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I posted something a couple of weeks ago about 303 Protectant (303products.com) before Apple acknowledged the problem. I just spoke to person at 303 about use on laptops to prevent oils/dirt from penetrating porous surface. Couldn't find anything on the website. Said had been using it on laptop cases and screens for years. Anyone concerned about staining on old formulation or new might want to look into product. Not sure I would want to use it on black since probably would impact matte finish. It was developed for aerospace and aviation purposes. It has been the highest regarded UV screening product available for years. I have absolutely no affiliation with or other interest in the company.
 
MacBook discoloration aside, it's no surprise that O'grady reports false news. He's disabled comments on his website for the past however long because most of his "news" articles are just his own idle speculation. I deleted the so-called "power" page from my bookmarks a couple months ago.
 
it5five said:
So does anyone know when they started shipping good MacBooks? Mine is a week 21, and feels really smooth, but I don't have anything to compare it to.

yeh how smooth does it have to be? like a baby's butt?
 
I'm not sure you'd be able to actually feel the difference. It's more porous, but not necessarily more rough to the touch, at least not to a level that you'd be able to detect.

I think I'll give AppleCare a call sometime after I actually purchase it (money prevented me from buying immediately, but I can do it soon). They treat you better when you have the policy than if you're just under warranty from everything I've seen and heard.

jW
 
Is Apple acknowleging the problem officially and providing laptop/casing replacement? If not, do you think a public campaign on Macbook staining will affect Apple's judgement?
 
So, according to coconutbattery my MacBook is 2 months old (only owned it for 1.5 weeks), so apparently it was sitting in the store quite a while. I just hope it stains soon so I can get the better piece of plastic.
 
does the current mbp enclosure stain too? or is it just an issue with the plastic they used and not that of acidic oils in the skin? I,ve been to a few apple stores and have noticed that some of the mbp have discoloration in the metal as well maybe we should all where gloves:p
 
ok, my gf says I'm nuts, but I swear that my macbook is beginning to yellow on the trackpad button and the edge of the right wrist rest. It is slight... but I can definitely see a difference; the plastic in those areas is noticably yellower than the rest of the top case. :( I am getting tired of having problems with my macbook...
 
Apparently my most recent AppleCare authorization sheet mentions the following:

REPAIR COSMETIC PLASTICS DAMAGE: No
 
I just noticed that my MacBook keyboard has gone a brown orange color as well as the track-pad doing the same..... On top of this my trackpad button now makes a weird noise and is awkward to click, I am going to call apple this morning and talk to them about this problem see what they have to say,

SHadoW
 
I'm not sure if anyone has posted about this, but just in case ...

I've had my Macbook for about a week, noticed some staining today, and called Apple.

After a very brief conversation, where I explained I'd had it for a very short time, had used a wet cloth and Mr. Clean to try and clean it, and didn't use any cosmetics that could have stained it, they're replacing the top casing!

So, good news for anyone with stained cases - call Apple and they should replace it. Somewhat of a pain, but still! :)
 
ashley said:
I'm not sure if anyone has posted about this, but just in case ...

I've had my Macbook for about a week, noticed some staining today, and called Apple.

After a very brief conversation, where I explained I'd had it for a very short time, had used a wet cloth and Mr. Clean to try and clean it, and didn't use any cosmetics that could have stained it, they're replacing the top casing!

So, good news for anyone with stained cases - call Apple and they should replace it. Somewhat of a pain, but still! :)

Really? So Apple finally acknowledges the problem?! HOORAAAY!!! Mine started staining two weeks after I got my MacBook, but now I also have Applecare. I'll probably call them sometime this week to get it sent back in for a new top casing!
 
netdog said:
It seems to at the beginning, but then not.

Yes, because by then you have throughly saturated the casing with your oily hands and the figerprints have a surface not pourus enough to hold onto anymore. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
 
QCassidy352 said:
ok, my gf says I'm nuts, but I swear that my macbook is beginning to yellow on the trackpad button and the edge of the right wrist rest. It is slight... but I can definitely see a difference; the plastic in those areas is noticably yellower than the rest of the top case. :( I am getting tired of having problems with my macbook...


Huh?? I've been tracking the staining problem since I was about to order one, but wanted the problem acknowledged/resolved first. Isn't this your post from a few weeks ago when the discoloration issue first surfaced, questioning the hygiene of users?

<<"lol I'd never even heard of this problem until I read about it on this forum yesterday. And now people are acting like every macbook has it. It's white plastic, so yes, it's going to show stains if you use it with dirty hands.

Dunno about you all, but I'm getting sick of a few careless people "discovering" a new "defect" with one or another mac model and starting a panic about it. This is the plastic over the vent all over again. These things get absurdly blown out of proportion, both in terms of prevalence and seriousness.

If you take care of your macbook it's going to look just fine. Seriously."">>
 
mccldwll said:
Isn't this your post from a few weeks ago when the discoloration issue first surfaced, questioning the hygiene of users?

I was wrong. I have owned ibooks before, and have often heard people complaining about how the plastic discolored (which doesn't actually happen on ibooks unless you are careless). When I heard about this problem with the macbooks I assumed the macbooks were the same as the ibooks in this regard. Clearly, that is not the case, and I shouldn't have jumped to a conclusion.

That said, I still think that the seriousness and prevalence of this problem is overstated. I do have some mild discoloration on my macbook, and apple is repairing it under warranty. The problem has been acknowledged and better plastic is being used on new macbooks and repairs. Even many older macbooks do not show this problem. So this certainly should not stop anyone from buying one.

I also think that people do jump to conclusions about so-called problems way too quickly. Remember the plastic over the vent or the peeling black macbook? I thought this was one of those, but I guess I shouldn't have assumed that.
 
QCassidy352 said:
I was wrong. I have owned ibooks before, and have often heard people complaining about how the plastic discolored (which doesn't actually happen on ibooks unless you are careless). When I heard about this problem with the macbooks I assumed the macbooks were the same as the ibooks in this regard. Clearly, that is not the case, and I shouldn't have jumped to a conclusion.

That said, I still think that the seriousness and prevalence of this problem is overstated. I do have some mild discoloration on my macbook, and apple is repairing it under warranty. The problem has been acknowledged and better plastic is being used on new macbooks and repairs. Even many older macbooks do not show this problem. So this certainly should not stop anyone from buying one.

I also think that people do jump to conclusions about so-called problems way too quickly. Remember the plastic over the vent or the peeling black macbook? I thought this was one of those, but I guess I shouldn't have assumed that.

Assume nothing. The seriousness was not overstated. The prevalence, and cause, was unknown. One sick canary means nothing. Two could be coincidence. Three or more is a problem. While the peeling blackbook was a nostart, discoloration issues had been documented and discussed on other forums for some time. People suspected the new plastic. It seriously impacted appearance and value. [I take it you're not too happy now that you're suspecting discoloring. How much worse would you be feeling if Apple had not acknowledged the problem?] Posts about issues such as mooing, whining and overheating, etc. are not overreacting--without this information sharing it's the individual against the corporation, and the individual's chances for success are slim to none.
 
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