Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Yellow stains on new white MacBook?

wronski said:
I've been keeping up with the Apple Discussion boards and someone has posted this: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=516645&tstart=0

"I found that Non-acetone nail polish remover cleans it up nicely. Only problem, my fingers feel like sand paper after using it.

You should use clear, or blue colored Non-acetone nail polish remover. If you use another color it will slightly tint your MacBook that color. Do not use acetone based, or isopropyl alcohol, those may damage the plastic."

People followed up and said it worked.
Click to expand...

Hmm...interesting. What is the nail polish remover made from? I was previously unaware of the existance of the "non-acetone" type. The link you listed seems to be dead, as I can't get it to work...but I'll search for the thread manually. It would be great if this is a fix and doesn't permanently alter the plastic in feel or durability.

EDIT: Nevermind about the link...I got it to work. :) Also, it seems that the active ingredient in non-acetone removers is Ethyl Acetate; however, interestingly enough, in all of the ingredients lists I've found for the stuff, Alcohol is listed as a component. Perhaps it's not Isopropyl Alcohol? Not too sure about this one...
 
Magic Eraser and the nail polish remover both did not work for me. I'm pretty sure this issue is completely separate from the standard "3 years of use and it finally discolors" iBook thing? Seems like it, anyway.
 
I don't know why, but I think this is a conspiracy against Apple from a group of 10-15 anti-Macs.:D

Don't you notice that a lot of the people that posts about this only have 10-15 posts. and most of the post are about this topic. (I am refering to the apple.com forum).

analize the people that post about this, they are new to the forums (one of the posters had started a thread 8 of June saying that iKlear erased some stains in his MB............... but then in this thread he says he has the same problems as the OP, and that he couldn't clean it).

Maybe I'm being paranoic, but something is wrong here.

And in the original photo, the stains appear in some places where you normally don't put your hands. And isn't the click-button made from another material?

But if this is true, I hope my MB does not suffer from this (it'll arrive in 5 days!!)
 
You caught me Roco. ;) I registered at MR on 01-11-2004 in anticipation of this problem. As for the Apple Discussion board, I've never had a previous problem with Apple hardware before, therefore not needing an account on the support board. :D

Post count doesn't necessarily mean anything at all...
 
monika lewinsky? ;)

anywho, i dont use the trackpad right now since im not on the go but when i go back to school i hope this issue doesnt arise cause cleanliness might be a problem. :p
 
TonySwartz said:
You caught me Roco. ;) I registered at MR on 01-11-2004 in anticipation of this problem. As for the Apple Discussion board, I've never had a previous problem with Apple hardware before, therefore not needing an account on the support board. :D

Post count doesn't necessarily mean anything at all...
Click to expand...

You are indeed a good NSA agent in seek of destroying Apple. (I knew it;) )

LOL.....I just don't want to accept that this would happen to my MB (which would be my first Mac). I come from a ThinkPad IBM, which is a great laptop, and as most of us know, IBM laptops endure heavy use and time. So I hope my MB gives me the same feeling of security as my IBM gave me.
 
TonySwartz said:
Magic Eraser and the nail polish remover both did not work for me.
Click to expand...

Nail polish remover! Yikes! Nail polish remover contains Acetone. You are *very* lucky you didn't melt the plastic. I've never seen a plastic it didn't attack. And once the Acetone chemical reaction begins, it can't be stopped. The plastic will always be melted and gooey.
 
Roco said:
I don't know why, but I think this is a conspiracy against Apple from a group of 10-15 anti-Macs.:D

Don't you notice that a lot of the people that posts about this only have 10-15 posts. and most of the post are about this topic. (I am refering to the apple.com forum).
Click to expand...

That's right. It's all a big conspiracy. I'm plotting to bring down Apple by claiming that there are some, er, yellow stains on their machines. Bu-ha-haa! Or not. Did you not consider that perhaps the reason some of us don't have many posts is not because we are new to the forums but because we have never had problems before? I've been using Apple computers for over two years, but I've only posted to the support forums a few times - a few switcher questions two years ago, and then this yellow issue with the MacBook. No problems with my iBook or MacMini, so no need to spend any time on the support forum.

Oh, and I don't have sweaty hands!
 
DSL Steve said:
Nail polish remover! Yikes! Nail polish remover contains Acetone. You are *very* lucky you didn't melt the plastic. I've never seen a plastic it didn't attack. And once the Acetone chemical reaction begins, it can't be stopped. The plastic will always be melted and gooey.
Click to expand...

Everyone was very clear that you must use non-acetone nail polish remover.
 
Roco said:
I don't know why, but I think this is a conspiracy against Apple from a group of 10-15 anti-Macs.:D
Click to expand...

Dangit, how did you know!? Yes folks, it's true... I admit I'm part of the conspiracy. Having registered on Jan. 9, 2002, I carefully built up years of posts to build a faux credibility to the Mac community, all the time plotting for this day, only to have YOU discover it! Four and a half years of my life gone... *sob*
 
To clean computers at work, we use either 409 multi-surface or 91% Rubbing alcohol. Granted, this is to get people residue off of keyboards and mice, but it works pretty well. Use a rag or cotton swabs and really scrub away at the marks.
 
MacBass said:
To clean computers at work, we use either 409 multi-surface or 91% Rubbing alcohol. Granted, this is to get people residue off of keyboards and mice, but it works pretty well. Use a rag or cotton swabs and really scrub away at the marks.
Click to expand...

Does the rubbing alchohol change the plastic's feel in anyway? I was under the impression that, like acetone, isopropyl alchohol was not good to use on any plastic. What is the cleaning agent in 409? Thanks for the info.
 
A lot of people mention that it might have to do with body chemistry for specific people. For all the people having problems: Are you on any medications? What types of diets do you eat? It's a long shot, but nothing else seems to be panning out.
 
Crazy... Apple have actually locked the "Yellow discoloration" thread over on their support forums. I am actually livid about this. There was no flaming going on and everyone was being civil; moreover, people were trying to offer solutions and advising each other on how to go about sorting this out. And yet, Apple have locked it down. I guess that's the way to go if you want to sell your product without anyone knowing about a potential flaw: lock the thread so it can't be on the first page any more for all those potential buyers to see.

Does anybody have any idea if there is actually a decent support e-mail address for Apple? I have tried calling AppleCare, but here in the UK we get redirected to an Indian call-centre. Very nice folks who answer, but they don't seem to be able to do much to help other than read from a script.
 
I found this quote from someone over on Digg

"Some people have acidic sweat. I'm not kidding, I've seen the results up close and personal and it's not pretty. Their sweat can pretty much discolour any kind of plastic surface exposed to it. I've seen a Sony VAIO laptop whose normally silver palm rests turned a disgusting brown/tan colour only a month after being exposed to a particular coworker."

I guess this means for those being affected they have to use a cleaner on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
 
Roco said:
I don't know why, but I think this is a conspiracy against Apple from a group of 10-15 anti-Macs.:D

Don't you notice that a lot of the people that posts about this only have 10-15 posts. and most of the post are about this topic. (I am refering to the apple.com forum).

analize the people that post about this, they are new to the forums (one of the posters had started a thread 8 of June saying that iKlear erased some stains in his MB............... but then in this thread he says he has the same problems as the OP, and that he couldn't clean it).

Maybe I'm being paranoic, but something is wrong here.

And in the original photo, the stains appear in some places where you normally don't put your hands. And isn't the click-button made from another material?

But if this is true, I hope my MB does not suffer from this (it'll arrive in 5 days!!)
Click to expand...



I'm sorry to say but you couldn't be more wrong.
I'm a total mac lover.. I've had an iMac G3, iBook and now a Macbook and I'm having this problem. You can check with apple discussions, my username is jmmo20 .. been there for ages and I've recently been banned because I started a website regarding this discoloration issue.

In my case, it's not yellow at all, rather like a grey shadow that gets darker and darker, and no matter how clean my hands are, or what cleaning products I use, it doesn't improve or stop.

You can check on www.stainedBook.info that's the site I started.
My intention is to gather all the people that are having this problem and fight in a common field.

I'm so dissapointed at apple... now even more that they LOCKED my post and DELETED my message, just because I was trying to pressure apple into solving this issue.
 
I think this is a big problem- especially bothersome is the fact that apple seems to prefer ignoring its problems rather than dealing with them. I find this very worrisome
 
Stinas

see:
engadget for more about macbook staining.
dirtymac.jpg

Seems to be a bit of a macbook problem... anyone fancy a black macbook instead!? - perhaps its worth the extra $£$£$£
link
 
Hemingray said:
Well, I'm flattered they chose my MacBook to be the "Poster 'Book". ;)
Click to expand...


Hey Hemingray, I recognised your nickname. I took from the Apple discussion thread a list with all the people with this problem, and put it up in my website

www.StainedBook.info

Visit and see around and if you have any suggestions please do let me know, the more we are the more likely Apple will be forced to listen to us.

Could you please let me know when did you received your MacBook and how long was it until you first saw the discoloration happening?
 
jmmo20 said:
Hey Hemingray, I recognised your nickname. I took from the Apple discussion thread a list with all the people with this problem, and put it up in my website

www.StainedBook.info

Visit and see around and if you have any suggestions please do let me know, the more we are the more likely Apple will be forced to listen to us.

Could you please let me know when did you received your MacBook and how long was it until you first saw the discoloration happening?
Click to expand...

Hi jmmo20,

I did check out your web site, man that sure was quick! :) It's amazing how fast this has spread through the Mac community. For your records, I received my MacBook around May 18, and I first noticed the yellow around June 12.

Incidentally, I just got off the phone with AppleCare. They gave me a case number and asked me to take it into my local Apple Store so they could take a look at it. From the sounds of it, they're definitely aware of this issue now and it sounds like they may provide me with either a "repair or replacement". I'll likely be visiting the Apple Store this weekend and will let you guys know the outcome.
 
Hemingray said:
Hi jmmo20,

I did check out your web site, man that sure was quick! :) It's amazing how fast this has spread through the Mac community. For your records, I received my MacBook around May 18, and I first noticed the yellow around June 12.

Incidentally, I just got off the phone with AppleCare. They gave me a case number and asked me to take it into my local Apple Store so they could take a look at it. From the sounds of it, they're definitely aware of this issue now and it sounds like they may provide me with either a "repair or replacement". I'll likely be visiting the Apple Store this weekend and will let you guys know the outcome.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
I sure hope the Apple team in Spain are aware too as I will call them tomorrow. Let me know what the outcome of this is: khyros@stainedbook.info.

Jose.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back