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POLISHED Thunderbolt kickstand

As soon as I noticed the Thunderbolt Kickstand I was thinking polish time.. But didn't want to jump the gun.. Till I noticed the clear coat was practically falling off.. along with everyone else's. All you need is about 15 mins and the will to mess with your big dollar TB.
If your clear coat is falling off. Just take your nail or a pen cap and finish scratching the rest off. Try to avoid using metal unless you want to put some knarly scratches in it. If you do use metal. Be very light and go left to right and not up to down so your following the factory lines in it.
Once done grab the masking tape and tape under and all over to keep the pretty T bolt clean.
Get some mothers or what ever polish and go to town. Just use a little bit and you can use your finger and start buffing. By just the texture of your finger it will remove the factory lines.
Then wipe off and continue till its nice and pretty Haha..
Make sure you wipe everything off with Q Tips and all before opening your kickstand..
Once cleaned off. Pull the tap and admire your new TB mirror.. Very nice..
Hope this helps. Any questions, please ask...

Looks nice
-Monky_1

It's always nice to know what the finished product will look like before deciding whether or not to try something like this, so thanks for being the guinea pig.

Yes, thanks! I will probably be doing this once mine starts peeling.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

nice gunna do this today when get off work

I think I'll try this tonight. Thanks for this post.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk

Something so simple, and most of us never even thought of doing this. Thanks for this, mine is peeling off and I was getting upset because i'm anal about things like that lol

Only downfall I'm seeing is, fingerprints and what not on the kickstand. But not any different then the glass screen.. Haha
Sent from my Thunderstruck

I like it. I will definitely do this later.

I took some 1500gtit sandpaper to my kickstands and kept the brushed look. I like that the "with Google" is etched in there and remained.

sandpaper worked like a charm for me too. happy with the brushed look for now, may consider the polish.

It was only a matter of time.
Polished looks great, but it's sometimes a PITA to keep looking that good.
Nice work!

g00s3y said:
Something so simple, and most of us never even thought of doing this.
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Kind of ironic, given how many people have GREAT ideas for software changes/upgrades, haha!
OP, thanks for the pics. Looks great!

Looks great! When mine peels bad enough I think I will polish and then re clear.

Toothpaste will work too
Most toothpastes will work for this sort of thing. In the Army, we used to take the lacquer layer off our various brass items this way. Great seeing a fix like this here. The new mirrored surface comes in handy.
Thanks!

looks really good, I don't get why so many people are having issues with the finish peeling off? Mine is perfect and i use the kickstand daily. But if mine does peel i might polish it.

how does it look with the finish peeled off w/o polishing it? i prefer the brushed metal look.

Mine was badly peeling off so i decided to do it also. Taking the coating took a lot longer than expecting using a plastic pen. I then found an aluminum pen to easily strip the rest off without scratching it. I sanded the scratches out, but didn't have any fine sandpaper to clean it all up. I'm kinda liking the slightly brushed/polished look though.
Without polish or coating
Polished
Will probably sand it down a bit more and polish it up more later on. More scratches are starting to appear, but im happy with how it looks.

doesn't look bad, always thought it'll look good. thanks!

Looks great! I'm going to use one of those green scrub pads tonight.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

[Q] Case Customization

I've ordered cases from ebay and I'm interested in customizing them by drawing designs on the back with sharpie(design is attached). My only problem is that I know it's gonna wear off and I was wondering if anyone knew how to make the design permanent. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

im no expert but maybe you can put a thin layer of varnish on it?
on a side note, the design looks like a giant penis with legs

c19932 said:
on a side note, the design looks like a giant penis with legs
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oh, isnt it a penis then?

It's a squid but I appreciate the criticism
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

Industrial Sharpe.... not going anywhere

I did a similar thing with my old iPhone 3G! What made it stay, was the thin layer of tape find some in a near by hobbyshop!
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

Not to be mean but your Design isn't a squid, they have five Tentacles... >.>
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

Update
Ugh, why do you people have to be smart...it's now an Octopus that lost 2 limbs and I think it looks less like a penis...
Thanks for the advice btw!

Maybe sand down the case with fine grit sandpaper then industrial sharpie topped with a couple of layers of clear matte spray paint? MAYBE?

c19932 said:
on a side note, the design looks like a giant penis with legs
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a guy from work told me about this thread for that comment... LOL

Hide yer kids hide yer wives, squidcock is on a rape rampage!
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

Doesn't matter how many legs you give it. The shape and size makes the top of it's head look like the tip of a penis. With veins, too.

Wow, this made my day a whole lot better............

You could use a clear coat spray i would think. They sell it at auto parts stores. Made to spray over paint. Although it may seal it, it wont protect from pregnancy or STDs..
PS. If the clear coat doesn't work, maybe you could put a condom over it? That should protect it

nugzo said:
You could use a clear coat spray i would think. They sell it at auto parts stores. Made to spray over paint. Although it may seal it, it wont protect from pregnancy or STDs..
PS. If the clear coat doesn't work, maybe you could put a condom over it? That should protect it
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"Condom" don't leave home without it.

nugzo said:
You could use a clear coat spray i would think. They sell it at auto parts stores. Made to spray over paint. Although it may seal it, it wont protect from pregnancy or STDs..
PS. If the clear coat doesn't work, maybe you could put a condom over it? That should protect it
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LOL. But yea spraying should be better than with a brush for better smoothness.
evinkay said:
Ugh, why do you people have to be smart...it's now an Octopus that lost 2 limbs and I think it looks less like a penis...
Thanks for the advice btw!
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you could argue that the 2 limbs are in the backside of the pictures.
But I think your updated version looks more like the bottom view of a penis, with all the nice shadows on the trunk
edit: jokes aside, I think it's a nice drawing and you should keep this case.

Definitely automotive clear coat. I've used it on projects like this, and it's great.

Sensation back piece

I'm trying to take my back cover apart and I can't get the last piece off unless I break it off. Does anyone know how to take it off?
Update: you can take the top piece off with brute force without it breaking. It has some glue holding it but not a lot.
Update#2: the extra backcover was only for solidus

I don't think many people have tried this lol. Just wondering, what are you doing it for?

I wasn't aware it was supposed to come apart.
Sent from my LG-V909 using XDA Premium App

...looks like he wants to paint it custom colors
and OP, you still need to break the melted plastic seal i circled in attached, but be careful, most of the top is for antennas, you shoulnt have to force it off once the seals are broken

Solidus_n313 said:
...looks like he wants to paint it custom colors
and OP, you still need to break the melted plastic seal i circled in attached, but be careful, most of the top is for antennas, you shoulnt have to force it off once the seals are broken
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Yeah I'm going to paint it white. One of the seals are glued to the metal housing. Any suggestions on how to take it off?

Optimusg2x said:
Yeah I'm going to paint it white. One of the seals are glued to the metal housing. Any suggestions on how to take it off?
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Try a heatgun or plain ole blow dryer. Goodluck, and please post final product pics

KillaHurtz said:
Try a heatgun or plain ole blow dryer. Goodluck, and please post final product pics
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Ok ill try that and don't worry I will.

yeah, heatgun/blowdryer on high should work really well since its mostly aluminium...just wear gloves!
also, im curiouse to see if teh paint will interfere with signal when completed.
how many coats are you planning on? also, matte or glossy? possibilty of a clear coat? (lol sorry for the inquisition, im a modder myself, and when i hack in a powermat reciever into my new shell, im considering painting it as well)

Solidus_n313 said:
yeah, heatgun/blowdryer on high should work really well since its mostly aluminium...just wear gloves!
also, im curiouse to see if teh paint will interfere with signal when completed.
how many coats are you planning on? also, matte or glossy? possibilty of a clear coat? (lol sorry for the inquisition, im a modder myself, and when i hack in a powermat reciever into my new shell, im considering painting it as well)
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I'm putting 2 coats of matte and 1 coat of gloss. If the paint works the way I want it to, ill put a clear coat. I don't think the paint will interfere with the signal as long as you leave the holes open on the cover.

****, i dont think i can pass that offer up ive been thinking about maybe a white or blue metallic flake w/ clear coat, and doing the "HTC" in maybe arctic silver, or something like that...ill pm ya if needed, im not 100% on the quality of the shell im getting :/
EDIT: lol, also, did you get it off?

Solidus_n313 said:
****, i dont think i can pass that offer up ive been thinking about maybe a white or blue metallic flake w/ clear coat, and doing the "HTC" in maybe arctic silver, or something like that...ill pm ya if needed, im not 100% on the quality of the shell im getting :/
EDIT: lol, also, did you get it off?
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Yeah I got the last piece off and if you need one solidus just pm me. Any ideas on how to save the HTC letters? I started painting it last night.

Optimusg2x said:
Yeah I got the last piece off and if you need one soldier just pm me. Any ideas on how to save the HTC letters? I started painting it last night.
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fill the letters with tape?
Looking forward to the final product!

nicky041192 said:
fill the letters with tape?
Looking forward to the final product!
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I tried that but I'll figure something out.

I cant wait to see it in white color:O
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App

Don't use gloss paint. It makes the back cover look really cheap.

Optimusg2x said:
I tried that but I'll figure something out.
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chap stick or vasoline maybe?...if the white looks good (which I'm guessing it will) I would definitely pay for one of those. Love the idea, but I'm waaay to chicken **** to try it without a backup ha

civicvx94 said:
chap stick or vasoline maybe?...if the white looks good (which I'm guessing it will) I would definitely pay for one of those. Love the idea, but I'm waaay to chicken **** to try it without a backup ha
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I have three of them so I'm not to worried and the gloss paint looked really cheap so I'm starting over.

yeah, i was gonna sand down the shell and use a matte paint, 2 or 3 coats, then maybe 2 coats of clear, depending on how it looks when its dry...
as for the letters, when i need to cover something that small/detailed, i use this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_bandage
works like a charm, and peels right off! just be sure that when ur done ALL your painting, use a *fine* tip blade to run around the edges of the letters so it doesnt peel your hard work off
it will adhere to metal, wood, plexiglass, fiberglass and carbon fiber, but make sure the surface is SUPER CLEAN! i cant stress that enough

Solidus_n313 said:
yeah, i was gonna sand down the shell and use a matte paint, 2 or 3 coats, then maybe 2 coats of clear, depending on how it looks when its dry...
as for the letters, when i need to cover something that small/detailed, i use this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_bandage
works like a charm, and peels right off! just be sure that when ur done ALL your painting, use a *fine* tip blade to run around the edges of the letters so it doesnt peel your hard work off
it will adhere to metal, wood, plexiglass, fiberglass and carbon fiber, but make sure the surface is SUPER CLEAN! i cant stress that enough
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Ok ill try that. I got another back cover but I don't know what color I should paint it. I'm thinking red or black. What color are you painting your back piece?

I'm so jealous. I've wanted to paint my back piece white since the moment I saw this phone. I was so depressed when I bought it and saw how it was on. I'm going to try it soon. Where did you get the extras? Just online?

[Q] unibody losing paint (+pic)

My desire s looks like this at the back. It all started out with a scratch (well, at a certain moment I just noticed that a small piece of the paint was missing, about 1mm x 1mm) and it ended up like this, al by itself . I got in touch with the support (in Holland) and they said that this was the first time that they saw this and that they had tried to do the same with an other phone and that they couldn't reproduce this. Is there anyone who notices a similar problem on their own desire s? Of course the phone is functioning as it should be, so that is not a problem, but I am afraid that it will end up without any paint at all. Any thoughts on this?

never heard that happens to someone..did you scratch on that place or something then start to losing paint or what?

Adidas108 said:
never heard that happens to someone..did you scratch on that place or something then start to losing paint or what?
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I've only heard one other person mention this as a problem over the last five months.
Do you keep keys or coins in the same pocket as your phone?
Mine of course is missing paint from three out of the four front corners, but, that is because I've dropped while being under the influence
You could try to scratch all the remaining paint off so that it looks like the grey/silver model
Swyped from HTC Desire S using XDA Premium

lol yeah we can start with case modding too

I'm always keeping it in a pouch (golla) which completely protects it from everything. I just noticed that some paint was missing a first, just a very small spot, can't remember scratching it in any way. After that it just 'spreaded'

I assume it's enameled or something like that, so once the paint is pierced, it will peel. Same happens on cars. You could try sealing it with a dap of nail varnish and then painting it over I suppose.

al89nut said:
I assume it's enameled or something like that, so once the paint is pierced, it will peel. Same happens on cars. You could try sealing it with a dap of nail varnish and then painting it over I suppose.
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That sounds logical to me, but the question remains the same: why is the paint of my phone peeling while the paint of all other phones that got scratched isn't? I can't be the ony one who got the paint damaged, can I? But still, no one seems to have this kind of problem.

Maybe you can do this
The DHD and the DS are made from the same material, so if you like it...
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

same thing happened to my car one day.. it was more like 3cm X 3cm. And after thinking very hard to find why the paint looked like it was disolved.. i figured a dog had peed on the spot and i did not wash my car for like 15 days afterwards... i am not saying yours is pee but it is definitely chemical corrosion.. something was spilled on that spot

I think that DHD looks really cool, you should definitely do the same!

That is strange behaviour.. never seen that before. Can't you just go to the reseller for your warranty?

I just noticed the same on my phone, just few small spots, but it will get bigger. Gonna try warranty when it happens.

djpbx said:
Maybe you can do this
The DHD and the DS are made from the same material, so if you like it...
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
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That looks quality! How did you get that effect?
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

Here is some nice guide. http://blog.whitesites.com/HTC-Sensation-4G-Chrome-Polished-Frame__634471425817343750_blog.htm

uoosuow said:
Here is some nice guide.
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That looks cool

I had the same thing but only a tiny speck. I was trying to pull off a piece of **** snap on case and in the process the case scratched the paint. Don't buy those clear snap-on-the-side cases with the supposedly metallic backing. They're ****balls.
Anyway I covered it up with a dot of black permanent marker and forgot about it since. Thankfully the scratch was small enough to get away with that.

Mine has started to do the same from either side of the ear piece. I think it might be some kind of corrosion on the aluminium due to sweat maybe? I live on an island with a tropical climate, so its basically a sauna year around.

Wow that looks very cool..
I think I found myself a new project

How to repaint the chrome bezel?

My corners are stripped from drops and i want to resell it in january when i get my note 2. So i bought a new battery and battery cover now i just need to find a way to repaint the chrome bezel, any ideas?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

The problem is any paint is probably going to scratch off fairly quickly as its only going to be painted on the surface. They are certain spray paints that bond better with the actual plastic, but the name escapes me right now. Also, to get the bezel off, I think you have to strip it right down and remove the screen as well which needs a heat gun. I've have my system nearly apart except for the lcd/screen heatgun thing, and the bezel never came off.

Im just looking to paint over im very new when it comes to all this im just looking for a simple way to do it.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

horr1blek1tten said:
Im just looking to paint over im very new when it comes to all this im just looking for a simple way to do it.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2
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Well I'm trying to tell you there isn't a simple way, if you just paint over it with a brush and some paint, it will wear off in a week as it won't bind to the plastic and will just be painted on top of the chrome finish.
You need to take it apart like here, http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S+4G+Teardown/4977/1 to get the silver bezel off, sand it down to remove the chrome finish and create a rough surface for the paint to bond to, use a plastic bonding paint and paint it and put it back together.
I have customized PS2, PS3, Xbox, XBox 360, PSP, DS, PC's, so I'm trying to tell you the work involved to do a job that will last longer than a week. Otherwise, put a case on it so you don't see the chrome. lol. Seems the easiest way if you're not comfortable taking the system apart and heatgunning the screen off, sanding, buying the proper paint, etc.

I also think repainting the bezel is a way to mislead people into thinking its never been dropped. Which is not the right thing to do. Just tell people the truth and you will probably get a decent price. This phone wont sell for a bunch anyway. Plus if you half ass it like getochkn is telling you NOT to do the buyer can return it or do a chargeback on paypal. Especially if you dont inform them you painted the bezel.

Im not trying to mislead anyone i just want it to look nice.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

I would just not worry about it. The process is either going to look crappy or more work than it appears you are looking to do.
If you are good at taping things off you could hand sand the bezel and tape the screen off and spray it but you still run the risk of messing up.

horr1blek1tten said:
Im not trying to mislead anyone i just want it to look nice.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2
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Well Eollie is right, but if you are hellbent on "pretty-fying" your phone and obviously you don't have the mechanical skill to disassemle it, the skill to replate it, let alone repainting it(yes, painting done right is actually harder then electroplating) then this would be your best option http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html it's called chrome leafing and is by far the best option for you, other then just giving it a thorough cleaning and being done with it.

I saw a guy in the Vibrant forum complete changed the front cover to white. The kit sells on Amazon for about $70. It looks very nice 2.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762191
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

I just found out that the silver bezel is replaceable. It costs about $9 for a "used like new" one. Actually, most of the parts on our phone are replaceable. Let me know if u need a link to that website I saw.
Man, I got to stop reading this forum and start working on my car website.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

the issue is that the chrome isn't a paint, it's a finish that's baked on, so any sort of "touch-up" paint is going to look like crap.
You can try to polish it, but be careful since the spinny-type of polishing bits generate heat, which can damage the plastic bits on the phone if you're not careful.
Your best bet is to get a replacement part like gizmo mentioned.