DIYer decks out his Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with a clear back

Depending on your region and the carrier you use, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 comes in your choice of Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Silver Titan, and White Pearl. But if you’re the DIYer type, there’s another option: clear.

Over at Reddit, a user by the name of Skarface08 posted up some pics of a custom Galaxy Note 5 with a clear back, as well as some basic steps on how to replicate the job. Basically, the look was achieved by removing the color film found behind the phone’s glass back. Sounds simple enough, but keep in mind that the back of the Galaxy Note 5 isn’t removable.

You might also like: Galaxy Note 5 Tips & Tricks

Thankfully, removing the back isn’t as hard as it might sound. There are no difficult fasteners or special screws to deal with here, and the only tools required to get to the back are a razor blade, suction cup, and a heat gun. In the Redditor’s own words, removing the back entails the following basic steps:

You first have to heat it up. I use a Ecoheat gun that gets it really hot, the use a suction cup to pry the back off. After that you let it cool off a bit and take off all the film with a razor blade. Then i just stuck it back on the phone because there was already adhesive on the actual device.

Skarface08 does caution that you want to keep constantly moving the heat gun and that you shouldn’t concentrate too long on one spot to prevent any possible heat damage. It is also worth noting this process only applies to the back, and so you might get a clear rear, but the front won’t have the same look. The Redditor says that even if you removed all the film from the front somehow, all you’d see is a bunch of adhesive and it wouldn’t have the same effect as the back.

Regardless, we have to admit this looks pretty sexy, at least if you’re into that industrial, exposed-parts look – which many of us are. It’s also probably possible to find other materials that could be inserted in place of the color film, for those that want to customize their phone but aren’t necessarily into the clear look. How well that would look? It’s hard to say.

[related_videos title=”Galaxy Note 5 in video” align=”center” type=”custom” videos=”644809,643941,638334,634225″]

Before you decide to try opening up the Note 5 for yourself, keep in mind this is a sure-fire way to destroy your warranty and that things can go wrong if you make a mistake during the removal process. For those that are bold enough to go forward with it, you can find many more tips on how to best perform the ‘procedure’ over at Reddit.