MNB Reader Generated: Matte Lumia Devices, and How to “Matte” Your Own Phone

We’ve talked a good bit about matte vs. glossy lumias and there has even been a Nokia Conversations post discussing the topic, well here’s one more article for the reading list; MNB reader and commenter Nabkawe has shared his thoughts on the “matting” process he carried out on his Nokia Lumia 920, and some pointers/tips to anyone interested, check it out below

I’ve never been a fan of plastic in tech but since smartphones entered mass production it became inescapable to have plastic served to you by almost every OEM.

Nokia have been perfecting a recipe for a sturdy, bendy polycarbonate with inherent colors (color is added while making the plastic and its not simply sprayed on , meaning that with a smooth matte finish your Nokia phone would age gracefully )

Nokia used this plastic first with their Nokia N9; the father of Lumia if you may  ,it came in “Matte” Cyan ,Magenta, black and then after a little while in white, Nokia chose a glossy paint job instead in an attempt to keep the phone from attracting dirt and jeans stains, however the trade off  was horrible hairline scratches caused by the tiniest of scuffs , it was irritating I would’ve preferred a Jeans colored Matte phone over that glossy phone massacred with scratches.

Unlucky for me the Nokia N9 didn’t make it in Cyan in time for me to pick it up so I went for the boring black instead and I got stuck with it as my region wasn’t a launch market for the first gen Lumia.

Comes the Lumia 920 , I couldn’t get it in the matte Cyan AGAIN in my country so I went for the glossy Ferrari looking red  though It meant I was bound to suffer that same hairline scuffs I cried about endlessly on the white Nokia N9.

Granted it took some time for it to be hairline scratched ( I don’t believe in cases ) the time came and its back became an art gallery of scratches

@aliqudsi made a youtube post explaining how he hated the gloss on the Lumia 920 / Lumia 900 in white .

 

another problem I had with the glossy body was oil residue … it was a fingerprints magnet and I have very oily fingers couple that with my job running a restaurant and the end result a Lumia 920 in constant need for back cleaning (as if cleaning the glass wasn’t entertaining enough).

 

Enters Lumia 620
with its dual shot plastic which introduced a sexy new color scheme, and while the Lumia lineup is already out coloring every smartphone out there , the 620 dual played that card, and some impressive guy who’s handy with tools and paint decided ,he’ll disassemble his Lumia 920 and make his own dual shot Lumia !

 his Lumia was Yellow , so the first thing he had to do was to Matte it … the matted result was just incredibly better looking that I said to myself I want to matte my Lumia 920 immediately.  the thought faded away as it was my daily driver and couldn’t risk ruining its looks.

Fast forward to the Lumia 1020 and surprise it comes in MATTE yellow … My glossy red Lumia 920 stared at it in envy.

In the meantime I’ve already bought a Cyan Lumia720 as my second sim device   yesterday I came across that dual shot video  and said : Shit I’ll do this right now . what do I need ? Sand paper … okay I have it although mine is very abrasive it wouldn’t matter right ? Answer: wrong it matters get yourself some 1200 grit sand paper.

should I disassemble my phone ? answer: YES though I didn’t instead I taped my camera lens and my screen sides, and begun the process of matting my phone, I really didn’t understand the use of circular motion until I finished my half assed work.

It really gives you a better end Matte surface , luckily I repeated the whole process and the end result wasn’t the worst, actually a day later it became better looking for some reason.

I felt matting the top and bottom of the device would be an even worst of an idea so I stayed away so I wouldn’t screw up the speaker grills , mics and sim tray.

Did it look better … ? answer: YES … it looked a lot better actually and the ceramic plate shines a little more , the red got dialed down a notch and I still had the top and bottom for a frame of reference.

Do you recommend this ? answer: NO and this is why:  its not that it doesn’t look better it does and it helps a lot to keep the phone clean and it even gives it a premium feel. the problem is the phone was designed with comfort in mind and a matte finish just kills that warmth you get holding the glossy lumia920 you’ll suddenly notice its weight and it’ll be way too grippy which may be your thing but certainly isn’t mine.

 

if you managed to get a smooth matte surface you wont have such a bad experience but I stated above you should take your time with the matting and use a soft sand paper instead of an abrasive one. you should disassemble your phone to get your hands dirty with it and maybe apply some products to smooth the matte a little, all in all it was a wonderful dangerous experience that paid off.

Thanks for reading feel free to hit me up on twitter on @nabakwe5 .

Category: Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone