Recently I have became unemployed. The first week was fun, the second week got boring, and in the third weeks I started doing things. First I aluminum coated my roof, then re-carpeted the house. I got the big things done and shortly there after I was back to week two: bored out of my mind. To ease the boredom I began to "tinker" around. I put a fresh coat of paint on my laptop so logically the next thing was my cell phone. I googled and googled about "mods" for the Razr and found plenty. However, I never really found a guide for disassembling one, or preparing it to be painted. I even searched Instructables and much to my dismay.... nothing. I decided since my contract was up on my phone in 3 months and they will let me out 2 months early I will go in blindly and if I break my phone I will be phoneless for a month. If I succeed then I would make and ible.

Camera in hand it was time to start.

Step 1: Tools

Reason states if you're tearing something apart, your going to need tools. If you are planning on tearing apart your Razr I suggest you have these tools Figure 1:

1 Regular Screwdriver
1 T5 Screwdriver
1 T6 Screwdriver

I also suggest a bowl to put your lose parts in as you go. If you don't have a T5 or T6 screwdriver don't fret, I didn't have one either. I spent most of my Tuesday afternoon hunting them down. I had no problem finding all the T# screwdrivers about the number 8. Here are some tips to get your hands on some T5 and T6's.
1) RadioShack. My local normally carries them... I just happen to want one when they were out of stock <5$
2) Ace Hardware. The had the T# screwdrivers there but only as small at the T10. You may have better luck. <3$
A) Automotive. If you can't find it at RadioShack or your local hardware go down to your automotive parts store. That's where I found my set (ouch 13$)
Blue) You're looking for a screwdriver to tear apart cell phones.... Go to your provider or your providers competition. <4$ but would have to order.

Step 2: The Easy Part

Look at your phone Figure 1... Do you really want to do this? Do you want to tear your phone apart? Do you trust yourself? I know I don't but that has never stopped me before. If you do keep reading, otherwise stop.

First things first, if you have voicemail give it a ring. Create a new outgoing message explaining why people can't get a hold of you. If you're having trouble thinking of something try the following:

Hi this is (insert name here). I am tearing apart my Motorola Razr Figure 2.. Leave a message at the beep.

I make it a habit not to answer my phone anyway, so I could skip the above step.

Step 3: Power Down and Power Out.

You're going to have to power down your phone. What would normally be the red end call button, push and hold... After several seconds this becomes your power button. After the screen has gone bland its now time to remove the battery.

Close your phone and flip it over. Along the top of the phone where the lid hinges from the base in the center there will be a small silver like button. Push this button. Your battery cover will now be off. Figure 1.

With your batter cover off put your finger along the top of the batter and push down, then pull out. Set your battery aside. Figure 2.

If everything went according to plan your phone should now look like figure 3.

Step 4: The Back Housing Must Go.

Since the back of the phone Figure 1 is already facing us, lets start here. You'll notice I have drawn 2 red circles in Figure 1. These are locating the 2 screws you need to remove to take off the back housing. You will need the T6 screwdriver to remove these screws Figure 2.

If you have a sim card, or in my case a memory card Figure 3 I advise you remove it now.

For this next part you will need both hands. Placing your thumb on the bottom of the phone and your index finger on the lip of base (near where the sim or memory card was) apply an upward force with your middle finger against the phone. Use your thumb as a pivot point. You'll notice the seam creating a < like shape, this is good Figure 4. Using your regular screwdriver place it at the base of the < formation as show in Figure 5. Slightly twist your screwdriver, this will cause the < to make a slight clicking noise, don't worry it is just the housing slipping past the clip holding it down. Follow the newly created seam to the bottom of the phone. Again insert your screwdriver and with a slight twist the remainder of the housing should pop off Figure 6.

Don't get too ahead of your self! If you pull the housing off right now there is a good chance you can break something. Using the side of the phone with the USB port as a pivot point life the housing as shown in Figure 7. See that ribbon? As indicated in Figure 7 that ribbon will just pull off.

If all goes as planned you have successfully removed the back housing from the phone. If will not resemble Figure 8.

Step 5: We Must... Remove the Hardware.

Time to separate the hardware from the back housing. Easier said than done. First things first, the speaker phone. Notice the two red circles in Figure 1. They circle a blue and red plug. You will need to pry these out. Notice Figure 2. Once those are out it should resemble Figure 3.
I apologize for not having a Figure for what I am about to tell you, but seeing as you have made it this far I trust you will understand what I mean. Along the bottom of the phone you will see a gold clip. It's huge you can't miss is. In Figure 5 there is an accidental shot of the that gold clip. Using your screwdriver pry up on the left side of the clip. Once that is up pull down and the clip will come out.
Also in Figure 3 you will notice where the plugs used to be 2 black clips holding the clear plastic casing down. While pushing out on those Figure 4 gently pry up on one corner of the clear plastic casing. This will come up. It should now look like figure 5. With the clear casing off the circuit board should come out no problems. Once that is removed you will want to pull up the speaker. Figure 6.

Step 6: The Lid....

Now it's time to remove the housing from the lid. Open you phone, and look at the screen Figure 1. You'll notice 4 black plugs one in each corner of the phone using your finger nail just pry these out. With the plugs out notice the top two are larger than the bottom two. Remember this for when you go to put it back together. There are 4 screws. These require the T5. After unscrewing using your screwdriver place it along the seam Figure 2 and with a slight twisting motion the housing will pop off. If your buttons fall out the simply go back in... There isn't really much to that part... They shouldn't fall out though.

Step 7: The Keypad Side Base.

With the phone still facing down refer to figure 1 for the location of the screws to remove the last of the housing.

Step 8: What Next?

Need to replace the keypad? You're phone is disassembled. Need to replace the LCD? You're phone is disassembled. Want to repaint it? That's what I wanted to do. You're phone is disassembled. The possibilities are endless, google Razr Mods. You will find a cornucopia of links.
I choose to re-paint my Razr. After a quick sanding and coat of primer I applied some candy apple red. Trust me the pictures do not do the results justice. In order to speed up the time to make the ible I used Microsoft's power toy for resizing images, the resizing comes with the cost of quality. After the 48hr to 1 week cure time I am planning on doing some stenciling on it. It's plenty dry now to use and handle, but you'll notice an incredible difference between the 24 hour dry time and the 1 week cure time.

If you want to reassemble your Razr, simply follow this ible backwards. Have fun!