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Yellow stains on new white MacBook?

drummerbooker14 said:
the same thing that work for ibooks will not work on a macbook. the plastic is different. what you need to use is non-acetone nail polish. i have heard mixed results about this so i am under the belief that only certain ones work. just make sure it is NON acetone.

cheers
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I mean this literally - are you joking?

I honestly can't tell. I'm actually willing to try anything to clean this case and get rid of these hideous stains.

Also, do you mean non acetone nail polish, or do you mean non acetone nail polish REMOVER?
 
I received my new MacBook (old MacBook, actually, with the top case removed and replaced) a couple days ago. It's been maybe 1 week I'd say.

It was completely white when I received the new one and since then, the stains have started to appear again. No go on the fix that was done directly from Apple. Guess I need to start looking at my bank account and seeing where I can pull extra money for a MacBook Pro now...
 
TonySwartz said:
I received my new MacBook (old MacBook, actually, with the top case removed and replaced) a couple days ago. It's been maybe 1 week I'd say.

It was completely white when I received the new one and since then, the stains have started to appear again. No go on the fix that was done directly from Apple. Guess I need to start looking at my bank account and seeing where I can pull extra money for a MacBook Pro now...
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Has anyone else had a similar experience? Did the replaced plastic feel smoother than the original?
 
TonySwartz said:
I received my new MacBook (old MacBook, actually, with the top case removed and replaced) a couple days ago. It's been maybe 1 week I'd say.

It was completely white when I received the new one and since then, the stains have started to appear again. No go on the fix that was done directly from Apple. Guess I need to start looking at my bank account and seeing where I can pull extra money for a MacBook Pro now...
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This is exactly what I was afraid of.

[By the way, I'm not seeing any pictures in these posts. Maybe like myself you don't actually own a digitial camera. I thought I was the last person on the face of the planet who doesn't own a digital camera. The thing is, photographic evidence often clears up any... let us say 'deceptions' that might be advanced by people looking to stir the pot. For example, many people have said that their new top cover is more of a gray color than white... I've still not seen a photograph of this, though.]
 
I purchased my MB the day after it was released. A few weeks in, a small, yellowish oily stain appeared on the lower left corner, which I found odd because I don't even usually rest my hand there. I rubbed at it with a damp paper towel, but the spot was still colored yellow. I tried iKlear which seemed to lighten it a bit, but it could have been my imagination. But after a week, the stain got to the point where it was almost invisible. It's completely gone now, and I haven't had any problems since. Good luck!
 
maya1000@gmail. said:
I purchased my MB the day after it was released. A few weeks in, a small, yellowish oily stain appeared on the lower left corner, which I found odd because I don't even usually rest my hand there. I rubbed at it with a damp paper towel, but the spot was still colored yellow. I tried iKlear which seemed to lighten it a bit, but it could have been my imagination. But after a week, the stain got to the point where it was almost invisible. It's completely gone now, and I haven't had any problems since. Good luck!
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When I called up Apple Care, the person actually asked me what color the stains on my MacBook are.

A lot of people are saying that the stains are yellowish in color - mine aren't. I'd say that mine are kind of blackish brown. They loook like the kind of stains that you might find on a white fabric that is years and years old.

Think about somebody who has been down in a mineshaft all day and has coal dust and grease all over his hands. He sort of wipes his hands on a towel, and then he uses your MacBook for about an hour or so.

Well, that's what mine looks like. It's not yellow.
 
Mine just started to show very, very faint signs of brownage in the wrist area. Has a new plastic been created yet? I want to send mine in before I leave on vacation so that it will be ready when I get back. Can I give the laptop to the Apple store and have them take care of it for me?
 
maya1000@gmail. said:
Mine just started to show very, very faint signs of brownage in the wrist area. Has a new plastic been created yet? I want to send mine in before I leave on vacation so that it will be ready when I get back. Can I give the laptop to the Apple store and have them take care of it for me?
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Yes, they have a new plastic top case. I had an apple store order the part for me, and I dropped my macbook off with them last friday. I picked it up yesterday. They did a beautiful job repairing it (and not damaging anything) with a new, smoother plastic that will not stain.

I'd urge anyone with this issue to take it to apple and get it fixed. Don't mess around trying to fix it yourself because nobody has yet been able to, and you don't want to make things worse or cause accidental damage that apple won't cover. All the reports of nail polish remover working and such are dealing with the kind of staining that comes from dirty hands, and has happened to ibooks for years. This discoloration issue is different, caused by a product defect, and cannot be fixed by the user.

Apple is covering this and replacing the affected plastic with plastic that will not stain.
 
WabeWalker said:
When I called up Apple Care, the person actually asked me what color the stains on my MacBook are.

A lot of people are saying that the stains are yellowish in color - mine aren't. I'd say that mine are kind of blackish brown. They loook like the kind of stains that you might find on a white fabric that is years and years old.

Think about somebody who has been down in a mineshaft all day and has coal dust and grease all over his hands. He sort of wipes his hands on a towel, and then he uses your MacBook for about an hour or so.

Well, that's what mine looks like. It's not yellow.
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Mine is not yellow either it looks like most of the stains I have seen.
For example, http://news.softpedia.com/news/White-MacBook-Discoloration-Problems-28010.shtml

Did they still fix it for you?
 
maya1000@gmail. said:
I just called up my Apple store and I'm going in tomorrow for the replacement. Thank you so much!
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you're quite welcome. :) Hope it turns out well for you, and soon!

It's worth mentioning that although there is a manufacturing defect here (which apple is repairing), you can certainly also stain these macbooks just like you could stain ibooks. Using the macbook after eating, reading a newspaper, etc. is quite likely to leave dark smudge marks. In my experience these are usually black, whereas the manufacturing defect leads to yellow/brown stains, but your milage may vary.
 
My white macbook hasn't stained yet but I believe all the reports. I wonder why one clear, high resolution picture been shown yet? It baffles me.
 
You can't get a clear picture without perfect light and no flash, and it just appears white when you use the flash. That was my experience at least.
 
New update.......

Since starting this thread over 6 weeks ago, I have sent my computer in and had the plastic replaced. About 1 week later, it started staining again. I called Apple Care and, of course, they apologized and then asked me if I used any weird skin products, etc. I don't use any kind of hand lotions or anything else. They sent me another box to send it back to them again. I am sending it in tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes. The replacement plastic I received a few weeks ago did feel and look slightly different than the original plastic, but it stains just the same. We'll see.
 
Tony - you may want to go a bit slow on that MBP - you may be trading a coloration issue for a whole different (and more problematic) issues.
 
orthodoc said:
Since starting this thread over 6 weeks ago, I have sent my computer in and had the plastic replaced. About 1 week later, it started staining again. I called Apple Care and, of course, they apologized and then asked me if I used any weird skin products, etc. I don't use any kind of hand lotions or anything else. They sent me another box to send it back to them again. I am sending it in tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes. The replacement plastic I received a few weeks ago did feel and look slightly different than the original plastic, but it stains just the same. We'll see.
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Most people are using the term "stain". Is it really a stain OR might it simply be the high heat of these computers causing the plastic to discolor?
 
Apple Corps said:
Most people are using the term "stain". Is it really a stain OR might it simply be the high heat of these computers causing the plastic to discolor?
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I was starting to wonder that myself because I barely have any stains/discoloring and my computer never runs hot.

EDIT but some people are getting discoloring around the screen where they open from. Hmm I think I have heard reports of this?
 
What do you mean, go slow on it? Apple's own issue should be covered under warranty no matter what; it shouldn't affect my solutions to any warranty covered issues down the road.

I am calling AppleCare tomorrow, I guess. I just don't have time to keep sending this thing back and forth from California...I need a computer. :( Do you think they'd swap it for black if I paid extra? I bet not...
 
I took my MacBook into a place called The Macstation here in Vancouver. The technician obviously knew what he was talking about. He was very well informed on the matter and told me that the discoloration problem definitely had not been resolved by Apple, and that people who were getting their top covers replaced would, in all likelihood, be having to get them replaced again a few months later.

It turns out that this is exactly what's happening.

I actually had to take my MacBook in to have it serviced because the trackpad and the keyboard stopped responding. They actually did replace the top cover. But the technician said to me, when I went in to pick up the MacBook, that the actual top cover part is virtually the same one that Apple is using now.

Some people have said that the new top cover is 'more gray' than the original part - and, yes, if I compare the color of the top cover with that of the area around the screen I would say that the new top cover is slightly more gray.

If this hadn't been pointed out to me, however, I doubt I would have noticed. It's a very very slight difference.

I would also say that this top cover feels different than the previous - I'd say that this one somehow feels a bit rougher. But that might just be my imagination playing tricks on me.

Oh well, only time will tell I suppose. The one thing I can say is that my technician here in Vancouver was extremely helpful and understanding - man it sure is nice to meet a person who's professional and curteous and understanding. It really diminishes the scope of the problem.
 
I withdraw my previous comment.

Looking at the MacBook in broad daylight, I can see now that the new top cover is DEFINITELY a different color.

It truly is more gray than white. In fact, the new top cover does not match at all with the area around the screen. It almost looks like two different computer parts - a top part (around the screen) that's white, and a bottom part (around the keyboard) that's gray.

I'm nitpicking of course. Well, there it is.
 
My macbook is a week 23 so definately not one of the ones that would have a new top case and my top part is already a greyish color it was that way when I got it. I didn't like that and really thought about getting a black one because of that. I noticed it right away at the apple store when they first came out also. Like the keys are white and the area around them definately isn't white. So you are saying the replacement part is even darker grey?

I really won't be happy with that. I don't have the discoloration yet but I haven't used the keyboard on it much yet. Also my top part is kind of curling up on the edge by the ports I can fit a business card under it anyone else have that problem?
 
joebells said:
Also my top part is kind of curling up on the edge by the ports I can fit a business card under it anyone else have that problem?
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My top part kind of sticks up in a few different areas, but especially on the edge with the ports. It's really only noticable if you hold the laptop at eye-level (ie: instead of looking down at it).

My palm-rests are starting the discoloration (getting worse every day), so I'll be calling applecare this weekend - I really need this thing to be problem free by the end of August when classes start..
 
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