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iPhone 12 Pro Silver iPhone 12 Pro does NOT have PVD finish!

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Brettka7

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 5, 2011
458
406
I always get the silver iPhones because I like how well they wear over time. I was really disappointed to read the silver 12 Pro may have the PVD finish that the other models had because that means there is potential for peeling/chipping and scratches cannot be removed from the frame.

First thing I did when I got home was test it out! Used a white metal polish on a white cotton pad and gently rubbed the lower right corner of the phone. Stainless steel residue did in fact transfer onto the cotton pad, which means no PVD finish!

Only a small amount of transfer is on the pad but rest assured, I only went as much as needed to confirm because the phone is less than 12 hours old at this time so it doesn’t need a polish yet.

BBB9D0F1-5E79-4D7D-869C-2FDD98CA76B0.jpeg

DA3BC532-CD79-4E20-BD06-AF10B28091EF.jpeg


EDIT:

I’ve now had the honor of double confirming this.

Today I was trimming my beard in the shower. Suddenly the water turns off and I’m covered in hair. I wasn’t about to get hair everywhere so I decided to wait for my complex’s water to come back on while browsing the web. Suddenly the water comes spitting out but it’s BROWN from who knows what, so my reaction was to jerk backwards. Dinged the upper right corner of my phone and get a little bummed out despite how minor it was.

Eventually I decided to sand and polish the corner already knowing it’s raw steel. Came out beautifully!

Small ding near the screen:

7F197E3A-AAC8-42B2-8C10-1C0744D7DA57.jpeg


Sanded with 2,000 grit:

1ABF5A2B-5F17-4E58-8D6B-400D196577D0.jpeg


Perfect again!

6A4B66A5-AF80-4078-8143-042527EDB03E.jpeg
 
Last edited:
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DotCom2

macrumors 603
Feb 22, 2009
6,173
5,446
I’m so glad you posted this because I also love the silver and wanted to buff out any minor scratches with the Cape Cod cloth like I use on my silver stainless steel Apple Watch. But I was concerned about this PVD coating. Thank you for confirming. It’s possible that because the silver SS is natural and just polished that it doesn’t need the PVD coating that the colored SS iPhones do? Dunno ??‍♀️
 
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Apleeseed84

macrumors 6502a
Oct 22, 2020
741
525
I always used to get silver iPhones in the past, until the iPhone X came into play and noticed how bad the stainless steel polished edges scratched super easily over normal wear and tear. I was even more pissed whenever I notice the other color black didn’t scratch unless it was dropped and ever since then I just stuck to getting other colors than silver/white for the time being, I know for sure they will scratch easily.
 
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IconIc215

macrumors 65816
Oct 11, 2013
1,362
1,185
I have seen two 12 Pro’s in Silver and no way these have the PVD coating. They will be like years past where they will be filled with micro scratches soon enough. The positive is you can buff them which is always good but not for me. I also think these scratches are more noticeable with the flatter sides vs rounded so if your one who is OCD about this stay away from Silver.
 
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Brettka7

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 5, 2011
458
406
Yes, the stainless has always and will always scratch just as easily as the old iPods. It only takes about 10 minutes to get all the scratches out with a good metal polish, though!

The PVD coating is what theoretically would have prevented the scratches but I dropped my X, XS, and 11 Pro exactly once each. The X I was able to sand and polish all scratches and chips out, the XS unfortunately ended up being dented inward so I could only improve it a small amount, and the 11 Pro I was able to improve the scuffs and scratches by about 85% with some sandpaper and metal polish. I like being able to fix the phones (cosmetically) if needed.
 
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CoriG

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2011
621
196
Thank you for the FYI. I can get a bit anal retentive about my phones. And For the first time, My 11pm developed tons of micro scratches. I never had a phone get so bad and this was with a case on. I always get silver because I can buff the scratches out and I love the clean color of it.

This year I was trying to decide whether to get the PB but I was nervous about it’s propensity to scratch and I wouldn’t be able to buff it out.
 
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nordique

macrumors 68000
Oct 12, 2014
1,976
1,600
Nice. I love how you can polish these.

my mom loves the silver colour and I really like it this year too.
 
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mbuhlayaw

macrumors newbie
Oct 24, 2020
8
5
Looks like even with Silver iPhone 12 Pro it does have PVD coating.

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/jbeg4h
Someone has Silver iPhone 12 Pro, and has scratches on the band, however Silver should be the easiest to be polished.

forums.macrumors.com

Apple’s professional screen protector installer scratched my iPhone 12 Pro

Bruh, I just went to get my iPhone exchanged and had Apple install a screen protector for me. They clamped it down to a machine, and look what I just found when I got home and inspected my new iPhone.
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
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C

CoriG

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2011
621
196
I went to the apple store today and the silver was already scratched near the lighting hole from people picking it up off the charger and this was after the phone being out for 24 hours.
 
W

whizkid11

macrumors regular
Mar 2, 2015
232
146
Brettka7 said:
I always get the silver iPhones because I like how well they wear over time. I was really disappointed to read the silver 12 Pro may have the PVD finish that the other models had because that means there is potential for peeling/chipping and scratches cannot be removed from the frame.

First thing I did when I got home was test it out! Used a white metal polish on a white cotton pad and gently rubbed the lower right corner of the phone. Stainless steel residue did in fact transfer onto the cotton pad, which means no PVD finish!

Only a small amount of transfer is on the pad but rest assured, I only went as much as needed to confirm because the phone is less than 12 hours old at this time so it doesn’t need a polish yet.

View attachment 972797
View attachment 972798
Click to expand...
Means nothing. Any contamination will turn black. Doesn’t mean that it’s not PVD coated.
 
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Brettka7

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 5, 2011
458
406
whizkid11 said:
Means nothing. Any contamination will turn black. Doesn’t mean that it’s not PVD coated.
Click to expand...

Having previously been in the automotive detailing industry, currently in the automotive/tech industry, and a hobbyist, once you learn the distinct smell of freshly polished metal you don’t forget it. I have zero doubts this is raw stainless steel and I think my photos speak for themselves.

Once my phone starts getting scratches and scuffs I’ll post some before and after photos. Maybe in a month or so depending on how fast I get scratches.
 
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johannnn

johannnn

macrumors 68020
Nov 20, 2009
2,221
2,341
Sweden
For someone that don’t even know what PVD is. Does these findings, or other findings, suggest that any 12 (not the pro) color is harder to scratch? Or harder to notice scratches?

I wanted the white 12, but if any color is better scratch wise I’ll change my mind
 
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