Anyone else experiencing chips/wear on their corners?

I've had my new Macbook for less than 3 months and have babied it from the beginning. 90% of the time it sits on my desk, the remainder of the time it travels in a cushioned bag designed for laptops. I have never dropped, nor dinged the laptop. What gives? Anyone else noticing this on their machine?

Here's a picture of the damage.

http://tinyurl.com/lfhqkw

Macbook Pro, 2nd Gen

Posted on Aug 14, 2009 12:37 PM

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9 replies

Aug 14, 2009 2:31 PM in response to ericindc

Welcome to Apple Discussions!

At first glance, it almost looks like it's been rubbing on something. However, the darker areas look like corrosion. I'm wondering if there was a flaw in the metal finishing process which left a void in the anodized finish. Was this damage there from the beginning, or did it develop over the 3 months that you had it?

You could ask Apple about it and see if anything could be done. Cosmetic damage seems to be handled on a case by case basis.

Good luck!

Aug 14, 2009 2:44 PM in response to S.U.

I'm not sure what it could have been rubbing against -- my bag is designed to carry a laptop, with a zipper being the only non-cushioned, possibly-abrasive part of the bag and it has a plastic covering probably to avoid damaging what's inside.

Anyhow, I really just wanted to see if others were having similar experience with warn corners. Perhaps I'll take it down to Apple to see what can be done.

Thanks.

Aug 14, 2009 7:09 PM in response to ericindc

Does the scuff correspond to where the zipper is? If so, that could be the problem, especially if there is no padding between the zipper and the Mac. Do you see it on both front corners, and do you habitually put your Mac in the bag the same way?

The clear anodized coating is very thin--it is possible to abrade it. I am a little curious about what looks like black corrosion on the edge--I would expect a worn spot from rubbing on a zipper, , but I wouldn't expect the edge to be corroded.

It never hurts to ask Apple about it--the worst they could do is to say it's cosmetic damage and not covered by the warranty. The best they could do is to say it should not be like that and offer a repair.

Good luck!

Aug 15, 2009 6:49 AM in response to ericindc

Ericindc: A well-designed bag wouldn't do that. One that allows a metal zipper to be in contact with the MBP during transport might. But if your bag's zipper is all plastic, that's not the problem. The damage appears to be from a hard scuff/scrape or from repeated abrasion against something harder than aluminum. Nothing in your picture looks the slightest bit like corrosion or any sort of chemical reaction to me: it's clearly physical damage caused by physical contact with something.

I've used my unibody MBP 6-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week for 6 months, and there's no trace of any sort of corrosion on it. If these machines are ever going to corrode, it's going to take a lot longer than the three months you've had yours.

Aug 15, 2009 9:11 AM in response to ericindc

Thanks all for the input & suggestions.

It could very well be that something in the bag is rubbing against the corners. I'll take a picture soon of the laptop seated in the bag. It still looks to me that the corners do not sit near enough to the zipper for that to even been a concern. Furthermore, about 80% of the zipper is covered in plastic.

The initial picture looks more like a chip than is the actual case. There is no depth of damage to the frame itself -- the corner is still quite smooth and just simply lacking finish in that spot.

I've take a picture of the second corner as well..

http://tinyurl.com/ohdzz9

I'll take it to Apple soon to get their opinion, but does anyone know of a place that does such repairs -- well and at a reasonable price? I'll like have the corners fixed, then purchase one of the skins to prevent such things from happening again.

Aug 15, 2009 9:43 AM in response to ericindc

Thanks for posting the second picture. I still see black on the edges and the top, but not the hard scuff mark that was seen on the other corner. I notice damage on the lid as well.

The black areas still look like corrosion to me. The reason I say that is that I have seen numerous postings of black pitting on the palm rests for both PowerBooks and MBP's. The theory is that some people have a body chemistry that seems to react with the aluminum creating black pits. There is some question as to whether a contributing factor might be flaws in the anodized finish.

I am wondering if somehow the anodized finish has been damaged in these black areas, either through abrasion or through a flaw in the anodizing process, which is allowing these areas to not be protected.

Unfortunately, there is not likely to be a cheap fix. The anodizing process involved submerging the part in a vat of chemicals, so the computer would have to be completely disassembled. I just don't think that it will be feasible to do a repair.

It will be interesting to see what Apple says.

Good luck!

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Anyone else experiencing chips/wear on their corners?

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