There’s nothing quite as annoying as a couple of scratches on your brand new iPhone 4S. The Internet is filled with suggestions for removing the scratches. The standard method is to take a polishing agent such as toothpaste or Brasso and to apply steady circular pressure to the scratch until it disappears.
However, there’s a very good reason that you shouldn’t attempt to fix the scratches on your iPhone 4S screen.
The Oleophobic Coating. The iPhone 4S has an oleophobic coating. That’s a fancy way of saying that oils don’t stick to it. The coating stops the phone from showing fingerprints as clearly and generally improves the look of the device.
The problem is that most iPod scratch products work by removing a layer of the plastic material that surrounds the device’s screen. You’re essentially wearing the entire screen down so that it’s even with the scratch. This works well for iPods, because they don’t have that oleophobic coating that the iPhone has.
When you try to use Brasso, toothpaste, furniture polish or any of the other products that Internet threads recommend for iPhone scratches, you’ll remove part-but not all-of the oleophobic coating. The scratch will get a rainbow-like tint to it, which will make it much more noticeable. Many Apple iPhone 4S owners who attempt to remove scratches post pictures of the disastrous results. Scratch removers end up drawing attention to imperfections in the iPhone’s screen.
If you’re diligent enough to remove the entire oleophobic coating, you’ll see fingerprints and other oily marks on your iPhone 4S screen on a near-constant basis. It’s worse than dealing with a few minor scratches, and unfortunately, there’s no product that reliably fills in scratches without having some effect on that oleophobic coating.
When your iPhone’s scratches aren’t on the actual screen-for instance, if they’re in the little black parts above and below the screen-you may be able to remove them. It’s really not worth the effort, though, because you’ll need to protect the camera, home button and speaker. Besides, those sections don’t show scratches very clearly, so they rarely need repair.
The Good News. If your iPhone is under warranty and it has a few scratches, you’ve got a great chance of getting it replaced for free or for cheap. Take your phone to an Apple store or call the tech support number to get it replaced. Make sure to explain that the scratches came from typical use. Apple won’t replace an iPhone that’s damaged due to negligence or abuse, so if you’ve cracked the screen or otherwise ruined the device, you’re out of luck.
Have you tried to fix the scratches on your iPhone 4S screen? Post your thoughts below.