White MacBooks showing premature discoloration?

It's not uncommon for electronics -- and especially laptops -- to begin showing some discoloration after a few months or years of wear and tear, but reports coming out of Mac forums and websites of three- and four-week old white MacBooks sporting heavy staining on the trackpads and wrist rests are causing no small amount of alarm among the Apple faithful. Having ruled out heat, smokers, and people not washing their hands enough, commenters are now starting to use ugly terms like "manufacturing defect" to explain why disparate white MacBooks are all showing signs of heavy use barely weeks out of the box, with afflicted users reportedly unable to remove the stains even armed with the harshest of cleaning agents. While it's too soon to really gauge the scope of this supposed problem, if we owned a MacBook we might start using external input devices just to be safe, and if we were in the market for a new one, well, we might even drop the extra loot for that fancy -- and seemingly stain-resistant -- black edition.

[Thanks, Calamier]

[tim @ Jun 13th 2006 9:50PM]

Use soap while washing your hands. Don't forget your wrists!

[Chris Clark @ Jun 13th 2006 9:51PM]

That sucks! Wow, I'm glad I didn't get one now. I think I am just going to stick with my Powerbook G4 for a while. At least until they can fit a friggin Dual Layer Superdrive in the 15" model.

[strider_mt2k @ Jun 13th 2006 9:55PM]

Um, product testing anyone?

How would something like this not show up in test units? Last minute materials change or something?

[Twist @ Jun 13th 2006 10:03PM]

This explain the extra $150 for black ;)

My iBook is nearly two years old and it doesn't look even almost this bad. Class action lawsuit just waiting to happen.

[Neil @ Jun 13th 2006 10:04PM]

Yeah I have to agree with strider_mt2k, how did Apple not find out about this problem in testing....or dont they do that anymore?

[Jordan @ Jun 13th 2006 10:09PM]

My macbook is perfectly stain free, three weeks old to the day, no signs of staining or any other unsightly things.

[Dan @ Jun 13th 2006 10:17PM]

I'm not sure that I buy this... I've owned an iBook for almost 4 years, and while I occasionally have to clean the "stains" off of it, I think that you'd be hard pressed to get this after 3 weeks of use.

If you work in the yard all day and then immediately start using your iBook/MacBook without washing up first this might make more sense.

Another thing to consider is the pictures themselves, these sweat/hand stains appear more severe when hit with the flash on a camera, in the same way that people look more sunburned in photos when hit with direct flash.

If you want to keep your iBook/MacBook spanking new clean I highly suggest going to your local supermarket and picking up some Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They only cost a few bucks and NOTHING else has been able to keep my iBook looking so good, and believe me I've tried a lot of stuff.

[Dolomite @ Jun 13th 2006 10:20PM]

Dirty hands will make dirty laptops.

[Ben @ Jun 13th 2006 10:22PM]

yuppie mac-lovers make dirty laptops, it's the pc virii trying to come in

[Tom @ Jun 13th 2006 10:24PM]

Or, knowing that the product is riddled with bugs and defects, just refuse to buy one. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Dude 1: "I hear macbooks get real dirty after a couple weeks"
Dude 2: "I'm going to buy one anyways, and put up with cleaning it a lot!!"

Maybe all the overheating caused discolouration in the plastic.
You would have to be insane to buy one of these after hearing about all of these problems.

[aiden @ Jun 13th 2006 10:34PM]

supposedly CLEAR, non-acetone based nail polish remover may remove almost all staining. give it a shot.

DON'T USE TINTED ACETONE OR ISOPROPYL BASED CHEMICALS.

no other cleaning methods have worked. give this one a shot if your macbook is discoloring.

[Griz @ Jun 13th 2006 10:35PM]

This is legit. Check out the apple MacBook support page. Many, many people have been complaining about it.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=516645&tstart=0

[SURVIVORlover @ Jun 13th 2006 10:37PM]

So a black one will be okay, right?

[Rick @ Jun 13th 2006 10:50PM]

Perhaps these owners love their books a bit...ahem...too much?

[Karl Viklund @ Jun 13th 2006 11:01PM]

Wow, this is scandal, a total scandal.
Should it be like this? If this happens to your Mac computer Apple should just provide you with a new one, nothing to talk about...

Is it just me or have this new Intel-macs had alot of problems lately? I never hear so man reports about different problems from any PC Laptop model. I want a Mac, but all these things will make me think twice, or more before buying. Apple realy have to bost their quality.

[ejdmoo @ Jun 13th 2006 11:06PM]

Don't buy a white laptop. It shows dirt. I thought this was an easy one...

[Darren Tilley @ Jun 13th 2006 11:09PM]

Here's my take on those new patronizing Mac adverts.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/967/2097/1600/MacBook.jpg

[dalton @ Jun 13th 2006 11:19PM]

ejdmoo:
I have a white laptop. It's called an iBook, and it's 3 years old. I use it every day and there's no dirt on it at all. Sure, I take the time to clean it once a month or so, but I do that with all of my fancy electronic crap.

This isn't about white laptops, it's about the white MacBook. This is an issue particular to those computers, and your comment doesn't help at all.

[Victr @ Jun 13th 2006 11:28PM]

I was very close to picking up a MacBook. But, all of these nasty problems have me worried. There's problems with the heat, the noise, the 'mooing' and now discolouration. I think the MacBook was 'too good to be true' from the start. It's had too many serious problems already.

[Mike Johnson @ Jun 13th 2006 11:28PM]

Kal Viclund,
Though it's true there have a been a few hiccups with the Intel transition, there would be such hiccups with any manufacture, even more with most of them. Apple happens to be very high profile so you're going to hear about a stained white Macbook long before you hear about an IBM Thinkpad doing... well, anything.

I don't suggest buying any new 1st Generation HW (I'm waiting until the next CPU increase + Dual Layer DVD Burner in the Macbook Pro before I buy mine) as there will be problems, guaranteed.

Here are list of the compaints with the Intel Macs:
- White gets dirty too quickly.
- Black shows oils on trackpad too easily
- Aluminum cases on Macbook Pro 'feel' hot.

[Rev @ Jun 13th 2006 11:30PM]

Looks like burn marks to me.

[james @ Jun 13th 2006 11:30PM]

I havent seen this in person but I find it hard to believe that it's the material discoloring. Shiny white iBook, easy to clean, dirt slides right off. Porous white, hard to clean, dirt like to hide in the tiny little holes (yes, it might feel smooth, but your fancy matte finish macbook has a textured surface).

Oils do wonders (bad) to matte finishes.

[Ryan @ Jun 13th 2006 11:34PM]

Apparently clear or blue acetone-based nail polish remover cleans it up. Apple really needs to change the inner material. This is simply ridiculous coming from a company that prides itself on it's products' looks.

[tuan @ Jun 13th 2006 11:35PM]

"Here's my take on those new patronizing Mac adverts"

What's a laywer? but I agree. Mac is getting cocky. i was a mac convert with a PBG4 but make switch back to a VAIO just cause Apple's arrogance annoys me (more than Sony's). Is there an easy way to run OS 10.4 and XP on a PC?

[Dean Welsh @ Jun 14th 2006 12:11AM]

My girlfriend had a similar problem with the ibook G4. one day she spilled some of this on it.

http://www.coppertone.com/products_oilfree.aspx

and it cleared it right up for some reason.

-dean

[LittleJoe @ Jun 14th 2006 12:14AM]

thank god for brushed aluminum.

[shirizaki @ Jun 14th 2006 12:14AM]

Hmmmm....maybe I can get in on a market for some iBleach? Or iCleaner?

[JB @ Jun 14th 2006 12:19AM]

Maybe some iNerd has been spending too much time on his MacBook and hasn't been washing his hands. Don't get me wrong or anything, I'm a Mac guy, but some of these Mac guys need to open their eyes and realize that THEY may be the ones causing the problems, not the hardware.

[tiuk @ Jun 14th 2006 12:25AM]

I really hope this just ends up being a few stupid people, and not a defect. After the whole iPod scratches thing I thought Apple would have learned to be more careful when choosing materials. The thing that gets me is that they know better. They had a material for iPods that didn't scratch so bad, then they stopped using it. If this MacBook things to be true then they had a white material that they made iBooks out of that didn't turn brown after a few weeks, and then stopped using it. Where is the logic in this, guys? I like OSX, and the hardware that goes into these Macs, why can't they just nail down the details? I'm so close to switching, and little things like this keep saying "they don't care about you". Now hey, maybe it's just a few people who don't wash their hands, I'm just saying.

[Shmoe @ Jun 14th 2006 12:29AM]

Why would anyone want one of these anyway? Those flat keys suck.

[Eric @ Jun 14th 2006 12:32AM]

We have these on demo in our store (an independent one, not the nazi owned/run Apple branded kind), have been since the day they were announced. Tho it's one of our duties to clean or demo computers periodically, we haven't. We've had every nerd in the tri-state area get their grimey hands on the thing and it's not dirty at all. Albiet it's not the 16 hours a day I put on my personal computers, but it's getting a solid workout among a lot of dirty hands.

Different batch of plastics? Maybe.
Coal miners use these? Maybe.

Who knows... good luck with ours. But I do have to wonder just how anal someone can be about the cosmetics of their tools? If you clean your screwdrivers and use Blue Coral autowax to polish up the finish on your Miller Welder...

[Stephen Dolenski @ Jun 14th 2006 12:36AM]

Any one consider using Mr. Clean Magic Eraser?

http://www.homemadesimple.com/sites/en_US/mrclean/products/eraser.shtml

[Jackson Pritt @ Jun 14th 2006 12:45AM]

There have been enough people posting about problems with this over at the Apple support site that I'd be hard pressed to believe that it's just a user error and not a serious problem with the materials.

Also I hope by now everyone understands that iPods are made to scratch easily *on purpose* since Jobs expects you to upgrade your iPod every year or two. The Nintendo DS Lite is made out of a very similar material that doesn't scratch as easily and I doubt that Nintendo has access to materials that Apple doesn't.

[n3il89 @ Jun 14th 2006 12:47AM]

Look here for the nail polish remover fix and how to do it properly:

http://techwrap.blogspot.com/2006/06/white-macbook-yellow-discoloration-fix.html

[kendall @ Jun 14th 2006 1:28AM]

I work in an Apple Store. We have 1000s of grubby handed people fondling the MacBooks daily. Do they discolor? Yes. To the extent shown in the picture? No. Usually they take on more of a grey hue around the trackpad and wrist rests. I would have to say anyone with the ability to turn their MacBook that color are really filthy.

[Mark 2000 @ Jun 14th 2006 1:54AM]

Someone has mentioned that these stains look photoshoped, and I slightly agree. However, if these stains are cleanable they aren't a defect, they're dirt.

[neo-fight.tv @ Jun 14th 2006 2:09AM]

1 word: PORN!

[TIMMAH! @ Jun 14th 2006 2:15AM]

Class action anyone?

[Ndokiman @ Jun 14th 2006 2:53AM]

It's an Apple easter egg - all white MacBooks are black underneath...

[jpxdude @ Jun 14th 2006 3:42AM]

The black macbooks pick up more grease and trackpad wear, and suffer more discolourisation than the white ones...

That's what convinced me to go for the white after I visited the macstore in london, they positively gleam in comparison.

But naturally, most laptops don't have the kind of material Apple uses on theirs which is prone to a lot of dirt. They should make everything Aluminium like the powerbooks/MBP's. I've never had this issue with my 12inch powerbook :-/

[maff @ Jun 14th 2006 6:23AM]

gosh, chris clark! I wouldn't be tempted to wait for the nxt macbook because it had a dual layer drive!! ionly ever use singler layer dvds for backing-up as dual layer are well expensive, esp. when the writing goes wrong and yr left with an expensive tea coaster

[DeanO @ Jun 14th 2006 6:24AM]

Hate to say it, but my ibook did something similar where my plams rested after about 6 months or so, but not near as bad as those pics. I just bought a new macbookpro and one of the first things I bought was Mareware's Protection Pack. If yoiur intersested in protecting your laptop these are awesome. Here is a website where you can pick one up: http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=7578-MBFP

[Jeff @ Jun 14th 2006 7:31AM]

It's not DIRT, people. It's a chemical reaction in the actual finish. I've had this happen on every non-black laptop I've ever owned eventually - it doesn't matter if you have millions of people with dirty hands using them every day in a store, it's all about hours and hours of resting human hands on those hand-rests (which people aren't doing in a store). But it shouldn't happen after only a month.

[Rob @ Jun 14th 2006 7:50AM]

I agree, 1000's of people using a MacBook such as in an Apple store isn't going to discolour it, it may make it a little grubby but it could be easily cleaned.

For example, my Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse has started to discolour like the MacBook on both sides where my fingers rest and its got a silver finish. Only hours of use can cause the stains you see, you should see the state of my old MS mouse after 4 years use.

[Jared @ Jun 14th 2006 8:00AM]

To me, it's likely one of two things: either discoloration from heat, or a chemical reaction. You'd be amazed what some people's bodies can do to materials - my wife turns any white gold back into regular gold just by wearing it for a few months. The only solution to this is to have the jewelry re-coated in white gold again (or she gets used to regular gold, whichever :D ) Looking at the picture and comparing it to my laptop right now, those stains are exactly where I rest my wrists and hands - I'm going to vote chemical reaction with the plastic - maybe Apple needs to switch to some type of varnish sealant.

[Matt @ Jun 14th 2006 8:47AM]

Hmm not sure this is a "manufacturing defect" or a problem with sweat causing discolouration of the plastic.

If you can clean it off, it cant be a problem with the product...unless of course what you are cleaning off is essentially the top layer of the plastic (i.e. remove stained bit to reveal the white udnerneath), but I find that a bit far fetched.

Things get dirty (yes even mac products too), deal with it. No one complains to the manufacturer when their white car gets road-grime on it!

[Andy @ Jun 14th 2006 9:22AM]

The minority always makes the biggest noise, don't they? Sure, there may be a lot of people having this problem, but it seems to me that we're not hearing from the majority of people who don't have a problem with their MacBooks. This has happened several times, especially with Apple products. "Hey, mine has a weird defect that 1 in 1,000 are experiencing! Apple sux! It's a defect! I'm going to start a Web site and tell all my friends to post stuff about how theirs is doing the same thing so I can get mine replaced for free!"
How many thousands of people bought these on launch? And…how many people are complaining? Two dozen?
Not switching to Apple because of a few people with bad experiences is a bad decision. And before people ask, no, I don't work for Apple, I switched in 2003.

[Dwight Kelly @ Jun 14th 2006 9:31AM]

I've seen the same thing with a white wireless keyboard and mouse. Turns out it was from the tanic acids in sodas!

[Jay @ Jun 14th 2006 10:38AM]

When will people EVER learn that Apple make crap out of crap, and charge over the odds for it. As a Sony man said recently, "Jobs could stick an Apple logo on the PS3 and sell it for $2,000".

[BB @ Jun 14th 2006 11:04AM]

Hey I bought a white car last year, and after 1 hour I could see discoloration on the paint. Maybe I should sue!