Anyone else have tiny nicks in the aluminium

jonstatt · Mar 17, 2013

A tiny gripe for the perfectionists. But I noticed after a day, that I had a couple of tiny little nicks in the aluminium. As the phone had just been lying on my desk and hadn't been taken outside it must have come that way. I didn't see them at first because they are on the edges and not on the back surface. It is very tiny and it was because it caught the light that I noticed it. I remember when the iPhone 5 came out there were scores of people with chips on the black iPhones that showed silver underneath. This is nowhere near as bad as that....just the light catching the fact that the surface is not quite flat. I had the same with an iPhone 4 a few years ago as well. Seems to me that aluminium is very dingable, even in the factory.

Anyone else notice this?

GuestK00431 · Mar 17, 2013

Mines fine so far, no complaints.

Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

abhs89 · Mar 17, 2013

None really had a small black mark but managed to get rid of it quite easily

poondog · Mar 17, 2013

jonstatt said:
A tiny gripe for the perfectionists. But I noticed after a day, that I had a couple of tiny little nicks in the aluminium. As the phone had just been lying on my desk and hadn't been taken outside it must have come that way. I didn't see them at first because they are on the edges and not on the back surface. It is very tiny and it was because it caught the light that I noticed it. I remember when the iPhone 5 came out there were scores of people with chips on the black iPhones that showed silver underneath. This is nowhere near as bad as that....just the light catching the fact that the surface is not quite flat. I had the same with an iPhone 4 a few years ago as well. Seems to me that aluminium is very dingable, even in the factory.

Anyone else notice this?

What colour and is it possible that you post some pictures? I would like to follow this as would a lot of potential buyers

Thanks, I have run out of thanks for the day
Please keep us posted about this

jonstatt · Mar 17, 2013

markj338 said:
What colour and is it possible that you post some pictures? I would like to follow this as would a lot of potential buyers Thanks, I have run out of thanks for the day
Please keep us posted about this

I tried to take a photo of it, but I am going to need someone at home to help me take the picture as its all about getting the light angled correctly so that its clear in the picture. So I will need someone to hold the phone at the right angle so I can get a picture to show. I will try and see if I can get a picture shortly. It is a silver phone, the only colour available right now.

kalo88 · Mar 17, 2013

It's not possible to make it 'perfect' so there will be slight defects.

Mine has a tiny little mark on the top that unless you really look for it in certain light its not possible to really see.

Dharkan · Mar 17, 2013

Unless there's a real dent or chip on the casing, it shouldn't be a problem. I know it can annoy perfectionists but man, that is aluminium, it is understandable (to an extent, of course)

lezduur · Mar 18, 2013

yep, my silver came with tiny nicks..could feel them when i ran my fingers down the side.not there now [3 days later], maybe 'ironed' out lol

jonstatt · Mar 19, 2013

lezduur said:
yep, my silver came with tiny nicks..could feel them when i ran my fingers down the side.not there now [3 days later], maybe 'ironed' out lol

Haha...I hope the metal is not SO soft such that it would be possible!

I have wondered if a fingernail is able to nick the edges of the metal. The anodising is only on the back surface. So the bevelled edges will be more suceptible. It is the edge where I noticed a couple of tiny nicks.

I was reading that a fingernal has a hardness of 2.5 (on some scale that I forget the name of). And aluminium is 2.5-3. This would suggest a fingernail striking the edge of the phone could put a nick it. But I am not willing to try intentionally to do so!

mang0 · Mar 19, 2013

jonstatt said:
Haha...I hope the metal is not SO soft such that it would be possible!

I have wondered if a fingernail is able to nick the edges of the metal. The anodising is only on the back surface. So the bevelled edges will be more suceptible. It is the edge where I noticed a couple of tiny nicks.

I was reading that a fingernal has a hardness of 2.5 (on some scale that I forget the name of). And aluminium is 2.5-3. This would suggest a fingernail striking the edge of the phone could put a nick it. But I am not willing to try intentionally to do so!

Mohs scale!

Yeah, they do overlap on the hardness scale, and nails have a history of being able to scratch aluminum (take Macbooks, for instance).

jcb1985 · Mar 19, 2013

Yeah my wife came in the room yesterday and said when she pressed the power button, her finger nail scratched the silver lightly. looks like someones drawn a line with a lead pencil by the power button now. might try to buff it out but afraid if i wear the area down it will all go a dull grey.

mang0 · Mar 19, 2013

jcb1985 said:
Yeah my wife came in the room yesterday and said when she pressed the power button, her finger nail scratched the silver lightly. looks like someones drawn a line with a lead pencil by the power button now. might try to buff it out but afraid if i wear the area down it will all go a dull grey.

Note to self: Don't be lazy about cutting your nails once you get this phone.

Good call! :good:

compact_bijou · Mar 19, 2013

jcb1985 said:
Yeah my wife came in the room yesterday and said when she pressed the power button, her finger nail scratched the

My wife has damaged three buttons on 2 DAB radios and one remote control by that method.

Not even necessary to use a fingernail to operate the buttons, either.

CreepyDroid · Mar 19, 2013

jcb1985 said:
Yeah my wife came in the room yesterday and said when she pressed the power button, her finger nail scratched the silver lightly. looks like someones drawn a line with a lead pencil by the power button now. might try to buff it out but afraid if i wear the area down it will all go a dull grey.

Rule number 1: never let your wife come anywhere near your phone :silly:

mang0 · Mar 19, 2013

compact_bijou said:
My wife has damaged three buttons on 2 DAB radios and one remote control by that method.

Not even necessary to use a fingernail to operate the buttons, either.

Have you ever tried growing your nails out super long? The pads of your fingers begin to cease to exist. :laugh:

Riyal · Mar 20, 2013

This is weird. And yes aluminum does indeed has a weak mohs scale and that's the main reason why they anodize it. Now when anodized the mohs scale increases to 9 so how would a fingernail even scratch that?

jcb1985 · Mar 20, 2013

i can assure you that it does scratch with false fingernails regardless of any specifications.

jonstatt · Mar 20, 2013

Riyal said:
This is weird. And yes aluminum does indeed has a weak mohs scale and that's the main reason why they anodize it. Now when anodized the mohs scale increases to 9 so how would a fingernail even scratch that?

I dont believe all of the aluminium is anodised though. The back surface certainly is. But there is a bevelled edge which is almost shiny like a mirror, and I think that area is not treated and is also where I found a couple of tiny nicks (seen when angled under a spotlight) out of the box. It is unfortunately also the most likely bit to be hit knocked, swiped with a fingernail etc.

Riyal · Mar 21, 2013

jonstatt said:
I dont believe all of the aluminium is anodised though. The back surface certainly is. But there is a bevelled edge which is almost shiny like a mirror, and I think that area is not treated and is also where I found a couple of tiny nicks (seen when angled under a spotlight) out of the box. It is unfortunately also the most likely bit to be hit knocked, swiped with a fingernail etc.

Could you post a picture of that bevelled edge? I'm not sure what you're saying but HTC One is unibody. And when you anodize aluminum you submerge the whole body into a solution. So it's quite impossible that some parts get's anodized and some aren't.

ksarius · Mar 21, 2013

I guess I have to cut all my nails b4 buying it lmao

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Anyone else have tiny nicks in the aluminium

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