ThinkPad external care

el01

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Jun 4, 2018
770
588
Hello all!

I bought a ThinkPad E485 a few months ago, and I love it, but the exterior is starting to show some wear. There are small scratches along the aluminium lid and it's impossible to remove grime from the trackpad. Does anyone have any idea how to make my ThinkPad look new again without damaging the surfaces? The general ThinkPad care guide is to abuse it and then abuse it some more, but I wanna protect my investment.

Thanks!
-el01
 

confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
SFF Network
SFF Workshop
SFFn Staff
Jun 19, 2015
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7,057
sff.network
If you want to protect it, wrap/skin it. Laptops are fantastic for attracting abrasive grime. Is the outer cover powdercoat, paint, or that black rubberised coating?
 
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el01

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Jun 4, 2018
770
588
If you want to protect it, wrap/skin it. Laptops are fantastic for attracting abrasive grime. Is the outer cover powdercoat, paint, or that black rubberised coating?
The lid is anodized, untextured aluminium; trackpad is matte plastic.

I can't find skins for it that are of the vinyl type. I might be able to buy some vinyl, but that would be nasty to cut.
 

neilhart

Cable-Tie Ninja
Apr 18, 2017
149
271
Hummm… well I have been using “IKlear” for several years. I use this stuff on everything from eye glasses to laptop cases. I am very careful when cleaning computer screens and HDTV screens to insure that I down add scratches when cleaning… know you dirt!

I also purchase yellow microfiber towels in bulk from Costco. I use these for almost everything around my home office/lab/workshop. I also run the towels through a wash cycle after each use.

Link to IKlear: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018CPCT8/?tag=theminutiae-20

Link to microfiber towel: https://www.ebay.com/i/253917836084?chn=ps&var=553229435135


Neil