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Silver-Painted Plastic Gadgets Must Die

gizmodo.com — If there's one thing that makes me vomit in my mouth, it's plastic gadgets painted silver. It's not the plastic. I like plastic fine. And painting with other colors, that's ok, too. It's just that the overriding reason for painting a plastic device silver is to make it look like metal. It's stupid!

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 13, 2008

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  • NaziHatinChimp, on 12/13/2008, -2/+120That's still not as bad as the fake plastic chrome.
  • gllopc, on 12/13/2008, -3/+88"Silver painted gadgets started in the cellphone world"

    I don't think so - I had a VCR growing up that was silver, and that was around 1985, maybe a little earlier.

    Also, has anyone noticed the trend has moved back and forth between silver and black? Silver must start looking tacky, and black becomes sexy. Then black becomes boring, and so silver makes another appearance.
  • supdude, on 12/13/2008, -1/+59Seriously, I wouldn't mind paying extra for metal on my gadgets.
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+44mmmm....Chinese lead paint....
  • AshamedAmerican, on 12/13/2008, -1/+45The cars go first.

    Which I guess kinda cripples Chrysler's entire line, doesn't it?
  • elhaf, on 12/12/2008, -2/+42My daughter once had a tea set like that. I washed it in the dishwasher and it came out gray plastic.
  • DeathRay2K, on 12/13/2008, -0/+32I could go for a real wood cell phone. That'd be cool.
  • KIERANMULLEN, on 12/13/2008, -2/+27That stuff wears away and flakes off like nobodys business too.
  • iJessicaRabbit, on 12/13/2008, -1/+24Like those robot street performers... they REALLY have to go
  • datagod, on 12/13/2008, -2/+25"If there's one thing that makes me vomit in my mouth..."

    Wow. Glad you don't vomit in your ear, or your ass or something.
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -1/+22I agree, I've got a LG Venus phone with cheap chrome paint around the outer edges that's chipping off, which makes the phone look like the piece of ***** that it really is. Chrome/shiny metal should only be used if it's gonna be real.
  • benroy, on 12/13/2008, -1/+19I could go for a fake wood covered cell phone. I've been waiting for 70's retro for years now.
  • maroon1872, on 12/13/2008, -2/+20i painted my credit card silver. didnt fool anybody.
  • Outcaster51, on 12/13/2008, -5/+22...seriously, who cares? I don't care if it's "made to look like metal" if I know it's plastic. I had a cell phone like this, I regarded it as a gray plastic cell phone. Whoopdeedoo. I don't think anyone was trying to pull the wool over my eyes when I bought a gray plastic cell phone. It did its job fine enough.
  • Narcism, on 12/13/2008, -0/+17I don't know whether to be impressed by discovery, or saddened that you don't know how to follow directions.
  • cheeseron, on 12/13/2008, -1/+18white, too
  • Khast, on 12/13/2008, -2/+15Instead of painting it to look like aluminum, why not just make aluminum colored plastic that doesn't need painted?
  • bigteebo, on 12/13/2008, -0/+12The biggest annoyance is that it wears off. My MS mouse that's painted silverish has worn off where my index finger rests. They couldn't at least dye the plastic underneath some close color instead of off-white?
  • hippykiller, on 12/13/2008, -0/+12In the 80's all the way up into the early 90's my family had a VCR with wood grain and silver accents... Thing probably weighed about 10lbs. too. That thing lived forever.
  • DeathRay2K, on 12/13/2008, -0/+12I totally agree. I'm so sick of everything being made of plastic, it just makes things feel cheap.
    Metal, or even wood, could help to break up the monotony.
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+10As someone who just got rid of a Sebring, I have to wholeheartedly agree. That car had unnecessary amounts of cheap plastic chrome that made the car look cheap inside and outside, rather than its intended purpose of making it look luxurious.
  • SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/13/2008, -0/+9Well, just so long as faux wood grain doesn't make a comeback (speaking of the 80s). My parents have a wood grain microwave to this day.
  • DeathRay2K, on 12/13/2008, -0/+9Money.
  • PrometheusBorn, on 12/13/2008, -7/+15You must like Macs, then.

    (oh yes, I went there because I'm willing to pay a LITTLE extra for aesthetics as well)
  • ferreth, on 12/13/2008, -0/+8I think many of you are underestimating the general stupidity of the buying public. It's painted silver because then they go "oooh, shiny" and buy it. The "metal" color reminds them of metal, and everything made of metal is high quality, right? Oh, I'm not excluding myself here. I've bought a few small items in the past with my brain off thinking ug-metal-good only to find out it's just garbage plastic once I actually look at it later. All part of the marketing game. (And everything in black is cool, right?)
  • javiero, on 12/13/2008, -2/+10Anyone remember SilverTab pants?
  • cpw2n5, on 12/13/2008, -1/+9Thats funny, there's an advertisement for a silver painted cell phone when I go to that site.
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7Fail comment is fail.
  • smehhs, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7Wait... crap... >< I was, for some reason, confusing magnesium with an alkaline metal. I'm losing my mind apparently and that comment deserves to be dugg down.

    Magnesium can burn under water. It does not, in fact, ignite upon contact with water. My mistake.
  • BadAndy1967, on 12/13/2008, -3/+10The silver painted gadgets aren't that bad unlike the overwhelming pink gadgets out there.
  • richirwin, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7I like my gadgets painted like fudge.

    OR BACON!
  • DeathRay2K, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7That's an odd thing to say, since magnesium is used in a huge number of electronics.
    Magnesium is the third most commonly used metal, and it's second largest field of use is in electronics; it's used in cell phones, cameras, laptops, and lots of other stuff. Its strength and weight make it perfect for portable electronics.
  • RobotBuddha, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7Same here. My family had an 80s vcr that was a beloved, flaking, albatros around my neck for ages. Thing looked horrible, was given to me, and just never broke.
  • Lunarbunny, on 12/13/2008, -0/+6http://www.autoamenity.com/Spinning.htm

    "Our hubcaps are made of durable ABS plastic..."
  • rac1234, on 12/13/2008, -0/+6It's odd - in the 1980s there were a lot of silver-painted plastic stereos and suchlike, until those in charge of plastic goods decided to turn stereos black and computers pissy-off-white for the duration of the 1990s. During the 1990s no-one wanted their device in silver-painted plastic since this looked tacky and retro. Then in the early 2000s companies have run out of ideas for ways to make black look new. The silver paint crept back in, first alongside black (genius: not 1990s black, not 1980s silver, but both!) but later on its own in styles that look just as tacky as their 1980s predecessors. No doubt we'll cycle through piss-yellow and black again before either someone has a better idea or we run out of oil and they have to use real wood. The Apple I was ahead of its time.
  • ch40sBr1ng3r, on 12/13/2008, -2/+8Why are we reading about someones rant on how they hate silver colored items? How this made it to front page amazes me...
  • sealink, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5And... how many professional A/V mixing boards that are cheap ass silver painted plastic have you seen? Or television cameras? Or... just about anything, really.
  • Scr4tchFury, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5Please hate me so much that you want to get me this -- http://www.panasonic.com/business/Toughbook/df_mag ...
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5No, it only adds to their misery.
  • gadgetlust, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5Personally, I think they do this in the name of engineered obsolescence. It's easier to justify buying a new gadget when the old one looks worn out (even though it probably will still work for years).

    I've got an 8 year old sony clie that is mostly made out of metal. It still works great, and it's hard to justify buying a new one because it looks pretty much like it did the day I bought it.
  • 1smartguy, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5It's actually possible to coat plastic with an actual metal. It's not new tech, and it's commonly done on plastic plumbing fixtures. It's called vacuum metalizing.
  • plainOldFool, on 12/13/2008, -1/+6Simulated wood paneling for your phone? Sorry, my childhood bedroom had the fake wood paneling and I could never go back to that *****.
  • cowsgonemadd3, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4But it is so smooth and shiny....
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4Reminds me of the ***** old RAZR I had for years.
  • chewy5000, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4You want potassium. or rubidium. Magnesium does produce some kick-ass flames though.
  • wpc33, on 12/13/2008, -1/+5Oh, are you, now.
  • DrHoliday, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4I wonder if there's anyway to chemically remove the paint?

    Uniform, ugly grey plastic is far better than silver paint with grey spots spoiling the finish.
  • inactive, on 12/13/2008, -1/+5Must be a tough life you live
  • honeybrass, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4no need, just give it a little rub and it comes right off. Rub your gadget, everyone does it.
  • lurrker, on 12/13/2008, -1/+5Who the hell buys a 600 lb laptop?





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