocket? Is there any spray that would be more of a soft-touch rubber feel?
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It slides in and out just fine. It's just grippy enough to not slide around on my seat as I'm driving. The best thing is if it gets annoying or I want to change it the stuff just simply peels off

i've used plastidip plenty of times on things, and i dont know about the durability of that over time. I use it on emblems on cars to black them out and stuff and small rock chips etc pull it off fairly easily. Plus the finish usually isnt too smooth. i'd rather spend 20 and get the feather case....i can peel that off too

seriouslyjeff said:
I am a fan of keeping my phone caseless but I'm also a fan of keeping the scratches away.
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How do you plan to keep that arpo over 70 if you don't sell any cases? lol.

link12245 said:
How do you plan to keep that arpo over 70 if you don't sell any cases? lol.
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Lmao! If we had more than zero cases in the store I would sell em! I take it you work for att too?

poor phone looks like my grandpa's truck bed now.

falconeight said:
poor phone looks like my grandpa's truck bed now.
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Too bad it can't haul

case companies need to stop making ugly ass cases and make some back cover replacements.
First one to make a soft-touch back cover with kick stands wins my money

Very cool idea! I decided just to wet sand the back cover to keep it looking like carbon fiber AND to make it a little easier to grip on to - pics are in the link on my signature.
I don't know if I agree with spraying the inside too just to get the edges uniform.... spraying the inside (and, well, the outside too I guess) will help trap in heat, something you don't want when charging a phone with a dead battery because this thing gets HOT as it is!
Also, I don't know if I would advertise the ability to simply peel the rubberized coating right off if you want to remove it. I've used this stuff dozens of times, I actually have my race car's tow hook covered in it, and that thing sees a LOT of abuse, but doesn't come right off.... If you can use this stuff to protect against giant metal hooks scratching off the coating with exactly as many dips in the can as you have layers of spray, I doubt this stuff would come off completely without a fight!

seriouslyjeff said:
Lmao! If we had more than zero cases in the store I would sell em! I take it you work for att too?
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Yes sir. We also have no cases, no accessories, but do have a few of the phones left.

GarciaM25 said:
Very cool idea! I decided just to wet sand the back cover to keep it looking like carbon fiber AND to make it a little easier to grip on to - pics are in the link on my signature.
I don't know if I agree with spraying the inside too just to get the edges uniform.... spraying the inside (and, well, the outside too I guess) will help trap in heat, something you don't want when charging a phone with a dead battery because this thing gets HOT as it is!
Also, I don't know if I would advertise the ability to simply peel the rubberized coating right off if you want to remove it. I've used this stuff dozens of times, I actually have my race car's tow hook covered in it, and that thing sees a LOT of abuse, but doesn't come right off.... If you can use this stuff to protect against giant metal hooks scratching off the coating with exactly as many dips in the can as you have layers of spray, I doubt this stuff would come off completely without a fight!
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I don't know about it overheating at all although I haven't noticed any problems. As far as it peeling off it peels off without a hitch.. almost too easy, I am going to sand the back of the case in hopes that it will stick a little better. I assume the glossy cover makes it easy to peel but I've peeled it off and sprayed it again already once.

andy2na said:
case companies need to stop making ugly ass cases and make some back cover replacements.
First one to make a soft-touch back cover with kick stands wins my money
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Dude yes I am totally with you!

andy2na said:
case companies need to stop making ugly ass cases and make some back cover replacements.
First one to make a soft-touch back cover with kick stands wins my money
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+2 !!!!!!!

How is it holding up, 2 weeks later?

Ah sorry for the late response. It was holing up pretty well. I peeled it off a few days ago due to it peeling.. I think I might lightly sand the back first this time
Sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA App

Good idea and all but why would you not buy a rubberized case instead (replaces battery door). I have seen a dozen shops selling them in the US but none that ship (or none afford-ably yet) to Australia.

mrinternet said:
Good idea and all but why would you not buy a rubberized case instead (replaces battery door). I have seen a dozen shops selling them in the US but none that ship (or none afford-ably yet) to Australia.[/QUOeditTE]
Oh because when I did it 6 weeks ago (right after release of the phone) there were none available
Edit: I misread. I don't like cases. They make the phone too bulky. I now use best skins ever. This peeled off after about a week each time I did it.
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[Q] Cleaning the leather stitching

Hi all - what's the best way to clean the leather stitching at the back without damaging the leather skin and the stitching? I had placed this on top of a wet table earlier and now it's not looking to good. :cyclops:

mundixx said:
Hi all - what's the best way to clean the leather stitching at the back without damaging the leather skin and the stitching? I had placed this on top of a wet table earlier and now it's not looking to good. :cyclops:
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What is it you're trying to clean off? I use alcohol swabs a couple times a day on my phone front and back and have for every phone in the past several years. I am a germaphobe though. It works really well. Never damaged anything before. I am sure it's not great for the leather, but I'll worry about that if I see any damage then.

I would not use alcohol, especially rubbing alcohol. (there are numerous different types of alcohol). Rubbing alcohol will dry out and crack the leather it may not happen right away but it will happen if used frequently. By the time you start to see any damage it will be too late. If you have a serious stain and are dead set in using alcohol buy some isopropyl alcohol and do a 50/50 mix of that and water.
I would use leather cleaner and moisturizer. My wife has been using Coach products on her leather Coach purses for years and her purses that are 20 years old still look like new:
http://www.coach.com/shop/women-accessories-product-care
I would also stay away from leather car seat cleaner as car seats are a bit more rugged than the leather used on the phones. (the only car seat product I would consider using is Leatherique, but it is insanely expensive).
Just my $.02 worth

How To Guide How to keep your case on the front of the phone

Alright, after months of trying to nail this problem down I finally have a good solution!
I've tried a few different cases on my fold3 and none of them really held well on the top screen when folded and in my pocket. It would start sliding off. So I finally have a solution. Get yourself some good double sided tape (I suggest some type of 3m tape This for example) and measure you a piece of tape that is length of the case that touches the phone that isn't on the screen. Then take a sharp knife and cut a very thin strip of tape. Put that strip on your case and then put the case on the phone. Press hard and hold it there for a bit and then BAM it's not going anywhere again. If it's done right it will not be noticable (see pics I've attached) unless you look closely it's really clean and nice looking to me.
In the pictures you can see the black strip of tape that came with the case that wasn't super useful but what useful was my piece of tape.

I have been lucky in that my cases have not had this issue, but I agree, if you need too, there is no shame in using tape to keep this thing protected.
Just use good quality stuff.
This is the stuff I have and I LOVE IT... https://smile.amazon.com/25Meter-Double-Adhesive-Display-Housing/dp/B071D5CKCX

Good solution, just easy.
Unfortunetly fold series and other folded devices need specially cover.
I have fold 2 1,5 year and few covers:
Ringke slim. Good cover but even pieces of double tape after take off i saw particles of dust and sand.
Next i bought Spigen armor pro. Great protection but a lot of bulky and even mount with force for good fit after few weeks and take off i saw few white dots on the frame from probably few particles sand.
It was little frustrating because I always to take care my devices and carry without any other stuff in my pocket.
4 days ago i told "stop" covers with use tape for hold on the device.
Without case fold is really beautifull and touch metal in every time is really pleasant .
I read topics on reddit about "caseless fold devices" and a lot of people have enjoy use folds without case.
After that I use my device only with original leather back cover, without front cover.
Admittedly 2 days ago drop my fold from pocket on the floor. It drop edge front frame but after that is only scratch and rest device survive well

I have béen using a dab of clear silicone sealant. Holds well, and comes off by rubbing it with a cloth.

After a few months of searching, I just gave up and use whichever is the slimmest case without an adhesive. It made more than a few scratches on the side of my screen and I just decided not to give a crap about it, it doesn't go over the main screen anyway.