Yellow stains on new white MacBook?

orthodoc · May 26, 2006

I have had my new white MacBook for about 1 week. After about 2 days, a small yellow discoloration popped up on the mouse button and where my hand rests when I am using the trackpad. Yes, I wash my hands many times throughout the day......I am a dentist. I did eat a couple of Wheat Thin crackers while using the computer a few days ago. Could the oils in the crackers cause this? Could be from the latex gloves I wear. I have tried every method I can think of to remove the stain to no avail. I hate for my beautiful new Apple to look dirty so fast. Any ideas?

Thanks!

mad jew · May 26, 2006

Gross. Post a picture.

I clean my iBook's case with Windex sprayed onto a cloth. Have you tried something like this?

devilot · May 26, 2006

I don't know about these new MacBooks... but on the iBook G4s, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (like a white sponge type thing) definitely whitens up those palm rests.

orthodoc · May 26, 2006

I tried Windex. No good. I also just tried a Magic Eraser. Again, no good. The outside of the MacBook is real glossy and easy to clean. The area around the trackpad and around the screen and keyboard is a matte finish with a slight texture to it. This seems much more difficult to clean.

bodeh6 · May 26, 2006

DON'T use Windex. Has ammonia and it is bad for the case and screens. Use something that is alcohol and ammonia free like iKlear, Clean Dr., or something similar.

mad jew · May 27, 2006

My two year old iBook's been subjected to Windex all its life, drama free. It seems to handle the ammonia okay.

Mitthrawnuruodo · May 27, 2006

I'm normally just using a soft, damp cloth to wipe the screen, keyboard, trackpad and armrests of my iBook... and my girlfriend vacuums the keyboard about once a week.

Still fairly clean after 2 1/2 years of use...

Abstract · May 27, 2006

Surely the Magic Eraser works. It's not as if iBooks didn't suffer from the same problem.

I'd consider getting the black MB just to make sure I didn't get hand oil stains all over the palmrest areas.

MACDRIVE · May 27, 2006

bodeh6 said:
DON'T use Windex. Has ammonia and it is bad for the case and screens. Use something that is alcohol and ammonia free like iKlear, Clean Dr., or something similar.

The problem with harsh chemicals like ammonia, is that they can physically etch delecate materials like plastic. Ammonia on an LCD screen that cost upwards of $800 to replace ... a big no no.

I use only Klear Screen with their chamois cloth. By the way, their product is the only one endorsed by Apple.

iGary · May 27, 2006

I used Windex on my old iBook for two years and it mad absolutely no noticeable difference.

I understand that ammonia and alcohol degrade plastic over time, but it's not like we're cleaning with toluene.

orthodoc · May 27, 2006

I agree with not using Windex on the screen. I only tried it in the palm rest areas and I used it sparingly at that. Anyway, no luck, and again the Magic Eraser did nothing. It's like whatever is in there won't clean away, it has permanantly changed the color. It's fairly light in color now, I just don't want it to get worse.

devilot · May 27, 2006

Did you very lightly dampen the Magic Eraser (ie, read the directions)?

mkrishnan · May 27, 2006

devilot said:
Did you very lightly dampen the Magic Eraser (ie, read the directions)?

I guess it's also possible you had something on your hand that somehow chemically reacted with the plastic (or else stained in the true sense of depth penetration, rather than just something sticking to the surface)? In that case, you might be out of luck.... But I wonder what would be on your hand that would do that!

orthodoc · May 27, 2006

devilot said:
Did you very lightly dampen the Magic Eraser (ie, read the directions)?

Yes, I did lightly wet the magic eraser. I'm not sure what could have been on my hands. Like I mentioned before, I first noticed it right after eating some sort of Wheat Thins that one of my employees wanted me to try. Could have been some oils or someting from the crackers. I am starting to think that there was some sort of chemical reaction with the plastic that may never come out.

mkrishnan · May 27, 2006

I think certain oils can sometimes stain certain plastics, if they're porous enough, but that does seem strange. I have eaten around my iBook enough that I'd think I'd have run afoul of this already....

contoursvt · May 27, 2006

If you have any automotive wax, you can use that...such as Turtlewax or mothers or meguires..etc. Its better if you use one that claims it will remove or fix swirls too. This means its got very very fine abrasives which will hopefully attack that yellow discolouration. Take a small dab of it and put it on a damp cotton cloth (not a wet one) and gently rub in a circular motion and then let it haze to a dry. Once it is dry, then flip the cloth around and buff it off.

I've removed stubborn stains in old beige PC cases even removed that yellow smoke stains without any issue. I've even buffed swirls out of a baby grand piano with mothers pre-wax cleaner and then followed a coat of caranuba wax. Looked great

They key is not to be aggressive when buffing. Only light pressure is needed and dont focus on the area too long without buffing it off and looking at it to judge how things are going. You wouldnt want to keep buffing until you're through the material

cloudblood84 · May 27, 2006

contoursvt said:
If you have any automotive wax, you can use that...such as Turtlewax or mothers or meguires..etc. Its better if you use one that claims it will remove or fix swirls too. This means its got very very fine abrasives which will hopefully attack that yellow discolouration. Take a small dab of it and put it on a damp cotton cloth (not a wet one) and gently rub in a circular motion and then let it haze to a dry. Once it is dry, then flip the cloth around and buff it off.

I've removed stubborn stains in old beige PC cases even removed that yellow smoke stains without any issue. I've even buffed swirls out of a baby grand piano with mothers pre-wax cleaner and then followed a coat of caranuba wax. Looked great They key is not to be aggressive when buffing. Only light pressure is needed and dont focus on the area too long without buffing it off and looking at it to judge how things are going. You wouldnt want to keep buffing until you're through the material

sounds like a lot of work, but it's worth it
yeah i tried to magic eraser too and it worked a TAD, how long did you guys scrub it?

orthodoc · May 27, 2006

cloudblood84 said:
sounds like a lot of work, but it's worth it
yeah i tried to magic eraser too and it worked a TAD, how long did you guys scrub it?

I only scrubbed for about 10 seconds. Not much change. Are you seeing some discoloration on your MacBook?

iGary · May 27, 2006

orthodoc said:
I only scrubbed for about 10 seconds. Not much change. Are you seeing some discoloration on your MacBook?

Lightly dampen it and rub in circles - yeah, sometimes it takes about 30-60 seconds.

cloudblood84 · May 27, 2006

orthodoc said:
I only scrubbed for about 10 seconds. Not much change. Are you seeing some discoloration on your MacBook?

yeah mine is just a "dirt" color. i wash my hands all of the time though...its most noticable from an angle, and just the left corner of the trackpad button. im gonna try scrubbing it again (last time i did it, i did it for about 30 sec so ill try for longer this time)

its no so bad with the flash on but in natural light at an angle it looks really bad....

bodeh6 · May 27, 2006

Wax on, Wax off.

MACDRIVE · May 27, 2006

This stuff will definatley do the trick, but may leave a slight abrasion behind. Just rub it in with a damp sponge. I only recommend this as a last resort though. I've used it to remove black marker stains from a white laminated kitchen table. It removes all of the ink leaving no trace whatsoever.

afornander · May 27, 2006

it looks like your wairing away the plastic (or watever it is). but thats just my opinion

.

Overclocker · May 31, 2006

Had that issue with my ibook g4 1.2ghz

took it off by rubbing the yellowish spots with a normal eraser. Worked for me like a charm

rdowns · May 31, 2006

Have you tried flossing?

Yellow stains on new white MacBook?

macrumors member

Moderator emeritus

Moderator emeritus

macrumors member

macrumors 6502a

Moderator emeritus

Moderator emeritus

macrumors Penryn

macrumors 68000

Guest

macrumors member

Moderator emeritus

Moderator emeritus

macrumors member

Moderator emeritus

macrumors 6502a

macrumors regular

macrumors member

Guest

macrumors regular

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 68000

macrumors 6502

macrumors member

macrumors Penryn

Our Staff