How to hide cracks on phone screen

WE'VE all felt the sinking feeling of watching our phone plunge to the pavement - and then watched our bank balance plummet after taking it in to be repaired.

But you don't necessarily have to go to a shop to fix your smartphone.

Simon Rockman, mobile expert and founder of Fuss Free Phones, told The Sun Online that you can easily buy everything you need online.

"The difference between going to a shop and buying parts from eBay is huge: you can save yourself from forking out up to £200 for a repair," he said.

"You might need to buy special tools but a few pounds buys a full set of the things you’ll need and some sellers throw in replacement screens too."

If you want to do a bit of DIY, just head to eBay and do a quick search for "repair kit" followed by the name of your phone.

But if that sounds a bit too straightforward for you, here are a few of the DIY remedies for the nightmare of a cracked screen circulating online - which you should only undertake at your own risk and with extreme scepticism.

Are you brave (or foolish) enough to try them out?

Toothpaste

This method can fix a small scratch, or at least hide it.

Put a tiny bit of toothpaste on a cotton bud and rub it on the scratch, making sure it doesn't find its way into headphone sockets, buttons or other vulnerable parts of your device.

It will make your phone minty fresh, although it won't restore it to mint condition.

Vegetable oil

Again, this will hide the problem but won't entirely fix it.

Just rub a dab of oil onto the scratch to hide it.

But beware: the oil will rub off and will need to be reapplied.

A plastic bag

If your phone screen shatters, you can stop it getting worse by buying a screen protector.

But what if your finances are as broken as your mobile?

Just wrap a thin, transparent plastic bag around the mobile and it should temporarily stop the problem getting any worse.

Sandpaper

This is a method that is not for the faint hearted.

If a small mark appears in your phone, you can try to sand it down with paper or even use a grinding machine.

But don't sand too enthusiastically because you might not have a screen left.

Baking soda

A folk remedy circulating online suggests a paste made from two parts baking soda to one part water can fix screens.

Just make a thick paste and then use a cloth to rub it in.

This should cover up the problem for a while.

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