Scraping off HTC EVO paint reveals nice red trim
Considering all the red you see when taking off the HTC EVO's battery/back cover, you probably wouldn't be too surprised to hear that the black plastic trim on the phone's back is also naturally red. It's just covered in black paint to match the battery cover.
If you scrape that paint off, which you can do with a razor blade or similarly sharp-edged item, you can get your EVO looking just like the one you see above, which belongs to lookout4theyeti from the xda-developers forum. The project takes about 45 minutes to complete, give or take about 20 minutes, depending on your skills, creativity, and bravery.
I don't know if the finishes would be the same, but this simple mod could look really nice with one of those red back covers. A clear cover would look great too.
[xda-developers] Thanks, MsRandall!
Looks Red Hot!
@adam7425 – LOL, but you’re right! :D
I really like the look of this, but…. I don’t think I have the skills and and bravery….
This looks cool. I wonder if he used anything to seal it after?
.. looks way cool but have you felt the battery cover? It’s almost a silicon/rubbery material and if it is infact covering up red paint, you’d sure have to take every bit of the “45” minutes to remove the black paint covering it. And what’s to prevent taking off more black paint than you need to just to get to the red part? Unless you use a clear protective case, to me, it’s not worth the possibility of screwing things up. Be prepared to buy a new cover ;)
Easy to do if you take the Evo apart (6 Torx screws):
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HTC-Evo-4G-Teardown/2979/1
Wow, if you look at the pic real close you can see that this is real detailed work. The paint on the rubbery trim that Scott mentioned isn’t even completely removed. The paint on that edging piece is only half removed. It’s really evident if you examine where the headphone jack is. If you removed all the paint off that piece,that jack would be surrounded by red. The example given in this photo seems like it would be near impossible to pull off free hand with a razor blade, even if you did take the phone apart. It’s would be easy enough to remove ALL the paint from that trim piece, but the look would be a bit different then the pic above. BTW, thanks for the link Knarf.
That’s so cool. But I wonder if Asurion will take it back if I break my EVO and have to file a claim.
http://www.phoneclaim.com/doc_list/doc_view/893-ESRP_Service_Contract-v3-4_Ed?tmpl=component&format=raw
Of note:
The Program does not cover:
1> Incidental or consequential damages; 2>) failures caused by acts of God, fire, flood, explosion, war, terrorism, strike, embargo, acts of the
government, military authority, or the elements; 3> loss, theft, abuse, misuse, improper installation, water damage, or customer negligence; 4> preexisting
Operational Failures of the Covered Equipment occurring before the time it was established as the Covered Equipment; 5> cracked displays
unless resulting from normal wear and tear or defect in parts or manufacturing; and 6> changes or enhancements in color, texture, finish, expansion,
contraction, or any cosmetic damage to Covered Equipment however caused, including, but not limited to, scratches and marring, that do not affect
the mechanical or electrical function of the Designated Wireless Device.
Further, Covered Equipment does not include and the Program does not cover:
1> Contraband or property in the course of illegal transportation or trade; 2>) Property in transit to You from anyone other than Us; 3> Consumable
items, such as batteries (one standard battery will be provided with Replacement Equipment on approved claims for replacement of the Designated
Wireless Device if the battery has also failed); 4> Battery chargers (one standard charger will be provided with Replacement Equipment on approved
claims for replacement of the Designated Wireless Device if the charger has also failed); or 5>) Any accessories, (except as otherwise provided with
respect to batteries and battery chargers), including but not limited to color face plates, personalized data, or customized software, such as personal
information managers (PIMs), ring tones, games, or screen savers.
Opps, that’s the ESRP, I should’ve said TEP.
Man that looks hot. But I don’t have surgeon’s hands. Wish I could find someone local (baltimore) who has already done his/hers and pay that person to do it for me…
If you worried about fileing an insurance claim just say you’re evo was lost. that way won’t be looking for you to return your phone.
Way cool!!!!! I’m gonna have to try that. An exacto knife and an uncaffienated morning will have to be in order for me to pull it off.
Jenn,
Unfortunately the red cover from Custom Evos/Icey Cell does not match the red on the phone.
It is actually extremely easy to do. I just did it and it looks awesome. The paint u take off is on the back so if u scrap along the edge u can make straight outline around the back of the phone then scrap the rest. Make since? Trust me, it looks like the picture.
ok, I retract my previous statement Alberto talked me into giving it a try. And my my Evo looks AWESOME! I ran into just a little trouble around the headphone jack, but I think I just got a moving a little too quick. You can notice a few little scratches around the jack, but all in all if you let the edge guide the blade and move slowly and deliberately it’s a pretty simple mod. Thanks Alberto!
Now you have me interested! What did you use to scratch off the paint and about how long did it take you?
Hi Bo, I used a razor blade from a box cutter. It took me about 30 minutes. First I removed the back cover, then placed the phone face down on a washcloth with the section I was working on over the edge of a table. My technique was holding the blade straight up and down against the corner of the phone. I scrapped lightly along the top of the corner until a nice red line appeared and was established. Then I slowly worked my way back until that section was done. The tricky spots are the corners, the thin line around the bottom plugs and the headphone jack. The jack is the hardest as the corner that is your guide isn’t as defined as on the rest of the phone. Move slowly and look after each stroke around these sections and you should be fine. Good luck!
After seeing that picture I decided to do it to mine, really quick and easy provided you use the right tool for the job…..a razor/knife is not the right took however, I started with one but it’s really slow and very easy to gouge the plastic, now what the right tool is, is a file. I switched to one and 5 mins later I was done with a much nicer surface than I was ending up with the razor and it’s really easy to get a nice straight edge with a file :)
I got brave and tried it, looks great! Took 30 minutes and very easy..
So I took the plunge and did it. At first I was kind of bummed cause I used a razor blade and I gouged up the area around volume button and corners pretty bad and it was noticeable. But then I took a metal fingernail file and using the rough side of the file I smoothed out the plastic and now the gouges are gone. I have to admit the phone looks totally bad-ass now. I love the red trim. Only thing I would do different would be to use the file to do the original scraping instead of the razor blade.
I hooked mine up about a week ago, but the only differance with mine is that I got it to be red all the way to black of the top part of the screen, and I dont have any black around the headphone jack. It takes a lot of patients, and I used painters tape as I sanded most of it with 400 grit and fine sanded it with 800 grit. Good luck to you all willing to try, but it makes the phone look hot with no case needed.
I did it and I love it. I used a razor but wonder if sandpaper would work also. It definitely stands out now.
Hi everyone,
I would think an Exacto knife would be the ideal tool for the project, especially for working around the jack area.
New to evo, and love the tips and info here!
Take care,
Tom
Hi everyone,
I would think an Exacto knife would be the ideal tool for the project, especially for working around the jack area.
New to evo, and love the tips and info here!
Take care,
Tom
I just did this to my EVO, I immediately thought of this.
http://www.zoom-comics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/batmobile.jpg
I now regret doing this. I don’t think I will be able to trade in my EVO for the EVO 3D.