07-14-2004, 06:44 PM

I assume the latest powerbook is plastic painted with a metal paint, as tapping it makes a "plastic" sound :p

It's a great machine and I like to keep it clean, but this is the thing. Especially with the heat it produces, my sweaty palms keep messing up the surface either side of the trackpad and I find myself cleaning it all the time to keep it looking good

Question is, assuming I'm right about the paint thing, is it fairly tough? Or will constant preening cause the paint to wear off and expose horrible white patches (therefore making it best only to clean it once in a while.)?

Ta!

07-14-2004, 07:42 PM

i doubt it is paint over plastic.... i think it's metal plated and its tough so it shouldn't wear off. :cool:

07-14-2004, 07:47 PM

I don't know about the alum powerbook, but on my Ti powerbook it is painted metal.

07-14-2004, 08:04 PM

It'd be a pleasant suprise, but I doubt it's pure metal rather than painted. It feels too light, doesn't make the right sound and would just be too expensive to manufacture, even by Apple's impressive standards.

Perhaps common sense is the best way - only clean it once in a while, it may not look perfect in the short term but would preserve it later on.

Edit: Further research seems to suggest that other than the keyboard (painted plastic) the rest of the casing is adonized aluminium. That seems to mean pure aluminium with a special treatment on the surface.

07-14-2004, 09:33 PM

It's definitely unpainted metal. Mine has enough scratches to prove that conclusively

("Anodizing" is an electrochemical process that enhances the durability of aluminum by coating it with a layer aluminum oxide. It won't flake off or chip like paint does, but it will scratch.)

I've seen some of the old "Titanium" PowerBooks that had been around the block a few times...you could see where paint had worn or flaked off. After a year and a half of use, my PB has some scratches, but no chipping or flaking.

[The keyboard, though, is metal-colored plastic. If you pry one of the key caps up to the light, you can see through the letter outlines; this is how the backlighting works on models with that feature.]

07-15-2004, 02:23 AM

Aluminium is quite light. From feel/touch I'm pretty sure it's real aluminium, not metal paint. It wouldn't show normal scratches if it was paint...and scratches would lead to chipping...so I guess....who cares though, really...

though, they are quite thin as well..thinner than the ibooks...or at least the last ones. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be this thin if they were painted plastic.