The surface texture of a hand held device is a key component to its overall look and feel. The thermal conductivity of the material is also important.

In this study, production cell phone housings were utilized. Eace specimen therefore had the same material, and the same grain structure. Each set of specimens went through the same preparation process, including hand polishing and cleaning. Process parameters were then varied during the etching, rinse, and anodizing steps, allowing not only for different surface textures, but different thicknesses of the oxide layer.

This study provided a realistic, hands-on assessment of texture, gloss, and sheen.