New black Mac keyboard keys dissolving from finger oils

FYI, these key caps are actually just clear or translucent white plastic with black paint on them to give them color. This allows the keys to be lit up with the keyboard backlight so the keys can be seen in darker environments. It is the black paint that is being worn away or scratched off here.

Technically an Apple tech could replace the key caps, but I have never seen anyone on this forum mention that Apple has done this for them even after I have pointed this out to the user to ask the repair tech. Apple does provide key cap kits to their techs, but the kit includes one of every key cap which makes it expensive to replace just a few key caps, but I don't think techs are aware of it. Plus the texture/coloring may not fully match the other remaining keys. Most places the Apple techs just quote the whole Top Case/Keyboard Assembly which is extremely expensive & not worth it for cosmetic issues.

FYI, it is very tricky replacing key caps on these more recent laptops even for an experienced repair tech....it is very easy to break the mechanisms & key caps both when removing & reinstalling the key caps.

If you hunt & peck when you type so that you need to see the actual characters on each key, then you may want to look into vinyl key lettering "stickers" which can be attached to the key cap, but that would likely block the lighting of that particular key. I'm not sure how well they would hold up, or stay attached especially if the key cap is slightly bowl shaped.

They may or may not do a warranty exchange if it was improperly cleaned.

see > How to clean your Apple products - Apple Support

To check your warranty coverage and contact Apple Support.

go to > https://getsupport.apple.com/

If covered, take the keyboard to your local Apple Store.

see > Find Locations

FWIW I had the same problem with the lettering on the earlier white Apple keyboards and switched to using Logitech keyboards a long time ago.

I've had similar problems with every keyboard I've used over the years, wearing the letters right off the keys of often used letters. All were black keyboards. I learned the hard way to simply buy a keyboard skin, available for less than $10 at Amazon and other 3rd party sellers.

I’ve had that wear on some Apple keyboards, going back decades. In my case, it is nails. Not oils or such. My thumb nail wore a deep groove in the spacebar where I tapped it, and on certain other keys where the nails hit those.

Probably my most worn keyboard was on a MBP. While in the store for a failed optical drive repair under AppleCare, the Apple Genius took one look at the extensive keyboard wear and commented something akin to “use this Mac a lot, eh?”, and scheduled the whole top case for replacement.

I’m presently using a white keyboard, which shows less key wear, but shows more key grime.

I treat it all as patina from use, and replace the keyboard when the keys finally either wear through, or fail.

You’ll want to check with Apple Support about whether they’ll cover this.

I've have seen this reported by some other users but only with this black keyboard. Not sure why. I would see if covered under warranty.

I bought my MacStudio in year 2022 with a black keyboard and just this past year the letter "E" started to peal as in your images. A dab of paint seems to be the answer to stop. No other key shows damage. My new cat (adopted in Feb 2025) has front claws and suspect he stepped on the key and damaged the light black plastic coating when distracting me. I do not think finger oils are the culprit considering the age of my keyboard. Asking Apple for a replacement be worth a try and if you have a cat, to push the keyboard under the table top when being distracted.

Carol B. wrote:

I've had similar problems with every keyboard I've used over the years, wearing the letters right off the keys of often used letters. All were black keyboards.

I've had the letters fade off the keys of just about every keyboard I've ever used, white or black, Apple or not.

On my current keyboard, there are close to 20 keys where the letters are gone, or nearly gone. The real killer is that in the last couple of days, the 'n' key has started to become flaky. Touch-typing on a keyboard that works, although it looks worn-out, is one thing. Dealing with keys that fail to register is something else.

I learned the hard way to simply buy a keyboard skin, available for less than $10 at Amazon and other 3rd party sellers.

I'll have to try that with my next keyboard.

We are not referring to laptop keyboards in this situation. This is a magic keyboard that ships with MacStudio and other desktop computers and available for iPads. There is no backlighting. The issue is that the black plastic coating is peeling. it is not rubbing off or getting faint. Look at the photos and the broken edges. In my situation I believe the one key with this issue received a needle punch (from a cat's claw) and my continuing use began to loosen and pull on the thin plastic membrane edges that coats the otherwise white key. I stopped the pealing by putting a dab of paint on the part of the key to lock the edges and prevent further peeling. It works. All the other keys show no defects, like new on a 4 year old well used keyboard. I don't believe this keyboard can lose its lettering with use as long as the plastic coating remains unbroken. My troubled key is "E" and with the paint it looks like a lower case "c" and, I am very careful with the cat.