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How easily does the space black/space gray paint come off?
- Thread starter DeepSix
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A picture from Tom’s Guide MBP M4 review. Space Grey M3 is on the right. That’s what happened to my Air.
No, he didn't even mention that in the review! This picture was not showing any deterioration in the Space Grey. Since he didn't even mention it, this is all likely glare and lighting. Blow it up and the gray on the left has shadows/lighting spots too.
Well, this is the M4 Space Black review, the silver one is for glare comparison with/without the nanotexture. What I am saying is that this is what my Air palm rests look like. But I’m curious now whether this could actually be cleaned and if yes, then how.
I don't think you understand how anodization works. Its essentially similar to 'painting it' as the anodization changes the colour of the metal but its still fairly thin layer so in practice it can be 'summed up' as painted.
And of course it comes off.
And of course it comes off.
That’s strange. Had mine for about the same amount of time and don’t have that issue.
Like most things I guess, luck of the draw. Prob will try and send it back - hope yours doesn't have any issues mate.
My silver M1 Air developed similar ‘bumps’ and I never found out how it did that. Yes, I dropped it once and got rewarded with a dented corner, but only once, and definitely not like this, multiple times, on various objects. I didn’t scratch it with anything either.
It might just be aluminium being, um, delicate?
I have something similar going on with my space gray M2 MacBook Pro 16". It's on the left side and not the right, and it is harder to see because the color is lighter, but it definitely has gotten scuffed up there somehow and it is really obvious in certain lighting conditions. I chalked it up to the metal watch band that I was wearing — I switched to one of the softer velcro ones once I discovered this was happening.
Anyway. As much as I like the black, I'm considering silver next time around just because of not having to worry about stuff like this.
This same thing happened to my Macbook Pro M3 which is less than a year old, maybe you know if this applies to the warranty???, I'll send you an image.A picture from Tom’s Guide MBP M4 review. Space Grey M3 is on the right. That’s what happened to my Air.
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I have no clue whether AppleCare+ would cover this. It’s not incidental damage. But the AppleCare+ owners tend to get preferential treatment, soooo… maybe?
I cleaned my MBA before reselling with 98% alcohol (just a bit on a cloth, then quickly cleaned off whatever remains there could have been) and that improved the situation a lot, even if it didn’t fix it. That was Space Grey. Not sure I’d dare try on Space Black.
I cleaned my MBA before reselling with 98% alcohol (just a bit on a cloth, then quickly cleaned off whatever remains there could have been) and that improved the situation a lot, even if it didn’t fix it. That was Space Grey. Not sure I’d dare try on Space Black.
What is happening - color peeling off - seems logical to me. NORMALLY, as described by other users, the colour is embedded in the anodizing layer of the aluminium, which is clear aluminium oxide. Thickness is between 7-15µm. Even though the layer is extremely thin, the dye is strong and well covering as it is embedded in the oxyde layer. Camera lenses, Hifi gear are "painted" like this. In fact, the process is more like dyeing cloth, but the layer is extremely durable.
BUT:
As a last step, the anodizing layer is sealed. By sealing, the particles of the dye are "trapped" in the aluminium oxide.
More or less you simply put the part in boiling water to make the oxide grow and trap the dye. If this is not done well,
the dye can in fact be rubbed out of the anodizing layer. I.e. for checking if the sealing is done well, anodizers rub a part with acetone.
en.wikipedia.org
Now, here comes the pitfalls of anodizing and why Apple very likely might use paint when it comes to darker colors:
For getting an anodized, colored surface, that is super clean and even, you need a very pure aluminium alloy. Very small impureties in the alloy - though not changing the mechanical characteristics - are visible at once in the anodizing layer.
Also, not every alloy is suited for getting a shiny and good looking surface. The durable ones, suited for Ipads, Macbooks, Iphones have higher percentages of copper, magnesium etc. but look like s**t when being anodized.
Apple claims to use recycled aluminium for the cases - but recycled aluminium is not pure.
My guess is they moved from anodizing - like my 2017 Imac or 2011 Macbook Pro- to painting. As one example, I always thought, the silver part my magic mouse was anodized aluminium, but it is painted plastic. In older models, you can't tell the painted plastic from the metal cover of the battery compartment.
But aluminium is not well suited for painting as the natural oxide layer is very passive / smooth. You need some kind of "primer". I guess, Apple has problems with the process.
BUT:
As a last step, the anodizing layer is sealed. By sealing, the particles of the dye are "trapped" in the aluminium oxide.
More or less you simply put the part in boiling water to make the oxide grow and trap the dye. If this is not done well,
the dye can in fact be rubbed out of the anodizing layer. I.e. for checking if the sealing is done well, anodizers rub a part with acetone.
Anodizing - Wikipedia
Now, here comes the pitfalls of anodizing and why Apple very likely might use paint when it comes to darker colors:
For getting an anodized, colored surface, that is super clean and even, you need a very pure aluminium alloy. Very small impureties in the alloy - though not changing the mechanical characteristics - are visible at once in the anodizing layer.
Also, not every alloy is suited for getting a shiny and good looking surface. The durable ones, suited for Ipads, Macbooks, Iphones have higher percentages of copper, magnesium etc. but look like s**t when being anodized.
Apple claims to use recycled aluminium for the cases - but recycled aluminium is not pure.
My guess is they moved from anodizing - like my 2017 Imac or 2011 Macbook Pro- to painting. As one example, I always thought, the silver part my magic mouse was anodized aluminium, but it is painted plastic. In older models, you can't tell the painted plastic from the metal cover of the battery compartment.
But aluminium is not well suited for painting as the natural oxide layer is very passive / smooth. You need some kind of "primer". I guess, Apple has problems with the process.
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