I first wrote about this issue in another thread, 6 years ago, although at that time I didn't know that this was the issue I was writing about.
In that linked post, you'll see I was gushing about a nearly perfect 2006 17" MBP I had just scored off eBay. One of the very little things that detracted from its perfection was what I though to be a "Sharpie" or other permanent marker's mark left on the display's Apple logo emblem. Turns out, it probably wasn't that, because I have the same issue now with a different, newer 17" MBP (a 2008 model). Below are pics of what I'm talking about (on my 2008 MBP - I don't have the 2006 model anymore):
If you compare those to the pics of my 2006 model in the linked post, you'll see some similarities. I believe what's happening here is that whatever adhesive Apple used to affix the white plastic background to the inside of these pre-unibody 17" MBPs, is getting past its serviceable life and is coming loose, allowing the white plastic "card" to slip down due to gravity. It also seems to be causing flecks of the adhesive material - which appears to be black - to fall down onto the emblem itself, which accounts for the appearance of tiny black debris which I previously mistook for a Sharpie mark.
For reference, see the below photo of the inside of a lid from a Powerbook G4, which I'm assuming was constructed similarly to the MBP (although apparently with superior adhesive, because I've had probably two dozen PBG4s over the years and none of them have had this happen):
I don't have a better explanation than adhesive fatigue for why this is happening. My only experience with this problem has been on two 17" pre-unibody MBPs, which of course is nowhere near a statistically significant sample. And looking back, I could easily attribute what happened to the 2006 MBP to perhaps some jostling during shipping, as it was that way when I received it. But the 2008 model was not that way, and I've had it for about 4 years now. And it's not as though I've handled it roughly, it's hardly been moved at all from where it sits in a BookEndz dock for at least the last 3 years. But it sits there with it's display open, like I imagine the 2006 model did in the library for all those years before it came to me, so I think the pull of gravity had something to with it.
Just FYI for anyone who may have experienced this issue and wondered what was going on. Time, gravity and adhesive fatigue is the best explanation I have. I could of course determine the cause if I disassembled the MBP's display, but I'm not going to do that.
In that linked post, you'll see I was gushing about a nearly perfect 2006 17" MBP I had just scored off eBay. One of the very little things that detracted from its perfection was what I though to be a "Sharpie" or other permanent marker's mark left on the display's Apple logo emblem. Turns out, it probably wasn't that, because I have the same issue now with a different, newer 17" MBP (a 2008 model). Below are pics of what I'm talking about (on my 2008 MBP - I don't have the 2006 model anymore):
If you compare those to the pics of my 2006 model in the linked post, you'll see some similarities. I believe what's happening here is that whatever adhesive Apple used to affix the white plastic background to the inside of these pre-unibody 17" MBPs, is getting past its serviceable life and is coming loose, allowing the white plastic "card" to slip down due to gravity. It also seems to be causing flecks of the adhesive material - which appears to be black - to fall down onto the emblem itself, which accounts for the appearance of tiny black debris which I previously mistook for a Sharpie mark.
For reference, see the below photo of the inside of a lid from a Powerbook G4, which I'm assuming was constructed similarly to the MBP (although apparently with superior adhesive, because I've had probably two dozen PBG4s over the years and none of them have had this happen):
I don't have a better explanation than adhesive fatigue for why this is happening. My only experience with this problem has been on two 17" pre-unibody MBPs, which of course is nowhere near a statistically significant sample. And looking back, I could easily attribute what happened to the 2006 MBP to perhaps some jostling during shipping, as it was that way when I received it. But the 2008 model was not that way, and I've had it for about 4 years now. And it's not as though I've handled it roughly, it's hardly been moved at all from where it sits in a BookEndz dock for at least the last 3 years. But it sits there with it's display open, like I imagine the 2006 model did in the library for all those years before it came to me, so I think the pull of gravity had something to with it.
Just FYI for anyone who may have experienced this issue and wondered what was going on. Time, gravity and adhesive fatigue is the best explanation I have. I could of course determine the cause if I disassembled the MBP's display, but I'm not going to do that.
