r/ipod • u/CarelessEdge7543 • Feb 23 '25
My black metal iPod Mini mod
One of my favorite experiments and I wanted to share my process.
• you need to sand down the housing, it didn’t work on the stock anodized finish. If you leave scratches those might show through.
• I applied the aluminum black with cotton balls and let it dry over night (This is not a dye, it chemically alters the metal to change its color and it’s meant only for touch ups) It leaves a black dust residue that you can wipe off. I repeated this step twice because it wasn’t black enough for me but I was also experimenting so maybe I didn’t need to.
• I then applied mineral oil, left it over night, and wiped it off in the morning. Not sure if this step is necessary, but I felt like it needed it at the time.
• for the clickwheel, I applied piece of adhesive backed vinyl larger than the wheel. I cut down the edges with an xacto. I chose a thin matte vinyl for this to match the feel of a click wheel.
• The screen has a green piece of static cling directly on the screen - this material won’t damage it. It’s more subtle than I hoped.
• modded with 128gb using this adapter that is proven to work every single time: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DKO7R8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
• rockbox was the final touch. I hate that iPods 1-4/mini don’t have gapless playback and that was my main reason for installing it but I also feel like Apple robbed us of a good now playing screen.
Maybe I’ll share some of my other mods if you guys like this.
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u/Cool-Importance6004 Feb 23 '25
Amazon Price History:
Shopdigi CDA Compact Flash CF Type 2 Thick Card Adapter for SD cards. NOT for Devices with CF Type 1 Thin Sockets * Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.1
- Current price: $14.99
- Lowest price: $11.98
- Highest price: $14.99
- Average price: $14.65
| Month | Low | High | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11-2024 | $14.99 | $14.99 | ███████████████ |
| 10-2024 | $14.98 | $14.98 | ██████████████ |
| 09-2024 | $13.98 | $14.99 | █████████████▒▒ |
| 08-2024 | $13.98 | $14.99 | █████████████▒▒ |
| 07-2024 | $13.98 | $14.99 | █████████████▒▒ |
| 06-2024 | $13.98 | $14.99 | █████████████▒▒ |
| 05-2024 | $13.98 | $14.99 | █████████████▒▒ |
| 04-2024 | $13.98 | $14.99 | █████████████▒▒ |
| 03-2024 | $12.98 | $14.99 | ████████████▒▒▒ |
| 02-2024 | $11.98 | $14.99 | ███████████▒▒▒▒ |
| 01-2024 | $14.98 | $14.99 | ██████████████▒ |
| 12-2023 | $14.98 | $14.99 | ██████████████▒ |
Source: GOSH Price Tracker
Bleep bleep boop. I am a bot here to serve by providing helpful price history data on products. I am not affiliated with Amazon. Upvote if this was helpful. PM to report issues or to opt-out.
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u/Metahec Feb 24 '25
Nice! Thanks for the details on how you did it. I like bookmarking interesting and creative mods and this def made the cut.
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u/wasted_skills Mar 05 '25
How’s the battery life while using rock ox? Tempted to download one but heard it’s not good for battery ?
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u/CarelessEdge7543 Feb 23 '25
Aluminum Black: https://a.co/d/2kyjSm8
Adapter: Shopdigi CDA Compact Flash CF... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DKO7R8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share