Ever wonder how the iPod's shiny plastic chassis succumbs to the effects of dirt, grime, and scratches despite its lifetime spent protected by a case? Its graceful design and elegant sheen notwithstanding, the iPod is prone to scuffs, scratches, and dirt from daily use.

To combat the tolls of a rough environment in your pocket, we reviewed the iCleaner Ultra Pro Kit , a total solution to rehabilitate the iPod's exterior.

Requirements:

• Any scratched iPod
• iCleaner kit (~$30 US; ~€30 UK)
  • 1 Fl Oz Bottle iCleaner
  • 1/4 Oz Back & Deep Scratch Polish
  • 1 green Micro Fiber Terrycloth Towel
  • 1 Fl Oz Bottle Maintenance Polish
  • 1 white Super Cloth

Our test iPods all bore the wear and tear of many months spent in cases and unsheathed in pockets of pants and jackets. Despite all efforts, an iPod will develop a patina of light scratches similar to the effect on silver. A lack of periodic cleaning will yield deeper scratches, particularly if the protective case covers the iPod's LCD screen with a clear plastic facade.

The LCD screen is probably the area most susceptible to scratch damage. As oils, dirt, and dust build up and get trapped beneath your form-fitting protective case, friction silently bores away like gingivitis overnight. Fortunately, there are products available to restore the luster to the iPod's glossy finish like the iCleaner Ultra Pro Kit .

Ultra Pro or Pro?
There are two iCleaner kits available (Pro and Ultra Pro) or their individual components can be purchased separately. The iCleaner Ultra Pro Kit is the best value at ~$30 and includes six pieces: three polishes (maintenance, scratch remover, and back & deep scratch), two cloths (terrycloth and non-abrasive polishing), and a rubber glove. Yes, a rubber glove. Hold the Vaseline and Doctor jokes, please.

If all components were purchased individually, it would exceed $44. The deep scratch polish is only available in the Ultra Pro or Pro kits.

Cleaning
Cleaning an iPod with any of the iCleaner products is just like waxing a car; a little goes a long way. Apply too much and it will take forever to buff out. Apply in moderation and the buffing is quite effective at sanding away scratches. The trick is to make several applications like coats of wax. Wax on, wax off. Catch a fly with some chopsticks. Repeat.

Scratch Remover
First, we used the scratch remover on one of the iPod's metal back plate., which suffered a lot of deskburn. Deskburn is the iPod equivalent of rug burn that results from sliding around a desk unsheathed from its case. A desktop can present a lot of inherent hazards: loose staples, crumbs from your morning bagel, and residual syrups from spilled soft drinks.

Squirting a dab of the green fluid on the terrycloth eerily reminded us of "gack," the ominous green slime from Nickelodeon's You Can't Do That On Television. Fortunately this green stuff has a legitimate purpose. A few applications of scratch remover worked wonderfully at reducing the gouges from passing over errant staples on a desk.

Maintenance Polish
Second, we used the maintenance polish to rid the scroll wheel of human skin oils from fingers. Each caressing stroke of the scroll wheel with your finger deposits a miniscule amount of skin oil that builds after months of use. Makes you wonder what's really on your fingers.

Maintenance polish can be used anywhere on the iPod chassis. Its non-abrasive formula won't take out scratches but will strip off the dirt and grime. Three or four applications in a row work best to keep the iPod fresh like a detailed car.

Deep Scratch Remover
Third, we used the back & deep scratch remover to buff out the scratch streaks on the iPod's back and its LCD screen. Packaged in a small, round case that resembles a lip balm case, the back & deep scratch is a white sticky paste.

Unlike the other two polishes, back & deep scratch remover is applied by hand with the rubber glove. The reason is twofold, the paste will irritate the skin and the grit is best applied by rubbing with a finger rather than a pile of cloth.

A supple white microfiber cloth is used exclusively to buff out the resulting haze. Just gently rub the surface with the white cloth like you are waxing your car.

Results
We were most impressed by results with iCleaner's scratch remover, which combines the cleaning agents of maintenance polish with some of the grit of the back & deep scratch remover. As the name implies, maintenance polish is merely intended for routine cleaning so as not to strip the shiny luster from the chassis. 

We were less impressed by back & deep scratch polish, which only seemed to introduce more swirls to the back plate. The back & deep scratch polish requires lots of patience because the rubber glove will easily tear during hard and repetitive rubbing (remember we said no rubber glove jokes). As advertised, this polish did not affect the all-important, laser engraving you might have on the back of your iPod [Rejected iPod Engravings].

The back & deep scratch polish was rather effective at restoring some visibility to a very scratched 1G iPod LCD screen, at least enough to continue with scratch remover. While not an ideal application for the paste, the LCD screen was not blurred in the same way as the back plate.

iCleaner PROS

1. Maintenance polish will strip the dirt and oil from the faceplate and scroll wheel
2. Sufficient supply of scratch remover in single bottle: as many as 20 iPod cleanings
3. Removes or minimizes superficial blemishes

 iCleaner CONS

1. Back & deep scratch remover will not restore the factory mirror finish of the iPod's back plate.
2. Rubber globe is cumbersome to use, especially with multiple applications
3. A serious cleaning episode will use up the supplied cloth

iCleaner products will not remove the serious gouges sustained from drops onto concrete or asphalt. Then again, it's likely an iPod won't mechanically sustain such falls without a case anyway.

The iCleaner Ultra Pro Kit won't restore your scratched-up iPod to factory condition, but it does an adequate job of cleaning, buffering, and polishing out minor scratches and imperfections.

This item is available for purchase from Amazon.com Remember how shiny your iPod or iBook was when you first got it? Thanks to iCleaner you will be able to restore the FRONT & BACK of your iPod to its former glory!! For more information, check out: http://www.ipodcleaner.com Rating: Requirements: Any scratched iPod Manufacturer: iCleaner