[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] falconoble:
I'm not a big fan of gloss plastic, which Samsung seems to just love to bits. I especially don't like plastic that pretends to be anything that isn't plastic. As much as I love my Galaxy Nexus, the one thing that always irked me was the cheap satin-finish plastic housing. I saw that the Nexus 4 uses the ever-familiar soft-touch coating around the sides, so I figured that's the ticket for me. I looked up some DIY methods and found that the most cost-effective option is to use Plasti-Dip, which I have seen used on the Nexus S' battery door. I decided to go a little deeper and dip the Galaxy Nexus' entire housing.

Without further ado:

It turned out really well, I think. The photos make it look more textured than it actually is. It's not exactly the same soft-touch coating OEMs use, but it's pretty close. I like how it feels, and I love how it looks.

I took some progress shots, which you can find below. They're at 640px, so here's an album at 1024px if you need it. This was fairly easy for me to do as I've done a lot of work with plastic models before. It does take up a day, so if you decide to try it, make sure you've got a lot of free time and something to do in between coats. Also, as with any coat of paint, Plasti-Dip adds some marginal thickness to the phone. With how snug the OEM docks are, I wouldn't try this if you have your heart set on using those. The desktop docks may still work as they don't look to be that tight, but the OEM car dock will likely tear at the coating.

It goes without saying that I am not telling you to attempt this. If you do decide to dip your phone, you are doing so of your own free will and I will not accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong. You have been warned.

You will need to take your phone apart for this. If you're squeamish, you can order a spare housing for your specific Nexus model on eBay. They're not expensive. i9250 (GSM) and SCH-i515 (Verizon) housings are easy enough to find, particularly on wholesale stores like ETradeSupply.com. SPH-L700 (Sprint) housings are less common. It does matter which you use.

A spare housing is preferable for many reasons. You won't have to take your phone apart before you get started, which means you won't be unavailable for contact for a whole day while you're waiting for the Plasti-Dip to cure and dry. You also won't sacrifice the existing housing on your phone in case something goes wrong.

If you need to know how to disassemble your phone, this is the video I used to walk me through it. Use this as a guide when replacing the housing. WATCH THIS VIDEO BEFORE YOU PROCEED. It will give you greater insight as to what you need to mask off and how. It also helps to just examine the housing yourself.

Some things to keep in mind:

Masking

- The rear housing for the Galaxy Nexus has a lot of connectors attached. Don't be stingy in masking them off. Even though Plasti-Dip can be peeled off, you never know what you can pull out of place. I accidentally pulled off a foam gasket without knowing, and had to use the one from my original housing to replace it. Not a huge deal, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

- In addition, make sure to leave at least a little bit of room for the Plasti-Dip to go around edges. This will allow it to grip better and lessen the risk of accidental peeling during use.

- You don't have to mask off the POGO pins on the outside. There's a little bit of space around the pins where they're seated. The Plasti-Dip won't necessarily bridge that space all the way, so you really only have to use a sharp craft knife to get the Plasti-Dip off of the pins. Just take care not to cut or peel off the surrounding plastic. I did try to mask them off at first and found them to be a huge pain. I decided against it and simply figured I'd just go without being able to use the pins. I didn't realize they didn't need masking until after the final coat had cured.

- Masking the rear speaker grill will be a pain. You can cut small pieces of masking tape, using the speaker cutout as a guide. This is how I did it, and it is time consuming, but it will work. You can also use very small pieces of Sticky Tack (the moldable adhesive), which I didn't try but I've used Sticky Tack before to mask off small openings that are difficult to tape off.

- When it's time to peel off the masking tape, use a sharp craft knife to gently cut around the tape. This will make it easier to pull, and you will be less likely to accidentally rip the Plasti-Dip where you don't want to.

Preparation

- Use a micro-fiber cloth and maybe some canned air to get all the dust and oils off of the outside surfaces. I'd already masked off the inside at this point, so I just pinched the housing by the middle whenever I needed to hold it. This kept me from touching the outside of the housing.

- You don't need to sand anything, and I would actually recommend against it. Plasti-Dip grips pretty well, and you do want to be able to peel it off if you mess up or want to redo the job.

- When painting, I used a barbecue skewer poked through one of the open screw posts to hold the housing while coating it (not shown). You can also use the screw posts with a bent coat hanger to suspend it in mid-air (see photos). Anything that will allow you to maneuver around the housing will work, so long as it doesn't come into contact with any of the surfaces that you're wanting to dip.

- I mentioned the barbecue skewer because this actually allowed me to lay the housing on top of something in order to keep it flat. This was mostly due to me being afraid of any dripping that might occur. If you decide to do this, make sure that whatever you're laying it on is small enough to only touch the middle of the housing (see pictures below).

Plasti-Dip

- Follow the instructions on the can. Read up on Plasti-Dip just so you can be acquainted with application. It's really not complicated, but it's also not all the same as laying down a coat of paint.

- Most sites that give advice on Plasti-Dip are car-related (DipYourCar.com, for instance, is a site/community dedicated to this), and they will advise you to use about 3-5 coats. This is a much smaller project, so three (3) coats will suffice; at least, that's how many I did. The first coat should be little more than a light dusting, which when dry will allow the second coat to adhere better, so don't lay it on too thickly. The second coat and on will be your full coats.

- Make sure to give each coat at least thirty (30) minutes to dry before you apply the next one. Basically, once you're done, go watch an episode or two of whatever show you like. That's plenty of time.

- When you've applied your last coat (probably your third or fourth), make sure to let the Plasti-Dip cure for at least four hours.

Finishing

- When the Plasti-Dip is fully cured, you're ready to start peeling off any excess and masking tape you've used. Like I mentioned before, a craft knife really helps here. Cut around the masking tape and the areas that need peeling off. This will decrease the risk of accidentally ripping the coating where you don't want to. Be careful when cutting. No need to gouge the housing or any crucial parts. Gentle passes will do.

- You'll need your craft knife to carefully remove the tape or tack from the rear speaker grill. Take care not to cut into the surrounding surfaces.

- You may need to "free" your volume and power buttons, so make gentle cuts around the buttons or just push them in very gently to wiggle them free. I went ahead and just peeled the Plasti-Dip off of my buttons, though you don't have to do that.

- Make sure you cut where the battery door tabs are located. This will help you pop it back in once you put your phone back together.

- When peeling, make sure there aren't any gaskets or parts coming off with the Plasti-Dip.

- You can put clear coat over the Plasti-Dip, at least from what I've read. This does harden the Plasti-Dip and makes it harder to remove, so be aware of that. It will also add a little bit of thickness to the housing. You probably need to do a separate masking for this as I can't guarantee it will peel off as it normally would. I recommend masking off the inside completely, leaving only the outside surface. If you also plan on using the POGO pins, you may want to mask those off, too. That will be a huge pain.

- Be gentle when handling the housing at first during reassembly. Even though the Plasti-Dip is cured, you want to give it a day before you start man-handling it. Also note that the coating does make the housing negligibly thicker, so be gentle when putting everything together.

Photos were taken using a Canon 60D with the 40mm f/2.8 STM lens, and a Promaster FT1750 Bounce Flash.