Make your smartphone hard as a ruby in 5 minutes on the Tokyo subway

If you’ve ever wanted to attack your phone with a box cutter for fun, this service is for you!

On his way home from work, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma came across a stand offering a way that “your smartphone can have a surface hardness of 9H without the need for a film in just 5 minutes” regardless of what kind of phone you use.

Masanuki had one of his previous phones coated in the stuff they use on golf clubs when he went to the driving range one time and was satisfied with the results. This offer sounded even better so he decided to try it out on his current model.

Not to be confused with the “H” in your “2H” pencil, the “H” used in the Mohs scale is a measure of a material’s hardness on a scale of zero to 10 with diamond ranking in at a 10H. For further reference, your fingernail is about 2.5H and steel is around a 4H, so when you have a 9H screen there aren’t many things on Earth capable of scratching it aside from rhenium diboride, and good luck getting any of that stuff.

This booth is actually set up by the makers of the coating called Serum Nano-coat Pro II and according to the signs there, one application will last about six years and users will notice improved touch sensitivity and operability.

If you want one side of your phone coated, it will take about five minutes and cost 1,980 yen (US$14.16). A full coating will take 10 minutes and cost 3,000 yen ($21.45). It’s a pretty reasonable price compared to other films with a high level of hardness with the added benefit of getting it professionally applied.

Masanuki decided to give his iPhone 14 Pro a full coating. The screen for this model of phone has been said to have a Mohs rating of about 6H, which is already quite scratch resistant, but cranking that up to a 9H would certainly give our reporter an added sense of security.

The coating specialist started by removing Masanuki’s case and other protective gear.

He then gave it a thorough cleaning.

Next, he applied some drops of Serum Nano-coat Pro II…

…and spread it evenly with an electric brush.

The sides were also treated.

Finally the phone was given a nice buffing.

After about 10 minutes, Masanuki was given his phone back with its new coating. The staff warned him that it takes about 16 days for the substance to fully harden, so until that time, it is still vulnerable to scratches from keys or other hard objects.

But to give our reporter a sense of what the full effect is like. The staff took out another coated iPhone and began whacking at it with a hammer.

In the end, the phone looked completely unscathed.

Next, he started slashing wildly at the screen with a utility knife.

And the phone still looked good as new.

It should be noted that this material improves the screens hardness, not overall strength. So, while it is now very scratch resistant, the phone’s overall structural integrity is far from invincible, which is probably why the guy didn’t just chuck his demonstration model against the wall.

There are also other liquid coatings on the market that can be purchased, but there’s something way more reassuring about having your phone done by the makers themselves. If you want to try it too, this booth will be near the B5 stairs of Shinjuku Station until 18 June and then at the D7 exit of Yurakucho Station between 19 June and 2 July. All smartphones are welcome and they can do tablets and smartwatches as well.

Reference: Serum Nano-coat Pro II
Photos ©SoraNews24
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