MB Keyboard wear - What about MBP Unibody?

[MacGiver]

I have a MBP C2D I am thinking of selling soon and buy a unibody to replace it. One of my concerns is the new type of KB which is black on all MBP Unibody...my 2 years old MBP has the old grey KB and it is in perfect shape...no wear no grease marks...my wife black MB has a black KB which i beleive is the same as the unibody now...even though she takes care of it, the KB keytops seem greasy...i tried to clean it myself but it is not changing...this is actuall black keytops wear...see photos (the MB is 2 years old).
Does it and will it happen on MBP even though you take very good care of it. What do you think of the unibody KB vs. the old grey MBP KB.
Thanks
X

 

[J&JPolangin]

...try a little rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball to clean the keyboard...works great on my whitebook!

 

[GeekGirl*]

It's wear not in need of a cleaning.

 

[omgitscro]

Try using a very small amount of denatured alcohol. However, this probably won't do anything to remedy the situation. A very common misconception is that these spots are grease, however, it's just the plastic texture that has been worn off. No amount of cleaning will fix that - I suggest using trackpad and keyboard covers, which will at least hide the wear.

 

[jmann]

It will happen. It is normal wear. The finish will wear off the black keys and it is easily noticeable because of what color the keys are.

 

[robanga]

Indeed it looks like the sheen of oil, but it is really just the wearing of the plastic. If you put up it up to magnification you can really tell.

Like you, my 2.5 yr MPB does not have this issue but my less than 1 yr old MB does.

 

[MacGiver]

Like you, my 2.5 yr MPB does not have this issue but my less than 1 yr old MB does.

Thanks for your feedback. As some of you said cleaning with alcohol does not help, keys are just worn out. I start feeling my 2 years MBP still looks really good i like the whole aluminium style and KB and the specs are just fine for what i do with it. As you can see i am still unsure about buying a new MBP which would be a 13".
X

 

[Gabriel GR]

It is very normal. Especially if you type a lot. If it's the only thing "wrong' with your current macbook and it bothers you, why not replace the keyboard and enjoy it's brand new feeling for a little bit more?

 

[rgarjr]

This a definitely normal wear and tear on the new black keyboard. I have always wondered if you can buff or polish out the keys so that the shine can be consistent on all keys.

 

[robanga]

Thanks for your feedback. As some of you said cleaning with alcohol does not help, keys are just worn out. I start feeling my 2 years MBP still looks really good i like the whole aluminium style and KB and the specs are just fine for what i do with it. As you can see i am still unsure about buying a new MBP which would be a 13".
X

Yes I am definitely more of a fan of the old silver keys. The black looks nice, but only for a while.

FWIW, I also have a Dell notebook that was showing the same type of wear within about 4-5 months.

 

[HLdan]

Thanks for your feedback. As some of you said cleaning with alcohol does not help, keys are just worn out. I start feeling my 2 years MBP still looks really good i like the whole aluminium style and KB and the specs are just fine for what i do with it. As you can see i am still unsure about buying a new MBP which would be a 13".
X

While I do understand your concerns, don't let this minor detail deter you from buying the new MBP. Like you, I had the aluminum 17" Powerbook with the silver keys, yes, my keys didn't show hardly any wear after 4+ years of owning it, although the trackpad and spacebar had a SOME wear but very little. I bought a Macbook Air late last year and after 8 months the keyboard was really shiny and the trackpad had some wear as well. I learned my lesson, I sold my Air and got the new 13"MBP and bought an iSkin keyboard cover which works very well. The iSkin conforms to the keyboard very well (after a few washes) and the glass trackpad has shown NO wear after a couple of months of ownership.

The other posters are correct about the black keyboard getting worn from use, however it is in fact the oil from our fingers that creates the wear on the keyboard. If you cannot live with a keyboard cover then some mild alcohol (70% strength) should be used everyday after use of the computer to maintain the keyboard. Unfortunately it won't work once the keyboard has shown wear.

 

[p3ncil]

If you cannot live with a keyboard cover then some mild alcohol (70% strength) should be used everyday after use of the computer to maintain the keyboard. Unfortunately it won't work once the keyboard has shown wear.

would not prevent.
just that it'll slow down the rate of it turning shiny

 

[acfusion29]

This happens to every single keyboard over time.

Alcohol won't fix it, it will probably make all the keys shiny if anything.