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ijen0311

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 4, 2009
1,108
33
How quickly do you find the trackpad starts wearing down? I've had my MBA for one-and-a-half weeks and I can already see a spot :eek:
 
How quickly do you find the trackpad starts wearing down? I've had my MBA for one-and-a-half weeks and I can already see a spot :eek:

I've had mine for a year and have nothing. Are you cleaning it properly every so often (I try to clean the thing once a week)?
 
I agree with the others that it is probably oil rather than wear. Remember, the trackpad is glass. After a while, the keys may wear a little, but the trackpad should hold up well over time. My mom's MacBook Pro is about 3 years old and the trackpad looks like new.
 
Nope, I tried cleaning it and it's still there.

Is it on the glass or the surrounding aluminum? If it is on the glass, perhaps Apple can replace the trackpad. It shouldn't be wearing out after 1.5 weeks.
 
Is it on the glass or the surrounding aluminum? If it is on the glass, perhaps Apple can replace the trackpad. It shouldn't be wearing out after 1.5 weeks.

On the glass, it's like the whole upper left quadrant.
 
My MBA is 6 months old now. My track pad tends to look rough on the lower right corner. I am right handed so that is where I tend to touch the pad the most. I use alcohol wipes to clean the oils off the pad and wrist rest. It cuts thru the oil real well. Reading your post just made me get one and clean it. Now it looks as good as new. So that made me want to post about it.
 
On the glass, it's like the whole upper left quadrant.
I'd suspect that it just needs to be cleaned better. I had some marks on my wrist pads that I thought was wear, after 4 years of use. I recently found I just needed to be more thorough in cleaning it. Like Reidan, I used alcohol and it came right off. It now looks like new.
 
Here's an easy & effective solution.

I like to keep my MBP's / MBA's clean & looking new. To do so only requires a few minutes weekly.

Buy some denatured alcohol, it doesn't leave the slight traces of residue/additives found in rubbing alcohol.

Using a clean microfiber cloth I moisten one end of it and lay it on the trackpad for a few moments. It will wick up the skin oil into the cloth (no rubbing required) once you remove it, allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Your trackpad will look like new and stay cleaner for a bit longer as well.

Apply some alcohol to the middle of the cloth and use it to clean the keyboard. If done weekly it reduces the shiny area where one touches the keys and also leaves them nice & clean.

This is so easy, I'm always getting compliments on the new look of my Macs.
 
Here's an easy & effective solution.

I like to keep my MBP's / MBA's clean & looking new. To do so only requires a few minutes weekly.

Buy some denatured alcohol, it doesn't leave the slight traces of residue/additives found in rubbing alcohol.

Using a clean microfiber cloth I moisten one end of it and lay it on the trackpad for a few moments. It will wick up the skin oil into the cloth (no rubbing required) once you remove it, allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Your trackpad will look like new and stay cleaner for a bit longer as well.

Apply some alcohol to the middle of the cloth and use it to clean the keyboard. If done weekly it reduces the shiny area where one touches the keys and also leaves them nice & clean.

This is so easy, I'm always getting compliments on the new look of my Macs.

Good tips. Also, when cleaning the keyboard, don't rub too hard. You want to pickup the dirt, not grind down the plastic with it.
 
Why not just protect the wrist area and trackpad with protector? Instead of cleaning it with solution, you can tear off the protector and apply a new one.
 
Thank you for posting :( .. i didn't noticed this on my on air until reading this thread
 
I have it on mine too, i notice it on many MacBook Pros around my office that get a lot of use from users that don't use an external mouse.
 
I've had my MBA for a year and although there is a spot on the trackpad, it's something I can (and do) easily wash off with a rubbing alcohol and water solution.
 
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