White MacBook "dingyness" vs. Black MacBook "shinyness"

[macguymike]

I went to the Apple store last night to compare the black and white MacBooks side by side.

I've read through several MacBook threads here and I know many claim that the 'Books can be cleaned using Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. However, what I am curious about is the matte plastic on the inside of the MacBook. On the white one, it's not really white but dull, off-white, almost grey-ish.

Is this normal? Does it look this way right out of the box?

Edit: and do all black MacBooks end up like this??

 

[ZiggyPastorius]

Yeah. The inside of the macbook is a darker grey colour than the outside, though the Outside is true white. It sounds a lot worse in words than it looks, it's actually very beautiful and matches well with the rest of the laptop =]

 

[bamaworks]

Bare in mind, my girlfriend cleans her white macbook with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser periodically and it works wonders. VERY cheap and extremely effective. The notebook looks brand new and she's had it for nearly a year.

 

[lpshean]

This trackpad shinyness for the Black Macbooks... is there any products to clean that off anyhow?? It's just quite annoying much like a bald spot to be honest... Does Apple do services and stuff to clean up the shinyness?

Oh also this is sort of off topic, but how can you check the quality of the built in iSight? The pictures i take with it seem a bit grainy?

 

[GSMiller]

I don't believe there is anything that can take the shininess away, as it is a result of the matte finish being worn off.

 

[lpshean]

I don't believe there is anything that can take the shininess away, as it is a result of the matte finish being worn off.

Is there anything to make it matte again? Like a spray finish or something.

It's just annoying because i got this laptop off eBay (for an absolute bargain!), but the trackpad has a shiny area on it and it annoys me because i didn't do it!! Hmmm.. do those trackpad stickers work? I.e. do they make the trackpad really fugly, do they stand out in anyway if i get the plain black ones?

 

[macguymike]

Is there anything to make it matte again? Like a spray finish or something.

It's just annoying because i got this laptop off eBay (for an absolute bargain!), but the trackpad has a shiny area on it and it annoys me because i didn't do it!! Hmmm.. do those trackpad stickers work? I.e. do they make the trackpad really fugly, do they stand out in anyway if i get the plain black ones?

I'm thinking of getting one of these, no matter whether I get the black or white MacBook:

http://www.aevoe.com/moshi/palmguard.htm

However, I'm curious as to whether there's anything available to keep the keyboard keys from getting shiny as well.

 

[wesg]

I wore most of the keys and the trackpad down pretty good on my iBook, so I bought one of the aluminum keyboards for my MacBook and now the keys will last much longer.

 

[lpshean]

I'm thinking of getting one of these, no matter whether I get the black or white MacBook:

http://www.aevoe.com/moshi/palmguard.htm

However, I'm curious as to whether there's anything available to keep the keyboard keys from getting shiny as well.

That's a brilliant product! Too bad the trackpad is only a transparent film instead of an actual sticker with the black colour!

 

[macguymike]

I wore most of the keys and the trackpad down pretty good on my iBook, so I bought one of the aluminum keyboards for my MacBook and now the keys will last much longer.

Aluminum keyboard?

 

[macguymike]

I think I just found one site with all the answers for any finicky MacBook users who want to keep the inside of their laptop clean:

http://www.macdeveloperjournal.com/article/57796-2/2007/05/2407mobilemac.html

 

[ayeying]

Yes, the black does get shiny. It can't really be helped, most blacks do that. I know my Dell Keyboard for my desktop is getting shiny from my oily fingers. At least all my systems/keyboard/mouse/speakers/external hdd, are all black, so it matches

 

[wflan]

the displays at stores are good places to look for weathering... very high use by unscrupulous people. Black looks pretty BA but is of course extra $

 

[macguymike]

the displays at stores are good places to look for weathering... very high use by unscrupulous people. Black looks pretty BA but is of course extra $

When I went to the local Apple store, none of the displays looked half as bad as some of the images I've seen online (like the one I posted at the beginning of this thread).

What does "BA" stand for? Bada**?

 

[GSMiller]

invisibleSHIELD makes a thing to protect MacBooks from scratches and it has gotten really good reviews. You can get it to cover the top, bottom, palm wrest and trackpad for under $60. The only drawback is you have to let it set 24 hours before you can use the device

Is there anything to make it matte again? Like a spray finish or something.

It's just annoying because i got this laptop off eBay (for an absolute bargain!), but the trackpad has a shiny area on it and it annoys me because i didn't do it!! Hmmm.. do those trackpad stickers work? I.e. do they make the trackpad really fugly, do they stand out in anyway if i get the plain black ones?

Not sure. Maybe you could just get a black piece of vinyl and stick on it? Like the vinyl they make window decals out of. Sure it' be a little shiny but if you covered the whole trackpad with it it wouldn't look that bad. And I doubt it would hinder usability since the protectant covers don't.