How to prevent scratched Cell phones: On the cheap

Every get frustrated and down when you scratch the face of your new shiny phone? Well so do I and I thought that there must be an easy fix as opposed to buying a $20+ case for it.

The fix: Clear tape and soapy water

Benefits:
Protecting the face of your phone.
May help with resale value.
Phone company might believe you when you say "I hardly use it" when you send it in for a replacement/repair.
Friends keep asking why you keep the "original" plastic on the face.
These are materials you have laying around the house right now.
Comes off clean
Super easy
Super cheap

Disadvantages:
It will eventually come off (not as quickly as the original plastic) this is actually my second time doing it, first one lasted ~ 1 year.
doesn't protect from sharp impacts.
I am not sure if it works with iPhone or touch screens. (someone needs to try :3 )


This instructable will show you just how easy it is to protect your new shiny phone.

Step 1: First: Materials

For this project we need some simple household items:

Clear packing tape
Razor or scissors
Soapy water
Something to put the soapy water in
Credit card
Ruler
Permanent marker

Comments

[reddog92396]

Yay1!! Props on the phone i have that!! It's better than the iPhone by far

[screenprotect]

This is great. Screen protectors is a must for a cell phone screen. We don't want any scratches on our phone. And we can always replace the screen protector when it gets really damage by scratches. Applying screen protectors is really hard, I hard a hard time placing it perfect on my phone. I have followed this guide lines and this one also To apply screen protector on your cell phone

[jpnagle59]

I gotta ask about when you remove the tape off your screen--Does the soap and water render the glue on the tape manageable, and not form 'goo" on the screen when removed? And before I try this, if you use your Camera on the phone, or just looking at the screen for everyday use, how is the clarity of this Indestructible?

[capn]

Well when removed there is a goo, but nothing that will damage the screen.  The goo can be removed by water and a microfiber cloth no problem.  The clarity is pretty good, though noticeably reduced.

Try this, take an old photo or some old picture and put packing tape over it this should give you a good idea.

[jpnagle59]

Excellent idea. I am rough on the 'ol cell phone. I thank you for taking the time to reply. James

[ddvniek]

Very cool Instructable! Thanks. But how long does it take for the tape to stick decently and not move around anymore?

[dontwealllovebuda92]

nice i just got the new samsung glyde and the screen is used a lot though will this affect the touch screen

[Nunavutnewsrules]

this may effect the glyde screen because it doesn't sense pressure it senses the static electricity of your finger. Other phones like the voyager sense pressure so almost all screen protectors work on them. You can see this you self by trying to use a stylus on your screen and seeing that it doesn't work. However some screen protectors do work. I recommend just buying a samsung touch screen cover.

[dontwealllovebuda92]

thanks that is exactly what i went out and did. and if you get the phone and it sucks. don't worry this happened to me. just go to the verizon store and be like my phone sucks. they give you an amazing upgrade.

[Nunavutnewsrules]

Yeah... i upgraded from some attel freebie phone to a voyager and i love it. my mom has the glyde and she is fine with it, but the screen protectors are great

[shveet]

haha ok its good for a year.. but what if you remove the tape? .... YA A NICE LARGE CLUMP OF GLUE :D also nice instructable i tried this on my blackberry a wile back... had to change it 3 times but yet no scratch

[Father Christmas]

i ahve never once scratched any screen. they just get really dirty >_<

[Thelonelysandwitch]

wont the glue on the tape mess up the screen? i got special made screen protectors for my phone

[XxUnicornSkieexX]

oh my gosh. I wish i saw this before i put all those scratches on my phone...i have about 3 scratches on the screen and i have a nokia 5310

[srhadaham]

how well this stick and how often do you replace the tape?

[capn]

Adhesion is great. from the time I did this one it is still on, only a little lift of the tape at the corner. so 8 months and still going strong.

[volley_doxie]

Cool, I like it.

[PS118]

If a person tried this on like a PDA screen, would the pen sensor still work?

[xACIDITYx]

Yes, it would. As long as the PDA screen isn't very sensitive. You may have to push a little harder.

[capn]

Thats what I am not sure about, I guess it depends on how the PDA interprets the touch. Yet I am pretty sure that it would work seeing as I sometimes use a piece of transparency paper on my fathers PDA.

[lmaoguy]

tks this really helped me :]

[lil_timmy1990]

(removed by author or community request)

[capn]

Thats great.

[theRIAA]

clear tape works really good, iv'e never tried using water to apply, doesn't it make the tape less sticky?

[capn]

yes it does, this is basically using the same principle that window tint uses. Hell, I am sure you could even use some window tint if you wanted.

[GorillazMiko]

A very intelligent idea. Cool job, might even try this with iPods! And nice phone too.

[mrmath]

I tried something along these lines on my iPod nano 1st gen, and the screen got all moiré patterny.

[mrmath]

OK, that should have been "moire patterny", with an accent on the e in moire, but apparently it caused some problems.