I have an indented chip on the side of my Macbook Air (photo included).

First of all, do you have a warranty that covers accidental damage?

If not,
You need to determine who damaged it (yourself or another person if you don't know who do it) and have the respective party be responsible for it.

Take it to the store and get an estimate or just get it replaced if you're still on warranty.

Good luck!

Alike

kgirje said:

Hello. I am not sure how this happened but here it is. A wrinkly chip on my Macbook. Thankfully a chip on the side doesn't stop my Apple from working, but I would like to get this fixed if there is any way possible (which I am sure there is).

What can I do? And where should I go to get it fixed?

Thanks so much

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A similar situation?
< https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=19543150#post19543150 >



Again, how old and how purchased? Take it to an Apple store to have it looked at
and then decide where to go from there.
Best wishes

I think it looks cool - why spend time and $$ fixing that?

Looks like it's semi heat related, was it close to something extremely hot in that corner?

Heat? No, thats solid aluminum. More like scraped against stone or asphalt. Apple won't do a thing other than offer to sell you a case.

I did this to an old MBP setting it down too roughly on a stone fireplace hearth. Aluminum is a soft metal and deforms easily, but is also easy to work with. I "fixed" it by using a Dremel tool, first grinding off the rough bits then using progressively finer sanding pads.

Agent47 said:

Heat? No, thats solid aluminum. More like scraped against stone or asphalt. Apple won't do a thing other than offer to sell you a case.

I did this to an old MBP setting it down too roughly on a stone fireplace hearth. Aluminum is a soft metal and deforms easily, but is also easy to work with. I "fixed" it by using a Dremel tool, first grinding off the rough bits then using progressively finer sanding pads.

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could you post a pic!

and very well done on the DIY initiative

Sorry, I sold that laptop some time ago.

But it did work well, and if you don't want to buy a Dremel, sandpaper can work well too but will be less precise and take longer. I just happened to have a Dremel. Get a rough sanding block and a package of progressively finer grit sandpaper. The finished product will be obvious that some metal is missing, and you will never match the original finish. Mine turned out looking like the dull side of aluminum foil. But it works!

A little filing would get rid of the rough. Then if you go the filling route, assuming you are successful you still have to finish it so it blends with the surroundings, like painting a car, usually not a job for amateurs.

If I were u, I file, and use a hard thin casing.

if you could find one cheap enough on ebay you could swap your working innards into the case of a dead macbook of matching model?
would basicly be what apple are suggesting but cheaper. alternatively you could file it down and paint the whole thing colorware style ( id take it apart to do that) tho.

kgirje said:

I'm not the one doing the filling. I wanted to take it to someone professional.

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I second the file method. Real easy to do. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a small steel file (for steel not wood) and very slowly file it until smooth. then hit it with 1000 grit sandpaper. If you take your time it should almost disappear. Good luck.

kgirje said:

That's a good idea, but I can't trust myself in doing such a thing (If I was going to do that I'd send it off to a professional to fix up).

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Its a lot easier then you think.

Agent47 said:

Heat? No, thats solid aluminum. More like scraped against stone or asphalt. Apple won't do a thing other than offer to sell you a case.

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I had my screen replaced in my MacBook, it had an ugly chip on the outer case like this one. They replaced it, no more chip Now I've got a dent on my top case, but I really don't care anymore. Unfortunately it fell out of a car onto asphalt from less than a foots height.

TLDR: they will replace it if it has something to do with something else, it's not the end of the world, it wont void your warranty.

I put bondo into a computer case once before back in the 90's... was a vintage plastic cased machine that I wanted to look smooth. worked fine... fixed the scrape.

Course, old plastic and bondo match colors better. So, you'll need to find some nice silver metallic paint to blend yours. Auto parts house is probably a good bet for some nice paint.... either that, or check the nail polish isle. Just tell the women you're picking out a lovely shade for your computer... they'll understand.

kgirje said:

I went to Apple and Best Buy and they were absolutely useless. They want me to replace my frames and pay 900$. Stupid

Your suggestion of filing sounds risky, but at least you're not making it seem like replacement is the only choice.

I wanted to ask you if aluminum reanodizing or plating or coating/polishing methods can fix the chip as well. I'd appreciate your help if you're familiar with any of those methods.

Thanks so much.

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I'd just live with it. It is just a tool and not worth spending almost as much as it new to get it repaired.