How to: LG G Watch R into a Watch Urbane DIY

We’ve recently reported that LG just announced the new Watch Urbane, which aims to directly compete with the Apple Watch, as it is actually a re-vamped, redesigned, beautified LG G Watch R. Now those of you who already have an LG G Watch R might be thinking about buying the Watch Urbane because it truly looks amazing and comes with high quality build materials. Since pricing and availability probably won’t be announced until the show at the Mobile World Congress in March, we can only assume that the Watch Urbane will be pretty expensive and most likely a limited edition.

For those of you who already own the LG G Watch R, it would seem redundant to buy the same watch, with a better design, for a lot more cash. But still, the metallic finish on the Watch Urbane is stunning and most people around the internet are saying that the Watch Urbane looks much (much) better than the Apple Watch so far. Even though the final version of the Apple Watch will be launched in April, we already have a good idea about its design and specs, and they might not be anything to revolutionize the wearable industry, as Tim Cook, Apple CEO, says.

If you want to have the feeling of the Watch Urbane on the LG G Watch R, you can. It’s not a pretty task and you’re certainly going to need some courage to try this, but it’s possible to make the LG G Watch R look very similar to the Watch Urbane. It just needs some sandpaper and a little DIY experience. Anthony B shared his own method of DIY Watch Urbane on Google+ and his attempt looks actually stunning. All you need is some really fine sandpaper, with which you can wipe off the black finish on the metal bezels. You shouldn’t touch the bezel immediately next to the display, because you might scratch it.

You can attempt to scratch the black coating next to the display, too if you use a screen protector or carpenter’s tape, but I repeat, we wouldn’t recommend it. The finished product looks actually amazing and since the body is stainless steel, you won’t have to worry about rust and such. At the same time, after finishing the rubbing with sandpaper part, you can use some really fine grain sandpaper to finish it off, after which you can use some metal polish cream to make it as shiny as possible.

I cringed my teeth a bit at the thought of grinding away at the body of the LG G Watch R, but if it results in this pseudo Watch Urbane, it might just be worth the risk. Since it’s something very easy to do, you can try it at home, but be sure to rub that thing very gently. Have fun and good luck! Let us know if you’ve the guts to try this DIY project and how it turns out eventually!