That actually looks really good. I think I might go for it. Your pics came out good; I think I want mine to look like that. I'm debating over the black or gray now. Also, explain the hairdryer thing to me. I read that tip somewhere and I've never done that with other skins I've applied. Is it just for the carbon fiber type, or is it a generally good tip? Any tips on how to get the skin on as close to perfect as I can would be much obliged.
There is a Skinomi "How-to" which will give you the basics on how to install it here:
[video=youtube;nv7jzxN0peM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv7jzxN0peM[/video]
My install for the Bionic follows.
The Skinomi carbon fiber skins are the first ones I have ever used a hair dryer on. Unlike PhantomSkinz, Ghost Armor, Zagg, etc that are a very flexible wet install, the Skinomi is a dry install. The material is actually 3M Scotchprint carbon fiber film (the same stuff people use to do carbon fiber effects on their cars). To start off, this is how the skin comes from Skinomi:
As this is a dual cast vinyl film designed for cars typically, it is much more rigid than a typical skin. However, it is not so rigid that you cannot bend it to make sure you have it properly placed before heating. Once you have the skin placed in the correct place, on areas with big bends you heat it with a hair dryer to make it more flexible so you can stretch it and work it around the bends a bit easier. Once the film cools down it will "harden" to the shape of the device (the hair dryer step is needed on the bottom piece that covers the front mic and the bottom edge of the phone and the back the most, but it helps to put the top edge on as well).
The Bionic is the third Skinomi carbon fiber skin I have done. What I typically do is install the big back piece first. It's really big and "less delicate" in my opinion and therefore a little more forgiving as you're getting used to the feel of trying to shape it. the fit for the back to the flat edges are almost perfect. It's the corners that I "stretch" a little bit to make the edges touch to get the most coverage (you can see on the corners of the picture of the back in the post above that there are very minor spots that it doesn't cover).
Next, I did those two strips for the sides. This is the part that I didn't do "perfect" for the OCD person, you can see a couple spots where it's not "perfectly straight" and a little bit of the edge shows but it fits perfectly along the side if you are meticulous and patient. I
DID NOT heat this part to install it, just do it cold as it is a flat section of the phone and the rigidity of the film actually helps in keeping it straight.
Here comes the tricky parts for my install (it's not that bad, really). The top and bottom will wrap around to near the side pieces. I installed the top edge of the phone cold (the rigidity helps here again). Once the top edge is straight, bend the edges down to see approximately how much you will have to stretch it (typically only a millimeter or two) but try to not let it stick (it's okay if it does a little, it's a very forgiving film especially when it's cold and never heated yet). Now that you know how much you will need to stretch it, heat the edges up, pull a little to stretch it the amount you need, then finish the installation of the top strip. If there is a very miniscule gap left between the top piece and the side piece, you can heat the area, slide the film the last micron you need, and hold it until it cools back down and it will solidify there.
The bottom piece I started on the front microphone area first (use the microphone hole to help align it and get it as close to the top edge of that area as possible. Again do not heat it yet. Fold it over the bottom edge and eyeball it to make sure that once you heat it to curve it around the edge, it will fit right. Now do the sides again like the top piece. The bottom piece has longer "edge pieces" and heat will definitely help you shape it and as the ears are so long, it will be easier to stretch to match up with the side pieces. However, when I did this piece, I used heat to make sure that that ear bends with the phone correct first, then I used heat to stretch the last part to match up with the side pieces.
This is something I do last. it's not required I don't think but I wait 5 minutes for everything to cool before I do a final heat with the hair dryer. This I believe is to activate the adhesive in any spots that you did "cold" and to make sure that it's warm enough to mold to any curves you did cold. Skinomi just says to run over it with a hair dryer right after you finish but I like to let it cool 5 minutes so I can see that everything is aligned before the final cure.
Hope this helps.
