Discoloration / yellow colloring on your MacBook

It seems that the palm rest area of the MacBook uses a slightly porous plastic. These areas pickup some discoloration from our hands. Depending on how much you use your MacBook, the discoloration may appear in a few days, or a few weeks.

Your MacBook may look like someone has put out their cigarettes on it, or maybe someone used your MacBook with dark paint on their hands.

This is very easy to fix, however, if you don't read what I'm about to write, you will ruin your machine.

Your MacBook is made from a soft plastic. Harsh solvents can do serious damage to your machine.

Harsh chemicals include ACETONE BASED NAIL POLISH REMOVER and ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL. If you use either of these chemicals, YOU WILL RUIN YOUER MacBook. That is, the second one of these chemicals touch the surface of your computer, that surface is destroyed.

NON-ACETONE nail polish remover has kept my MacBook looking like new. It won't melt the plastic. It cleans up the dirtiness in the palm rests.

NO NOT USE ACETONE! You will ruin your computer. DO NOT USE ISOPROPYL! You will ruin your computer.

Use only NON-ACETONE based solvents. Specifically, use NON-ACETONE based nail polish remover that is BLUE or CLEAR colored. Do not use other colors, and do not use any product that does not say "Non-Acetone". It MUST be NON-ACETONE, or you will ruin you computer.

Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Jun 15, 2006 9:23 AM

Reply
19 replies

Jun 16, 2006 8:05 AM in response to Holland Rhodes

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.

Jun 16, 2006 5:48 PM in response to Holland Rhodes

ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL. If you use either of
these chemicals, YOU WILL RUIN YOUER MacBook. That
is, the second one of these chemicals touch the
surface of your computer, that surface is destroyed.

NOT USE ISOPROPYL! You will ruin your computer.


That is very interesting. I have used Isopropyl Rubbing alcohol on my computers for year, never on LCD screens, and have no "destroyed" or "ruined" computers. Every local tech I know cariies a bottle of the stuff and some lint free rags to clean customer systems with and most of the local home run shops use it.

I can't speak to acetone, Ive never used it, but I have no first hand knowledge of rubbing alcohol ever destroying anything on any of my computers, including 1 G3 iMac, 1 G4 Powerbook, 2 G5 iMacs and 2 G4 iBooks,.. all of them are perfectly fine and stain free.

Jun 16, 2006 8:47 PM in response to Corelogik

I have ordered the MacBook and then read the "other" now closed thread
this is indeed un-acceptable
I am extremely worried as any substance even Isopropyl besides water WILL degrade the composite plastic making it more prone to degradation over and over.
This change of color is definitely due to a chemical reaction of the plastic in contact with human skin, trying to discolor this fungus-spread-like-coloration ingrained into the porous plastic will increase it's porosity = the result = it will stain more and faster.
and that is after 3 weeks use - hate to think about next month, next year !!


700Mhz eMac Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Jun 16, 2006 9:25 PM in response to stauffere

I have to write this.
Anyone getting any sort of computer/TV/reciever in white shouldn't.
I guess with all these iPods people think white is alright. It isn't on most situations.

White will always discolor, pretty much no matter what. Plastics are better these days, but it will discolor to yellow.

My Apple keyboard has the same exact yellow stain as these Macbooks (the top of all the keys are yellowish). Took my keyboard apart recently only to see the top of all the keys, includind places I never touched, a stained yellow.

I have seen the same yellowing effect a dozen times on different white objects over the years.

To be honest, I expected it when I bought my computer 3 years ago.

For a 3-6 month old "laptop" to exhibit those changes is disturbing.

I would never buy a white plastic laptop. I know better.

Jun 18, 2006 7:30 AM in response to Peter Coveleski1

I have to write this.
Anyone getting any sort of computer/TV/reciever in
white shouldn't.
I guess with all these iPods people think white is
alright. It isn't on most situations.

White will always discolor, pretty much no matter
what. Plastics are better these days, but it will
discolor to yellow.

My Apple keyboard has the same exact yellow stain as
these Macbooks (the top of all the keys are
yellowish). Took my keyboard apart recently only to
see the top of all the keys, includind places I never
touched, a stained yellow.

I have seen the same yellowing effect a dozen times
on different white objects over the years.

To be honest, I expected it when I bought my computer
3 years ago.

For a 3-6 month old "laptop" to exhibit those
changes is disturbing.

I would never buy a white plastic laptop. I know
better.


I have an Apple keyboard as well that gets heavy daily use and it has not yellowed after a year of use. Also, the keyboard on the Macbook are not the problem it is the plastic on the palmrest and around the screen.

It discolors after 2-3 WEEKS, not years of repetive use.

Don't assume everyone in the world except for you is an idiot, read the posts on here and it is easy to spot the idiot.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Discoloration / yellow colloring on your MacBook

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