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Small circular pitting mbp 13inch

S

skevin

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 24, 2010
23
0
My macbook pro is about a week old. I read about the horror stories of palm rest aluminum pitting for macbook pros, so I started to look for any signs of it. To my surprise, despite taking care of the macbook I notice these very tiny( hard to see with naked eye) circular dents that looks like someone made a small stab at it with a needle. I found three of these "dents" two of them being near the lower edge of the palm rest and one next to the shift button on the keyboard. I realize I am being a bit ocd about this, but I want to know what caused it and if I could prevent more from forming. I guess they could be manufacture defects but still.... once you know they are there, you can't unsee!:(
 
People say it's because of the sweat from your palms that's causing the wear. I think the only way to truly protect your MBP is to buy and apply those protectors. I have it on mine and it does bug me a bit (MBP1,1). I just live with it for now. I think I only got it because I gamed so much on this MBP. Ever since I stopped gaming so much, the problem has not gotten worse at all. I know this isn't an option for you, but I think I can buy a whole half of the MBP (very expensive though) and replace it
 
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do they usually form this fast though? frankly I haven't even used it much.
 
skevin said:
do they usually form this fast though? frankly I haven't even used it much.
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They shouldn't. Mine didn't form for a while. However, I think every case is different and you might just have terrible luck (maybe your sweat is more acidic/alkaline than most people's or you have a bad case or a combo of both). If it's very obvious, I would try taking it to the Apple store to have 'em take a look and see if they will do anything for you.
 
If it's pitting caused by sweat, then it's from the mercury in your teeth fillings leeching into your blood stream and leaking out through sweat glands. Aluminum is highly reactive to mercury. It starts to corrode the moment mercury touches it.

Cheapest solution is to buy a pack of ID lamination sheets, the peel and stick kind. Cut out to match the palm rest area and carefully apply. I put one on my laptop in 2005 and didn't have to replace it until 5 years later. Cheap and durable.
 
mercury from my filling? I dont't even....
They do seem different from the pictures of pitting that I have seen, where the tiny dents seem to have black innards.
 
skevin said:
mercury from my filling? I dont't even....
They do seem different from the pictures of pitting that I have seen, where the tiny dents seem to have black innards.
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Yeah, those are mine. Are yours are gray dents? It might be physical damage from a watch or jewelry you're not aware of when you're using your MBP. I dunno though...
 
No1nfoProvided said:
I would say it's most likely from physical damage that you are unaware of. Can't be for sure though.
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Yeah although I think it is very unlikely that it can be a physical damage (no watch, rings haven't even used the laptop much) I guess it is a possibility
 
they appear a lot faster they one would want, on my old MBP it literally looked like someone had spilled acid on the thing. and they weren't just surface things either, they went deep. the larges one about the area of a small finger nail.

now I never wear a watch or wrist band, so i'm pretty sure its some reaction between your sweat and the alu. had my chemistry teacher explain how they might react.
 
My last PowerBook G4 pitted really badly from palm sweat and my current MacBook Pro is starting to pit after 4 months of use. I originally thought it my old PowerBook had a defective finish, but now I realize I'm the one with the defect. I guess I should have learned my lesson and bought a palm guard when I bought a new computer.
 
muse207 said:
My last PowerBook G4 pitted really badly from palm sweat and my current MacBook Pro is starting to pit after 4 months of use. I originally thought it my old PowerBook had a defective finish, but now I realize I'm the one with the defect. I guess I should have learned my lesson and bought a palm guard when I bought a new computer.
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You people must have acid for blood. Change your diet or something. I have a 2006 MBP with literally thousands of hours of use over the past four years (I use it every day of the week for several hours per day) and there is ZERO corrosion or pitting of the palm rest, or anywhere else for that matter.
 
dime21 said:
You people must have acid for blood. Change your diet or something. I have a 2006 MBP with literally thousands of hours of use over the past four years (I use it every day of the week for several hours per day) and there is ZERO corrosion or pitting of the palm rest, or anywhere else for that matter.
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I have to agree with this :confused::confused:
 
Another potential culprit: galvanic corrosion due to contact with stainless steel.

Aluminum will corrode preferentially when in contact with stainless steel and there's some form of electrolyte around (sweat for sure, but potentially water or humidity). I can only assume that there's no direct contact between the two in the product itself. The aluminum around stainless screws would corrode noticeably, for example.

But if you have anything else that's stainless and comes in contact with the aluminum there's a chance it could contribute to the chemistry causing pitting.

</science>
 
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