Database Develop

Modding your Camera Lens

I'd like to say Thank You to everyone in this forum and providing such a great site for us. I am very admire all yours talent that I wish I have, but I don't. I did I a little mod to my Tilt camera lens and it came out good and I'd like to share it with you all. This mod require no drilling to original lens and look oem.
1. A piece of Micro Slice Glass. 20 cents
(used for microscope, you can get it from science store)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039158/
2. Knife sharpening stone, fine gain.
3. Glass cutting tool $6
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039484/
4. Qtip
5. Double side tape
Instruction:Sorry I don't know how to attach pictures into my post. Have to link it to Flickr. Hope you don't mind.
-To remove the lens, use a Qtip & push the lens out from the back side of the cover, use your figure nail to lift the lens out from the chrome frame.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2913195413/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914041602/in/photostream/
-Use the lens to mark the size onto the Micro Slice Glass and cutting it with the glass cutting tools, you may need to try a few time to have a straight cut. http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039158/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039484/
-Now you have the piece cut out, here the fun part. use a sharpening stone and work near the sink cause you need to wet the stone during the sanding.
while sanding the new lens, use the original lens to check the shape. I made my a bit bigger then the original so it can be fit in tight without using any glue. Double side tape used just for insurance purposes.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914080332/
-Here the final product.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914250782/
-That's it folks, this is the best and the cheapest and the oem look camera lens mod ever. Here some shots I took before and after. Let me know what you think. Pictures are in order, original lens->Moded Lens->no cover.
1.http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914040902/
2.http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2913194597/
3.http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914040044/
I will take some picture tomorrow for you to see. Time to sleep.

Those before and after pictures just show what a Mickey Mouse lens cover HTC has provided us with. How about a petition for a new back cover with a glass lens cover?
Top mod, gonna do this one.
BS...

Thanks for the heads up. Amazing how something so simple can improve the clarity of the camera so much.
What is a qtip?
Rob

rfarnell said:
Thanks for the heads up. Amazing how something so simple can improve the clarity of the camera so much.
What is a qtip?
Rob
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The generic name would be a cotton swab.

Without cover is still better, and having done the mod many months ago, the dust problem is overblown.
Surur

Srart-up?
rfarnell said:
Thanks for the heads up. Amazing how something so simple can improve the clarity of the camera so much.
What is a qtip?
Rob
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Click to collapse
I don't know how many kaisers are out in the market but a manufacturer in the far-east (due to cost) can make such back cover with integrated fixed lens in the cost of ~$0.10 (go for worst case 1$) each and I'm sure most of us are willing to pay... lets say $15 each ? so here is a win-win opportunity waiting for an entrepreneur.

I did a similar yet cheaper fix.
Pop out the stock lens.
Cut some plastic (used the package some RAM for my pc came in)
Use the double sided tape and place it there. It's not that noticable but the picture quality improves a great amount.

Great mod, just took my back cover off and the picture is much better. I'm going to try just removing the cover altogether.

Lol, this is so much nicer than my ghetto fix! I had just popped out the plastic lens cover (and succeeded in breaking the little chrome-painted piece in the process, of course) and put a little piece of extra screen protector over the actual lens to protect it from the dust and what not.
Gotta' try this!

my lil camera lens cracked so i removed it and it has been off for over a month. i dont really have issues with debris getting under the battery cover. besides, its not hard to remove the back and clean it with my shirt and put it back on

nice, I will have to try this

You really can notice the difference. I just quickly take the back cover off, take a photo and then put it back on. I really notice the difference now. Thanks heaps!!!!

Thanks for the info... from now on, when I want to take a picture, I'll remove the back cover

I was thinking of doing this mod but using glass designed for optics instead of standard glass. A quick web search found http://www.astraproducts.com/i_ptsheet.asp. Are there any photography experts out there who know if this type of glass work any better than standard glass?
Also, if someone (possibly myself) were to bulk purchase pieces of optical glass "pre-machined" to fit as a replacement to the tilt, would there be much interest in purchasing these? I suppose it would all depend on cost and I have no idea what the cost would be, but maybe worth looking into.

This is just my opinion, but I see no point in going through the trouble of modding a phone that was never really meant to be used primarily as a camera.
I think this makes even less sense when you take in to account the fact that it performs really bad in certain conditions.

mata_mosca said:
This is just my opinion, but I see no point in going through the trouble of modding a phone that was never really meant to be used primarily as a camera.
I think this makes even less sense when you take in to account the fact that it performs really bad in certain conditions.
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My reason for the mod is because the lense on my back cover is cracked right down the middle so the camera hardly works at all. Replacement covers run $50-$60 so I'm looking for a less expensive fix. I don't really want to remove the lense entirely because of allowing dust into the case and also the actual camera lense would be exposed and liable to scratch.

Replacing Front Housing on i9020T

So i picked up a Nexus S i9020T for a price that was steal in any working condition. The screen on it is great, no scratches and I've read the thread regarding the battery door and I'm going to order the rear door from Samsung under a warranty replacement for $16.
That leaves me with the front housing ring around the screen... I see that iFixit's tear down shows them using a heat gun at that step. Is the display connected to the front housing ring with adhesive? For showing a picture of using a heat gun they were mum on exactly what it was needed to pull apart. If it is the ring connecting to the screen, will I lose all adhesive to the old ring by pulling these two apart?
Here's a link to the part below on Global Parts Direct. I'm probably going to replace the back plate with the camera lense too but that seemed self explanatory.
http://www.globaldirectparts.com/Samsung-Nexus-S-GT-I9020T-Front-Housing-p/smsng6098620.htm
I could avoid all of this via a case but I'm just not a case type of guy...

I can't really help with your question but where can you find the back piece with camera lense? I've scratched the ring around the camera lense and was trying to find a replacement.

daisun said:
where can you find the back piece with camera lense?
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Check the link to the website above, Global Direct parts has the midplate with and without the lense. I didn't look close enough to see if they had just the lense. They seem to be on some sort of holiday and aren't shipping right now but judging from the verbage on their website they'll be back up and running in a few weeks.
Keep the answers coming folks... Surely I'm not the only person that has "refurbed" a scratched front housing ring.

Well I ordered the back from Samsung as a "warranty" replacement. So does anyone know if theres another place other than Global Direct Parts that has the front ring? I don't see any parts available at CNN.CN or Truesupplier.com
And again if anyone knows what the glue situation is going to be like, I'd love to get some feedback on that.

Get ready for the pain of a lifetime. I replaced the front bezel on a galaxy s (they're glued the exact same way) and it is an absolutely terrible experience. I wish you the best of luck because I've seen many people crack the screen while doing so.

danboard said:
Get ready for the pain of a lifetime. I replaced the front bezel on a galaxy s (they're glued the exact same way) and it is an absolutely terrible experience. I wish you the best of luck because I've seen many people crack the screen while doing so.
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So how did those people reattach the screen to the bezel?

Yeah I also been wondering the same thing and from my reseach I think that its not a strong glue but rather a adhesive thats not very strong. A hair dryer on a low setting will do the samething in helping to separating the parts. You can always contact the people at ifixit to find out how it is really attach.

You can always contact the people at ifixit to find out how it is really attach.
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...and when they told you, you tell us .-)
please, please with sugar on top
anyway - I wanna replace the bezel too...but havent found anything. let's keep eachother up to date here.

I work at a service and repair store and already tore mine open. The bezel around the screen is the scariest part. Its easy tho, just use a guitar pick and go all the way around the ring. It just snaps in. may help to take the back of the phone off while your doing it.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

Its attached with a fairly mild adhesive, I got the screen/bezel apart on my i9023 without using any heat just leveraging it off a little at a time. If I was going to do it again I would use a little heat.
When I replaced my screen all the adhesive stuck to the screen not the bezel. I used a heat gun on low heat to transfer it over to the new screen. It worked but I couldnt get it all over. If you are going to heat it I would recommend it being fairly low, not hot enough to burn your hand.
I bought a replacement front bezel for an i9020T from global direct a few months ago hoping that it would fit my i9023. It doesn't. All yours if you pay postage, Im in Australia.

aygriffith said:
So i picked up a Nexus S i9020T for a price that was steal in any working condition. The screen on it is great, no scratches and I've read the thread regarding the battery door and I'm going to order the rear door from Samsung under a warranty replacement for $16.
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Click to collapse
Did you received the battery door already? Is it the NFC version?

Hi, do you still have this part of Nexus S 9020?
---------- Post added at 05:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:53 PM ----------
execsupport said:
Its attached with a fairly mild adhesive, I got the screen/bezel apart on my i9023 without using any heat just leveraging it off a little at a time. If I was going to do it again I would use a little heat.
When I replaced my screen all the adhesive stuck to the screen not the bezel. I used a heat gun on low heat to transfer it over to the new screen. It worked but I couldnt get it all over. If you are going to heat it I would recommend it being fairly low, not hot enough to burn your hand.
I bought a replacement front bezel for an i9020T from global direct a few months ago hoping that it would fit my i9023. It doesn't. All yours if you pay postage, Im in Australia.
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Hi, do you still have this part of Nexus S 9020?

Anyone seen a camera lens protector for this phone?

maybe like a glass screen protector but for the camera, or even possibly a plastic one but it might not be as "transparent" when taking pictures.
anyone seen anything or am i going tohave to build my own?

johnzm said:
maybe like a glass screen protector but for the camera, or even possibly a plastic one but it might not be as "transparent" when taking pictures.
anyone seen anything or am i going tohave to build my own?
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Don't bother. Pictures will look terrible. Just take care of your phone.

i just noticed another thread on the S4 forums someone said
"Stick a piece of clear scotch tape. "
seems interesting and easy to replace/recut. i might try that first and see how image quality compares

from the posts ive seen so far, it is only luck that prevents scratches on the "sapphire" lens. as you can see in the general chat, people who have cases, people who dont put anything else in their pocket, get the same scratches as people who dont seem to care. and this is a phone i want to use for more than a year?
some of these people are 3 months in and unable to use their camera.
Brava, if you dont use your camera thats fine, but if you do, i would suggest you look at your camera lens and watch it deteriorate without any protection

johnzm said:
from the posts ive seen so far, it is only luck that prevents scratches on the "sapphire" lens. as you can see in the general chat, people who have cases, people who dont put anything else in their pocket, get the same scratches as people who dont seem to care. and this is a phone i want to use for more than a year?
some of these people are 3 months in and unable to use their camera.
Brava, if you dont use your camera thats fine, but if you do, i would suggest you look at your camera lens and watch it deteriorate without any protection
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Click to collapse
camera just fine for all my previous phone no scratch nothing shiny as new, had note went to bench and everything not a single scratches, o yeh i take a lot of pictures about 5GB of photos that taken by my note

This phone has a sapphire lens, which is a very hard material, I don't think its needed.

SoCGHOST said:
This phone has a sapphire lens, which is a very hard material, I don't think its needed.
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Ehh, that's what I thought. Think again http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2475976
I think if you don't have a case it could be a problem.

It is a hard lens, but there will be minor, very light scratches on it, most likely it won't affect your pictures, but I was thinking this same thing tho, maybe a tiny piece of ghost armor over the camera.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

johnzm said:
from the posts ive seen so far, it is only luck that prevents scratches on the "sapphire" lens. as you can see in the general chat, people who have cases, people who dont put anything else in their pocket, get the same scratches as people who dont seem to care. and this is a phone i want to use for more than a year?
some of these people are 3 months in and unable to use their camera.
Brava, if you dont use your camera thats fine, but if you do, i would suggest you look at your camera lens and watch it deteriorate without any protection
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Click to collapse
People that are having this serious a problem should be contacting Lg about warranty work. Sapphire shouldn't scratch up that easy, that fast under normal use. I have watches that use sapphire and the only thing not scratched to hell is the sapphire.

Yeah... I might contact LG, but I've already had Verizon replace my phone (the original one in that thread) due to the scratches... New one began doing it as well, after the first time or two I wiped it off with the underside of my shirt. I ended up using a part of my left over zeiss pure crystal screen protector and custom cut out a small piece and put it on my camera lens... Works pretty good. Oh, it doesn't scratch nearly as easily as the lens did... I've had it on for a couple of weeks now and hardly any scratching. Check out the attached photo... May hinder photo quality some, but it's not much.

in_dmand said:
Yeah... I might contact LG, but I've already had Verizon replace my phone (the original one in that thread) due to the scratches... New one began doing it as well, after the first time or two I wiped it off with the underside of my shirt. I ended up using a part of my left over zeiss pure crystal screen protector and custom cut out a small piece and put it on my camera lens... Works pretty good. Oh, it doesn't scratch nearly as easily as the lens did... I've had it on for a couple of weeks now and hardly any scratching. Check out the attached photo... May hinder photo quality some, but it's not much.
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It's my guess that majority of the scratches are caused by fingers, when there is a dust or debris on the lens, user mistakenly puts his/her finger on the lens trying to use the controls. I am also planning to use invisible tape on camera lens, when it is pressed against glass, it usually turns invisible, I think that might work. I can just remove and toss it when I need to use the camera, and when I am home I can just apply it again.
When I first saw LG G2 on it's release day in the store, I seriously thought those rear buttons were sliding camera cover, I thought to myself, what a great idea to protect the lens, then I realized they were buttons when I handled the phone and I could not find any buttons on the side (I initially thought there were touch sensitive sliding rocker/buttons on the side)

I took the old screen protector that was part of the packaging and cut a piece to cover the camera lens. :silly:
I haven't compared pictures, but I haven't noticed loss of quality or adverse effects for the auto-focus.
hydeah said:
When I first saw LG G2 on it's release day in the store, I seriously thought those rear buttons were sliding camera cover, I thought to myself, what a great idea to protect the lens, then I realized they were buttons when I handled the phone and I could not find any buttons on the side (I initially thought there were touch sensitive sliding rocker/buttons on the side)
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My old Sony Ericsson had a sliding camera cover, that thing was awesome. You never have to worry about finger prints or scratching the camera.
Not to mention it also worked as a shortcut for the camera app like the volume down button on the G2.

yyz123 said:
I took the old screen protector that was part of the packaging and cut a piece to cover the camera lens. :silly:
I haven't compared pictures, but I haven't noticed loss of quality or adverse effects for the auto-focus.
My old Sony Ericsson had a sliding camera cover, that thing was awesome. You never have to worry about finger prints or scratching the camera.
Not to mention it also worked as a shortcut for the camera app like the volume down button on the G2.
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Brilliant idea, sir. :good: I should have kept it clean when I took it off instead of just tossing it away. I still have two more screen protectors, and a set from an old phone, I think I am going to do that! Just cut it in the shape of the lens, odd shape but it should be OK. Maybe I can find 1:1 pdf of the back of the G2 and use that as template. Hey, maybe we should start selling them, I am sure people will buy a screen protector bundle that comes with a small piece for the camera over the ones that don't!
And I totally miss those old days when things were more functional. I can see some manufacturer (mostly Apple does this) recycle this idea and pass it as the "next great innovation"

hydeah said:
Brilliant idea, sir. :good: I should have kept it clean when I took it off instead of just tossing it away. I still have two more screen protectors, and a set from an old phone, I think I am going to do that! Just cut it in the shape of the lens, odd shape but it should be OK. Maybe I can find 1:1 pdf of the back of the G2 and use that as template. Hey, maybe we should start selling them, I am sure people will buy a screen protector bundle that comes with a small piece for the camera over the ones that don't!
And I totally miss those old days when things were more functional. I can see some manufacturer (mostly Apple does this) recycle this idea and pass it as the "next great innovation"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, maybe. I don't know why more companies don't make protectors for the camera lenses on phones. It's probably even more important to protect them since they'll affect quality of pictures whereas a scratch (on a relative scratch proof gorilla glass) screen is more of an aesthetic annoyance.
I do miss the "mechanical feel" of the slider for my camera. It was fun just to play around and use the camera in that regards. I remember my criteria in selecting a cellphone was that it should be a flip phone. Might seem cheesy to some people nowadays but the feeling is much different maybe like how some people prefer physical keyboards on phones. Objects around us are becoming increasingly numb-feeling. I guess that's one of the reasons I really enjoy my mechanical watch. Might not have the accuracy of an atomic watch but it's pleasing to look at.

yyz123 said:
Haha, maybe. I don't know why more companies don't make protectors for the camera lenses on phones. It's probably even more important to protect them since they'll affect quality of pictures whereas a scratch (on a relative scratch proof gorilla glass) screen is more of an aesthetic annoyance.
I do miss the "mechanical feel" of the slider for my camera. It was fun just to play around and use the camera in that regards. I remember my criteria in selecting a cellphone was that it should be a flip phone. Might seem cheesy to some people nowadays but the feeling is much different maybe like how some people prefer physical keyboards on phones. Objects around us are becoming increasingly numb-feeling. I guess that's one of the reasons I really enjoy my mechanical watch. Might not have the accuracy of an atomic watch but it's pleasing to look at.
Click to expand...
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Rip the brand name and different colors/shades on pretty much all phones nowadays, most people can't tell one from another anymore, except Blackberry Q10. Not much originality anymore, I loved the idea of buttons on the back, and I went for it, now I find myself knocking on my wife's older LG phone, just like I found myself swiping up on all other phones when I used Z10 for 2 weeks. Originality is slowly dying not because it is a bad idea but because of all the people out there expecting things to be certain way, and to think that cellphones took this form just in last 5-6 years, I say we all got used to this way to quickly. Think about the criticism G2 received even before it was released "no way, buttons on the back, LG has lost its mind", then "Wow, I find it very easy to use and more ergonomic than trying to reach for the buttons on one sides"

hydeah said:
Rip the brand name and different colors/shades on pretty much all phones nowadays, most people can't tell one from another anymore, except Blackberry Q10. Not much originality anymore, I loved the idea of buttons on the back, and I went for it, now I find myself knocking on my wife's older LG phone, just like I found myself swiping up on all other phones when I used Z10 for 2 weeks. Originality is slowly dying not because it is a bad idea but because of all the people out there expecting things to be certain way, and to think that cellphones took this form just in last 5-6 years, I say we all got used to this way to quickly. Think about the criticism G2 received even before it was released "no way, buttons on the back, LG has lost its mind", then "Wow, I find it very easy to use and more ergonomic than trying to reach for the buttons on one sides"
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Click to collapse
Yea, it's crazy how phones (smart phones anyways) basically "standardized" over the past 5 years.
When I saw the rear buttons on the G2 before it was released, I knew it would be a great location. Bought the phone without even running by a demo and it was exactly as I expected.
The button placement works well even though many people thought otherwise.

I am confused are these scratches coming from shipment or just crap in peoples pocket

Broken Camera Glass

I was jogging and fell wearing my watch. The camera glass shattered. Anyone know a way to fix it? The camera still works, just broken camera glass. Also just know if you fall wearing this thing, you can potentially break your little bone in your wrist with the speaker part of the watch. Just FYI. Also, I haven't found anything on the Web about broken gear cameras, anyone had this happen to them?

WOW that looks Nasty !!!!
Cannot see if you will be able to replace just the Glass your best bet might be to see if Samsung can sell just the strap, I imagine the camera is a sealed unit with the Glass glued on.
You are the first i have heard of that has done this

Somebody in the forum here has pictures of the camera disassembled. Looked pretty easy. You might be able to just take that little piece of glass and have a thin piece of glass or plexi cut to size. Then just glue it into place.

Mine broke the second day i had it
i called samsung and it will cost me $70 to send it to them to repair it
i dont even know how i broke mine - i dont remember even bumping it

Best Buy warranty
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Mi|enko said:
Somebody in the forum here has pictures of the camera disassembled. Looked pretty easy. You might be able to just take that little piece of glass and have a thin piece of glass or plexi cut to size. Then just glue it into place.
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Can you post the forum link? My search won't work for some reason. Thanks.

yopiggy said:
Can you post the forum link? My search won't work for some reason. Thanks.
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Google search still worked. lol Here's the link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2518592

Fix
I contacted a Samsung repair center in Plano Texas and they told me they could order me a new band. They will replace the band for $45. Going on tuesday. Hopefully they are correct.

Front Bezel chips & flaking

So I have had the Z3 Compact since first week of release and from day 1, it had a tiny chip (could call it a nic) on the leading edge of the front bezel just above the magnetic port. I decided to keep it, but the number of these indentations has increased to 12.
One of these nics has flaked further to almost 2mm diameter by the top left corner.
All of the marks are on the front leading long bezel, both sides.
I always put my phone in a pocket without other items
I always lie my phone face up.
I don't use any kind of stands or holders in the car
No other phone (Moto X, Nexus 5, Nexus 4, Razr I) has ever suffered anything like this.
There are no marks on the back or front faces (cheap screen protectors on both, which usually scratch/mark easily)
I suspect its poor adhesion of the top black paint layer on the bezel, but cannot prove it obviously.
I can send it back to Sony, but they may say its not manufacturing fault and thus charge me £25 for sending it back without repairing (I find this disgraceful)
I have little experience with Sony customer service or care so it's a risk I don't really want to take.
Question, has anyone elses phone suffered in a similar way?
Or have positive (or negative) experience with Sony UK?
Thanks in advance.

You can send it back to Sony, most of the times they charge you with shipping costs yup.
Manufacturing error or not, but also try to look from their side, if it were easy to get your device repaired without costs or even replaced, more people would do it, even if it was their mistake.
So in the end they can't just believe everyone.
They will repair it when you send them, but thy might ask for repairing fees.

I'm noticing the same thing. I keep the phone in my pocket as well, but I do keep it with a leather keyholder (pretty soft leather), so I'm surprised that there are any chips/nicks at all. I actually have 3 right now, first one in just about the same place as you (above the magnetic charging port), a smaller one above the power button, and the last one in the bottom right corner of the phone.

I always assumed the metal bezels on these phones was powder-coated aluminum, which is pretty tough. Anyone know what is actually is?

Dsteppa said:
You can send it back to Sony, most of the times they charge you with shipping costs yup.
Manufacturing error or not, but also try to look from their side, if it were easy to get your device repaired without costs or even replaced, more people would do it, even if it was their mistake.
So in the end they can't just believe everyone.
They will repair it when you send them, but thy might ask for repairing fees.
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Click to collapse
Yes I understand that, but I know that these ever increasing faults are not of my doing, but I cannot prove it.. Therefore, it is possible (maybe probable) that Sony will offer an expensive repair or simply send it back with the total cost to me being close to £30.

pipspeak said:
I always assumed the metal bezels on these phones was powder-coated aluminum, which is pretty tough. Anyone know what is actually is?
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I believe they are painted plastic but I might be wrong.
I've said before that this is one of the few annoyances I have with the build quality of this phone. The Z3 doesn't have the front and back plastic bezels as the metal frame attaches directly to the front and back glass. I don't mind the transparent plastic on the sides of the Z3C but I don't like that they needed to use plastic front and back bezels.
To answer the OP's question, i also have light scuffs and small chips on the front plastic bezel of my Z3C but the back is near perfect at the moment. If I'd have known the build quality in these areas was lacking I'd have waited until I had a case before i used it but it's too late now.

I've decided to return the phone for repair (hopefully under warranty) and have ordered several cases (I usually do this once I am satisfied that the phone is a keeper). Will keep you posted.