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White Camera Button

G

Gulfstream

Well-Known Member
Anyone else had the "Gold" wear off the Camera Button leaving it all white? Guess I'll have to try and paint it black as it's rather unsightly.
 
I think it's the setup we have. our phones are too 'phat'. also part of the custom setup. at least that's what I tell my friend who has a droid w/ a pristine condition camera button and he's had his droid since launch. what gives? BUT his led lights in his keyboard and on his home keys are all weird so I'm quite happy with my white button as long as all my lights work good. Remember it's custom white.
 
Mine is solid white. The three other Droids I know of the same age are all gold still. I don't fell like I use my camera all that much.
 
Mine was white now its kinda dark blueish. I sharpied it black when i noticed the gold came off and now the sharpie is fading off
 
The gold on my button started coming off shortly after I bought it (got mine on launch day). I barely ever use my camera so it's not from use. It has been pure white for a long time.

My camera takes great macro shots but any normal photos suck. Always slightly blurry no matter what (yes even after cleaning off the "lens").
 
Yeah, mine turned white weeks after I got it. I just live with it. It happened on the Eris' speaker and the chrome lining so... this is better, imo.
 
Mine is white as well.

The gold flaking off isn't from taking pics, it's from loading boatloads of roms, kernels, and updates all day long. Oh well, sharpie time.
 
I painted it gold again with automotive gold touch up paint, but didn't like the outcome, so that all came off, and I painted it black. Now it's not noticeable. It should have matched the volume rocker all along, or been made of actual gold plastic, and not some cheap paint.
 
Mine is half white, half gold on the face. I almost never use my mouse button, and I keep my phone alone in one pocket (was able to put other stuff in my pocket with my old flip phone... one of the small things I miss). So I have no idea how it managed to chip off, but meh, it could be worse.
 
Guys, it was REAL GOLD! That button was the most expensive component in the whole camera!
OK, so maybe not. But it did look pretty cool when it was new. Now mine is ugly because it's neither all gold nor all white.
Once all the gold wears off, I'll Sharpie Paint Pen it (after I find one of those as Tom suggested). Then my ROM will run fast again.
 
Wow, what do you guys do to your phones? My phone's been unprotected since the Droid's launch date and my button is still perfectly gold.
 
I think it is funny that whenever someone mentions something about their hardware having issues people always have to ask "What did you do to your phone, mine is still perfect". There is such thing as different batches (not just batches of phones but also the individual components themselves) and quality varies.

I've babied my phone since launch and the paint started peeling off essentially right after I bought it. I am not the only one as can be seen from this thread.

Now I would have liked it if they had used a different material for the button. But the phone is still the one I bought at launch and it has been working great so it is not like I am going to go swap it out just because of the button.
 
MajesticFlame said:
I think it is funny that whenever someone mentions something about their hardware having issues people always have to ask "What did you do to your phone, mine is still perfect". There is such thing as different batches (not just batches of phones but also the individual components themselves) and quality varies.

I've babied my phone since launch and the paint started peeling off essentially right after I bought it. I am not the only one as can be seen from this thread.

Now I would have liked it if they had used a different material for the button. But the phone is still the one I bought at launch and it has been working great so it is not like I am going to go swap it out just because of the button.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I highly doubt that Motorola's going to go and custom-order different batches of "2-stage white buttons with thin gold coats" and they'll end up feeling identical. Or are you saying that's a standard component? Yes, of course quality varies, but at the same time, your definition of "babying" your phone is probably different from mine too. In a mass-produced thing like a button for a popular electronic, it's highly unlikely that paint on one button was made to adhere better to its substrate than the paint on another button.
 
shadowdude777 said:
Yeah, I highly doubt that Motorola's going to go and custom-order different batches of "2-stage white buttons with thin gold coats" and they'll end up feeling identical. Or are you saying that's a standard component? Yes, of course quality varies, but at the same time, your definition of "babying" your phone is probably different from mine too. In a mass-produced thing like a button for a popular electronic, it's highly unlikely that paint on one button was made to adhere better to its substrate than the paint on another button.
Click to expand...

Yeah the definition of babying can vary from person to person. My phone has never been dropped, always goes into a pocket by itself is in mint condition other than the button.

As to the button, batches of any mass produced product can vary slightly. In this case I think that if one spot hasn't adhered right and starts flaking the rest soon follows. So if you didn't have any weak spots you were golden but if you did you would eventually have a white button. The week spot on mine was the little ridge pattern on top. Started coming off smack dab in the middle. Not really surprising since that is where you would expect a weak spot to be if you had one.

Glad you didn't have the issue though. It was kind of annoying to look at when it first started but once it had all fell off and ended up solid white I really stopped noticing it. Besides, I'd much rather that be the flaw in my phone than hardware related to the actual functioning of my phone. Some people really had bad luck with their phones.

Still really happy with my Droid. By now with all my past phones I'd already be thinking about how I still had to wait a another year to get a new phone if I wanted the contract price. Not even thinking of a new phone yet. Sure there are some cool phones out but the Droid still does everything I need. :)

Sorry went of track at the end.
 
I'm in quality control for a small manufacturing company. It's all machined parts, but that does include plastics.
I can say that there are quite often small differences between runs or batches of parts we make. We have tolerances within a few ten thousandths of an inch on some parts, and some runs are at the high limit and some at the low.
We send stuff out for plating all the time; all kinds of plating from anodization to powder coat and lots in between. I also do some plating myself and I can tell you from experience that if a batch of parts is not properly degreased, that plate or coating WILL flake off.
-Try degreasing plastic! lol It ain't easy.
So that's my theory on why some buttons lost all their gold, some lose only parts of it, and others are still golden-good.
But I dunno.
 
So just so I can understand it, does the button chip or something, or does the gold part just wear off and you're left with a perfectly smooth white surface? Cause if it's the latter, then yeah, the Sharpie pen thing should work for anyone that has the issue, but if it's the former, you're just going to have an ugly lumpy button that's gold after you use the Sharpie pen.
 
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