Keyboard Keys Became yellow-ivory color...when can i do!!!!

Hello,

it dosn't really answer my question i wanted/ still
want to know what will i have to do to make it whaite
again.

Believe me, I know what you mean. I spent years dealing with this professionally.

Unfortunately, the problem is that there is nothing you can do.

Your only options are to paint it or leave it alone.

You can clean them, and that may help to minimize it's appearance. But, nothing (except painting them) will ever make the keys shiny and white like they used to be.

There are places on the Internet that sell keyboard decals.

So, you can re-paint the keys if you want, and then re-apply the lettering with the decals.

But, you'll likely be dissatisfied with the results. And, the expense will cost you more than a new keyboard.

Since Apple still sells the Apple Pro keyboard, you may find that to be an option. I they sell for $29.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/1.RSLID?mco=A 354E8D9&nplm=M9034LL%2FA

I have a spare sitting here that's about 6 months old that I'm not using. But, I don't really know what I'd want to do with it. I'm using an ergonomic keyboard at the moment.


I wish I could give you a method to fix it. But, unfortunately I cannot. It's going to come down to a physical fix such as:

1) Painting

2) Replacing the keys with white ones from another keyboard

3) Replacing the entire keyboard

4) Leaving it as it is.

I'm sorry that there isn't another way to resolve this. It's just an unfortunate situation. Believe me, I've been dealing with this a long time in vintage electronics.

In that area, a bit of yellowing can mean the difference of hundreds or thousands of dollars in value. So, I had sufficient motivation to try and find a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, one just does not exist.

Hello,

Plastic "yellowing" is nothing new. The vintage computer hobbyists have been dealing with this problem for years.

The plastic contains preservatives (stabilizers) that help to keep it looking white. When these preservatives are fully consumed, the plastic begins to yellow.

There is no way to return them to a white color short of painting them.

The environment you keep the computer in can directly affect how fast your plastic consumes these preservative chemicals.

The most common accelerants are heat and ultra-violet light. Either of these will increase the rate at which the preservative chemicals are consumed.

I've seen keyboards where the light from a nearby window fell on them just right, and caused a checker-board effect.

I've also seen it where they alternated rows because of how the shadows of curtains fell.

And, I've seen it where the entire keyboard was yellow.

And, temperature in the room will also affect the "aging" process. Many people have stored their equipment in boxes, and came back years later to find that the plastic had still yellowed. The culprit there is heat.

To preserve plastic, the best bet is cool and dark.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that you can do that will fully restore it's original appearance.

Bleaching them will only deteriorate the plastic physically.

And, other solutions may affect the appearance temporarily. But, because the preservative chemicals are "used-up" nothing will last for very long. They will yellow, and continue to yellow as time goes on.

The stabilizers / preservatives are embedded into the plastic material at the time of molding. And, once they are gone, they're just gone. Nothing will bring them back, and you cannot re-inject them.

If you want to return the coloring, then all you can do is paint it. But, then you'll have to re-apply the lettering and such.

For a modern keyboard, it's just not worth the time and expense.

Even the people who deal with vintage equipment have not found a viable solution for this.

The problem is that you cannot reverse the chemical process. So, the value is significantly depreciated.

And, if you paint it, it's not worth much because it's altered.

So, generally, a hobbyist will either leave it or paint it (with the knowledge that it's not worth as much either way because it shows the aging or has paint).

For a vintage collectible, there are a lot of things worth the effort of restoring them. But, not on a new keyboard that can be replaced for $25.


I hope this helps.

Hello,

ya ok i guess it helps now since i know i cant do
anything about it..

Yes, might as well not worry about it since you cannot fix it anyway.

even though the keyboard isn't
that old it dates from 2003..

In your case, I would expect environmental factors contributed to this situation more than age.

I've seen some plastic change very fast in the right environment. And, I've also had vintage machines that stayed perfect looking when I controlled their environment.

I hope this helps.


Let us know if you have other questions.


P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.

Hello,

Yes, that exchange rate is pretty hefty 😉

Yes, my keyboards keys are still white. I don't keep my computer near a window. So, it stays in good shape.

I'm right next to you here in Alaska. But, we still deal in U.S. Currency values.

I am just not using my Apple keyboard because I prefer the Ergonomic keyboard.

Hello,

omg your not using it? could we like exchage?? mine
works perfectly!

I wouldn't really be interested in a trade. But, I might be willing to sell it. If that is something you're interested in, let me know and I could e-mail you to discuss it off the discussions group.

But, I wouldn't really have any interest in swapping since mine is white 😉

I just am not using it since I got the ergonomic keyboard.

Hello,

I just had one more idea for you to consider.

You could look at covering the keys with an iSkin cover. That might at least make it more pleasing to look at.

They are available in Blue, Pink, and Frosted Clear:

http://www.iskin.com/protouch/xt_features.html

I don't know what it would look like over yellowed keys. But, it might look nice. Who knows.

I hope this helps.

mhunter has the best replies...

Hello Apollyon,

mhunter has the best replies...

Thank you for that 🙂 I appreciate the compliment 🙂

Hello,

I'll send you an e-mail in a few moment.

By the way, I found the hidden message on your website 😉

Talk to you in a few minutes.