One drop. Five minutes in a pocket with your keys. Three months of regular use. This is all it takes for an iPhone's backplate to go from a mirror-like shine to a scratched-to-hell eyesore. Here's how to fix it.

MacRumors forum member Shenaniganz08 salvaged an iPhone 3G from eBay, sanding, buffing and polishing it back from the brink of a life in a case, which would be dumb, because cases are dumb. (I mean, not really, but that's kind of the premise of this whole process, right? Anyway.) Here's what you need:

• Sandpaper 320(or 500),800,1000,1500,2000,2500,3000 grit
• 3M Rubbing compound
• Machine Polisher ( Power Drill or small buffer)
• Microfibers
• Sticky tack and or tape

What's great about this is that you don't need to buy almost anything. Half the stuff you need—the microfibers, the polishing disc and the rubbing compound—is included in a $15 3M headlight restoration kit , and you can use just about any crappy household drill for the buffing stage.

In any case, the results are stunning, and the documentation meticulous, so if you've got a few hours, a few bucks and an iPhone that looks like a piece of shitty sea glass, why not? [Macrumors via Gadget Lab]

Apple has just pushed out an update for all iPhone generations in the form of iPhone OS 3.1.2. Don't expect any major feature updates in this 241MB download, but do expect a few fixes to some annoying problems, most notably:

• Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone not to wake from sleep
• Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular services until restart
• Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video stream

Now if only I could get an update that "Resolves issue where your stupid phone thinks headphones are plugged in all the time, even when they're not, so you can finally answer calls without a headset plugged in" I'd be a very happy human being. To get your update on, plug in your iPhone and click on Check for Updates in iTunes. Jailbreakers: You'll probably want to wait on this one. [via Gizmodo]