How can I restore the aluminum finish on my MacBook Pro?

Read the manual that came w/your MBP for the proper way of caring & cleaning the exterior. Also check out Apple's Knowledge Base on how to care for your MBP.

Do a Google search for MBP polish to take care of those scratches.



Investing in a hard shell skin may be of interest. Check out Speck.

+*For a strange reason this web site suddenly decided to restrict my editing capabilities... I have more to say.*+

That's normal. You only have a certain amount of time from your initial posting in which to post an edit. This is mostly done to preserve the integrity of the thread. If people can go back and edit posts at any point, it can be confusing. You can always just post a new thread if your edit time has run out... no one will scold you for that 🙂

I have used Speck hard covers on all my machines. I recently gave away my original BlackBook from late 2006. That had a Speck hard cover case. When I removed the cover, the machine literally looked as if it were new. The person who I gave it two didn't believe it was three years old. Especially since I'm one of those that keeps my boxes and packing material... it was like they got a new machine. Interestingly... I didn't realize how nicely they were packaged then. The machine was inserted in a nice felt pouch... vs. the clear plastic stuff they wrap them in now... like giant iPods.

The original finish is anodized. You could entirely disassemble the Macbook Pro and have it striped and re-anodized. This is pretty much the only way to get the finish back to original. If you do a search on the internet you can learn more about anodizing and what it requires.

For scratches - Look into a scratch removal polish specifically made for Titanium. Make sure you follow the directions carefully. First disconnect the power adapter, battery & all peripherals.

Smudges - Look into Apple Polish Cleaning - $24.95.

My understanding is that the majority of the case is clear anodized aluminum. A few parts, such as the strip below the keys, appear to be silver painted plastic. IIRC, anodized aluminum is an oxide coating electrically applied to the metal. It tends to be pretty hard, but somewhat brittle - if you bend the metal, you see the coating crack and distort. The anodize can be chipped or scratched, and chemically dissolved, probably either with acid or alkali. Some users report palmrest marks, and conjecture it's acidic body fluids. IIRC, hobbyists remove anodizing in caustic solutions. Maglites are anodized. I do not think abrasive polishes with help, but make it worse.

IMO, I think the only thing to do is use some liquid cleaners on a cotton rag. I use Windex, Formula 409, and sometimes alcohol. These should have no effect on anodizing. Keep alcohols away from the plastics. If you are lucky, dark smudges are only dirt and can be removed. I suppose it is possible that the anodize is corroded, and then you can only replace the case to restore the appearance.

The markings seem to only be a form of paint and once scratched off, are gone forever. On my screen, I use a very clean, barely damp with kitchen detergent solution sponge, then the barely damp sponge with water only.

"Besides, iKlear is for screens."

iKlear does have other products. iKlear Polish!