Yellow discoloration How-to get rid off it?

I didn't have that much luck with AppleCare Spain. Called them this morning and all they could do was write down my case and l wll be called should Apple US issue some official/internal statement about this 😟

Hi staufere, in your photos, it appears many places around the edge. Have you ever constantly touched those places and what kind of places do you work with your macbook? mostly external?

Is it possible that this issue has anything to do with the magnetic latch? Perhaps tiny metallic deposits are the cause of the discolouration...

I mention this because some photographs I've seen of this problem seem to show a "pattern" in the discolouration that reminds me of illustrations of magnetic fields from my old physics texts.

If the magnetic latch were attracting tiny metallic deposits from the users' fingers (or from the environment where the MacBook is stored), it would explain why no amount of rubbing or cleaning would shift the discolouration. it might also account for the different colours that various people are seeing.

Perhaps a wild theory, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Might someone have a demagnetizer - perhaps intended for a cassette deck - that they could try?

If so, how to explain black ones are not affected?

My macbook purchased on 05/17/06 has begun to yellow on the right palmrest/edge and left of center trackpad. I just noticed this today.

I am right handed and my discoloration so far appears to be from my use, not bad plastic.

The underside of my macbook is a different story, the area where my little rubber feet contact flat surfaces have gone a kind of light pastel green. I was a powerbook user who had to replace many feet, so I'm leary of anything untoward witht he macbook feet.

I am right handed and my discoloration so far appears to be from my use, not bad plastic.

Lovely for you. So, after less than four-weeks of use, you are happy that your MacBook has started to display this yelllow discoloration? Whatever floats your boat, as they say. Personally, I'm not so eager to say that it's my fault that a month-old machine looks as though it is four years old.

I fix computers for a living, and make art for the other part of my life, both get me pretty dirty in situations where I need to use the macbook concurrently.

I can accept responsibility for a fault of my own creation. What I see on my macbook is the beginnings of a grey/yellowy tinge where I place my hand the most. It doesn't appear to be the same as the pictures associated with this topic. I don't even think I could photograph it yet.

My machine definitely doesn't look four years old, either. Neither my studio or house are air conditioned, and they've been re-roofing our office this week so the roof-mounted hvac units have been off. Currently it is 84f in here, and my hands are clammy/sweaty.

I never said I was happy with the yellowing, you put words in my mouth. I am more unhappy with the mooing and wifi dropping issues than the tinge I see. If it turns out that this is a chemical problem; bad plastic, reaction with my skin then yes I will get the issue corrected via warranty.

Why so angry?
What would float my boat would be a response from apple on any of the issues we've had. I've called them 3 times about the issues that affect me without solution. Being snippy with other users on this forum won't get us anywhere.

See here

Hi Eric,

Maybe you didn't make clear information in the first post. "Having no such yellow stain, even within a worse working place and amibance" is quiet important to the topic, too. But, that is what it was missed in your previous post and it was some kind delphic. While some others suffer from such unfair and bad luck situation, it looks like a little of ambitious, too.

According to current information, we are also able to it is more like QC problem.

I apologize, allow me to clarify everything I've said regarding my macbook yellowing:

I do have a slight yellow tinge, it is in line with my normal heavy usage areas. I use my macbook in dirty environments. If it gets worse and cannot be cleaned, or takes on the attributes of a plastics/chemical problem, I will be getting it fixed via warranty.

Similarly:
My new nintendo ds lite, with what feel like the same plastics, has the same tinge forming around the shoulder button area. I was using it while waiting for paint to dry in the studio. It is one week old.

Hello,

I do have a slight yellow tinge, it is in line with
my normal heavy usage areas. I use my macbook in
dirty environments. If it gets worse and cannot be
cleaned

That's exactly the point... That it gets yellow from time to time because of heavy usage, it's ok, as soon as it's washable.

So the problem is that: It's not washable (according to people concerned)! And so it will obviously get worse from time to time and you'll get a very ugly looking MacBook (cf photos published here) without the possibility to remove the stains or even attenuate them.

That's the problem

Eric, I should apologise. Re-reading my reply to you, I was inexcusably rude. I posted at a time I should not have done, as I was very tired, back from an after-work drink, and I had also just finished reading numerous posts elsewhere in which people such as myself complaining of this premature yellowing had been told that we were Apple-haters, whingers, that we didn't wash our hands enough, that we washed our hands *too much* and so on. So yes, I was angry, but not at you. So: sorry. I have to admit that saying my machine looks "four years old" was an exaggeration. In all other ways, my machine looks lovely, and I am very happy with it. I am lucky enough not to have the whining or mooing (actually I have heard one or two "moos", but one or two moos in three weeks I can live with). And that is why I don't want to get a replacement - because I agree that the yellowing is preferable to either of those problems, as it does not distract me from my work. Like you, I want some sort of response from Apple, but so far I have just been told that the problem is "cosmetic".

To keep this post on-topic (so that the thread doesn't get locked): if anybody does have any luck cleaning it, I would love to know how - right now I am worried that if it carries on like this, in a few weeks it will look four years old.

MacBook white 2Ghz, iBook 1Ghz, MacMini PPC Mac OS X (10.4.6)

If the stains are biological in origin, perhaps a solution containing biological washing powder (intended for clothes) might shift them. Not sure what unwanted effect it might have on plastic, but the enzymes that are responisble for the cleaning action shouldn't damage plastic - it certainly doesn't harm the plastic buttons on clothes.

The only use of biological washing powder on plastics I can find on the web is a recommendation of its use to restore old telephones.

Might be worth a try.

MacBook 2.0 White Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Gave it a shot but unfortunately, it's a no go. Nothing is going to remove these stains short of Apple replacing the pads with better ones made from a different plastic. And while they're doing that, how about making them have the same white tint as the rest of the computer and making them glossy instead of matte. Glossy is non-porous and wouldn't get dirty. It might scratch if you wear a watch but otherwise, you're skin won't do much harm to it. If they use the same technology that Colorware uses then they would get scratch resistant glossy.

C'mon Apple, my laptop is less than a month old and looks like it's 10 years old. What's going on here? Overheating, inverter problems and plastic that looks like crap. This isn't the Apple that I'm used to. I think a real solution for the problem is due and I think Apple should start a recall soon to get this problem fixed.

Message was edited by: Mohannad Hashem

This is not an issue that can be solved by finding
some sort of cleaning material.In my opinion, this
needs to be resolved by the product development
people of Apple.

I completely agree with you! iJaundice needs to be resolved by Apple ~ not us! Seems like they would be better suited to find a solution since they created/designed it.

Does this decoloration problem occurs to all macbooks or just someones?