Road Rash iPod

December 20, 2007 8:25 PM

How can I repair/replace my 80GB iPod classic (black aluminum) faceplate?

My iPod classic took a dive from my coat pocket as I ran to catch a bus. It hit the pavement, and I stepped on it (slightly)... Here's a pic.

Surprisingly, I think the new classics are built to take more potential damage than the previous models. The damn thing still goes. iTunes doesn't throw any error messages, scroll wheel works, plays like a dream, it just looks like hell. It's fairly new, so I'd like to know what I can do to clean it up short of shoving the damn thing into a case... though I'll probably do that anyway.

Even if you can just help me reduce the scratches on the screen, I'll be in your debt.

posted by SansPoint to technology (5 comments total)

You might want to get a quote from these guys. I haven't used them myself but I've heard good things about them. You send them your iPod, they'll give a quote on what it will cost to fix and if it is too much, you can just have them send it back for a small fee.

I know the repair places used to buy old iPods and part them out. Since your iPod is relatively new there might not be a lot of bodies for it so that might be harder to come by. They -- or another company in their line of work -- might buy yours [not a for anything close to the price for a new one, but you might use it to offset the cost of buying a new one].

Also, I know that Apple used to do repairs -- this would definitely be out of warranty -- where you'd pay a flat fee to get it fix. You might want to talk to a genius at the Apple store about that.

I can't tell for certain how scratched the screen is, but using something like Apple Polish (they sell this at Apple Stores and other places that sell computer stuff). I've used it on my iPods, it isn't magic. It can't buff our scratches completely, but might help.

I know how you feel, my iPhone was in pristine condition until two weeks ago when I somehow scratched the class. Then yesterday I dropped the damn thing onto pavement. It works well still, but doesn't look brand new like it did before.
posted by birdherder at 9:08 PM on December 20, 2007

That picture is terrible, but you should be able to make it shiny with a course of increasingly fine rubbing compounds or sandpaper. It's plastic, so you can just grind it down and polish it up.
posted by rhizome at 9:54 PM on December 20, 2007

Is the screen itself cracked? Thats what it looks like.
posted by OldReliable at 10:33 PM on December 20, 2007

rhizome, this one isn't plastic. The new iPod classics are made of anodized aluminum.

OldReliable, Nope. Just a couple scratches... *closer examination* Okay, the top right corner has a small crack.
posted by SansPoint at 1:05 AM on December 21, 2007

I've had success polishing iPod screens (and faceplates of the old plastic faced iPods) with Brasso brass polish. It's a very mildly abrasive polish, which does a great job on plastic. Good stuff to have around for gadgets, scratched CDs, etc...
posted by raygan at 12:44 PM on December 22, 2007