This is what it takes to have your iPhone 6 covered in actual gold

Apple does sell gold versions of its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, but their cases aren’t covered in real gold. Luckily for those people who want to spend even moremoney on their iPhone 6 units, there are companies that can apply actual gold paint to the iPhone 6, and cnet has taken a closer look at what that process entails, at least when it comes to Goldgenie’s gold iPhone painting.

After removing all the iPhone 6’s components, including the glued components such as the battery and rear Apple logo, a technician then polishes the iPhone’s case and deep cleans it to ensure the surface is perfectly clean.

Once that’s done, an activator solution is applied to the phone to make the metal porous. Then, the gold-based paint is applied. In order for gold to stick to the aluminum back of the phone, current is passed through the phone as it’s painted with the activator, and then with the gold.

As for the gold paint that’s applied to the iPhone, it’s a solution “full of tiny 24 carat gold specks” that contains 12mg of gold per liter. According to Goldgenie, the solution has a “much higher concentration of gold” than competitors.

The iPhone is then meticulously put back together, and a technician makes sure it’s still functional once it has been assembled. Interestingly, it takes an hour and a half to dismantle and assemble the phone.