"Yellowing" Trackpad?

Zapp Brannigan

Just noticed that my lovely white trackpad seems to be yellowing with age. Is there anything I can use to clean this up? It's strange though cos I have an OCD thing bout my hands being clean so I can't see how it's picked up dirt from me!?
there now I don't seem like a scruff!

Cabaal

It can be dirt, dust and just simply that white plastic can yellow with age regardless..depending on quality of the material.

I'm sure you could use something to clean it but it would not want to be very abrasive or you could damage it, I'm sure somebody will suggest something

440Hz

That was one of the things I hated about my iBook!! grrrr

<girl mode>
I found one of the best things was those "natural" cleaning wipes from M&S, they don't seem to strip but whatever is in them they do one hello of a clean up job!
</girl mode>

a5y

440Hz wrote:

That was one of the things I hated about my iBook!! grrrr

<girl mode>
I found one of the best things was those "natural" cleaning wipes from M&S, they don't seem to strip but whatever is in them they do one hello of a clean up job!
</girl mode>

If only more mods had girl mode. Useful answers for us clueless guys before the end of the day (Its just not the same when they have to save up for surgery in Eastern Europe first, and then go MIA for a week or two).

I'm not sure, but I think the plastic used in most laptops (including the iBook) is ABS*, which is the same stuff used to make Lego bocks. So if you want to test a chemical cleaner on you could using it to clean up some ol' scruffy Lego. If it doesn't melt or fume or explode then its all good.

(*I'd recommend checking to see if there was a little 3 arrowed triangle symbol with "ABS" moulded in relief underneath it on the inside of the trackpad first, that'd be the surest way to know if it is ABS, but this would be decidely warranty voiding territory. Although then again washing a laptop with a liquid cleaner without disassembling it first would probably be a Very Bad Thing to do.)

(Hygiene is so complicated sometimes I don't know why I bother!)

Cabaal

I'm happy I have a black MacBook so this is less of an issue (yellow plastic), although fingerprints show up on it like there's no tomorrow

440Hz

a5y wrote:

If only more mods had girl mode. Useful answers for us clueless guys before the end of the day

hehe

su_dios

Hey theres two things for cleaning this. One is a PVC cleaner which works great but like any sort of polish it leaves residue where you can't wipe it from. The best method for the trackpad though is using a rubber. Just a normal rubber. Do it evenly though as you'll notice the difference when you use it.

ZENER

su_dios wrote:

. . . . a rubber. Just a normal rubber. Do it evenly though as you'll notice the difference when you use it.

Bloke Mode ???? heh heh

ZEN

440Hz

ZENER wrote:

Bloke Mode ???? heh heh

ZEN

I really wanted to say that! I thought I would be shot though. Glad someone else got there

Zapp Brannigan

Heh, a rubber! Who'd of thunk it? Worked a treat! Cheers su_dios

su_dios

Zapp Brannigan wrote:

Heh, a rubber! Who'd of thunk it? Worked a treat! Cheers su_dios

Originally used it to get pen marks off my ibook then gave the whole laptop a going over. Takes time though but for just the trackpad its easy enough.

I'm sure there are better ways..

Timmins

This is covered by Apple... Excessive yellowing is a fault in the older macbooks and they will replace your notebook for you - dunno if this applie to you,though.

su_dios

Timmins wrote:

This is covered by Apple... Excessive yellowing is a fault in the older macbooks and they will replace your notebook for you - dunno if this applie to you,though.

They just replace the white/cream bit on the laptop and not the whole thing. Yeah I think its only done under warranty though and not as a recall or anything

Oriel

a5y wrote:

Useful answers for us clueless guys

Speak for yourself.

ethernet

What about baby wipes? At least they won't melt the trackpad in a lethal chemical reaction ...

440Hz

Baby wipes are super things!! Work with loads of stains! hehe. Seriously

Good suggestion ethernet!

Hugh_C

Cabaal wrote:

I'm happy I have a black MacBook so this is less of an issue (yellow plastic), although fingerprints show up on it like there's no tomorrow

What do you use to clean the OUTSIDE of your fingerprinted MacBook? Mine (black too) is grubby but haven't cleaned it yet

440Hz

If I had a MacBook I would treat it the same way as I treat my MBP casing... I use a very slightly damp micro-fibre cloth, (pick up in anywhere Halfords, PC World, camera shop etc) and wipe, takes off all finger marks without any scratching! For grittier dirt I'd try the baby wipe, but mine never gets that dirty.

Cabaal

hughchal wrote:

What do you use to clean the OUTSIDE of your fingerprinted MacBook? Mine (black too) is grubby but haven't cleaned it yet

Its not been a big issue up untill lately as I haven#'t been handling it alot (the outside), but I'm thinking I'll try the screen wipes I have or just a slightly damp cloth

Thumper Long

as posted above, if its less than a year old it will be replaced free of charge, try typetec or mactivate if based in dublin.

Zapp Brannigan

It was bought from the Apple site last october. So I could send it off and they'd replace the trackpad? How long would I be without it for?

my name is

.

eurotrotter

i bought iklear for cleaning purposes on my white macbook and its absolutely useless, i got a blue shammy with it took, USELESS.
anyone got any suggestions on wat to use?o and how hard can u push down on trackpad when cleaning it?

su_dios

eurotrotter wrote:

i bought iklear for cleaning purposes on my white macbook and its absolutely useless, i got a blue shammy with it took, USELESS.
anyone got any suggestions on wat to use?o and how hard can u push down on trackpad when cleaning it?

Get a pvc cleaner. Its a silver bottle with a picture of a pvc window on the label. Suppose you would get it in homebase etc. It will clean up your macbook as it turns yellowing pvc windows back to white again and I doubt your macbook will have as much dirt as those.

But if you mean the trackpad and surrounding area then go get a rubber and use it.