Cleaning outside of Thinkpads (rubberized texture)

Hey guys,

How does everyone clean fingerprints and whatnot off the outside of our laptops, with the rubberized coating its hard to just wipe clean.

 

If you mean the top of the lid, I usually get a small amount of water on a paper towel and wipe the places that have fingerprints, then use the dry area to wipe that up so there are no streaks.

 

Damp paper towel is all you need.

Dry with a waffle weave microfiber towel or a leaf blower if you're feeling fancy or adventurous.

 

I find it very hard to get fingerprints off the edge of the lid that I repeatedly grap to open it (I must have oily skin). Wipe with a damp cloth and marks still remain. Wipe with a mild detergent solution and the marks still remain. So I learnd to live with it because I once tried using more agressive cleaners (409, SimpleGreen etc.) and they seemed to damage the surface and make it even more prone to marking.

So now I just periodically wipe with a mild dishwashing detergent solution and let it dry naturally.

 

The X301 has that finish on the inside of the notebook as well, all along the entire palm rest, so they show even more fingerprints.

 

Just imagine if you had a crappy glossy coating...

The rubberized coating does show marks but they are very muted unless you're looking right at it.

 

I use a lens cleaner (specifically "ROR": Residual Oil Remover), with a dust cloth. I just spray a little and work it around in spirals till dry. Works beautifully, making that rubberized surface look like new. Other lens cleaners might work just as well.

Sorry for resurrecting a moderately aged thread -- I was looking for info on the rubberized coating on Thinkpads, but maybe my tip will be of use to future searchers. I think the rubberized surface is wonderful -- I got my laptop back from serious repairs (power spike) and the surface looked all scratched from being topside-down on a workbench I guess. But I wasn't too worried because it's always returned to perfect after cleaning -- and it did!

BobXX, I'm now wishing the x200s had that coating on the inside, like the x301! Not as easy to wipe clean, but seems to be impervious to minor damage and lasts longer before looking due for cleaning.

 

Johnson & Johnson clean and clear face toner works great, better than anything else i have used, and they are extremely gentle on the rubberised finish too.

 

I find that cooking oil on ThinkPad palmrests and keyboards makes them look like showcase condition

 

I use kimwipes + isopropanol (10-50%, depending on how oily is your surface).

 

Don't use things like rubbing alcohol or Windex on the rubberized surface... when I was younger I made that mistake on my old T21 and ended up actually rubbing it off in spots.

I don't have the link, but IIRC one of the Lenovo blogs covered this. They say to use a very little bit of mild dish soap and water... I generally apply it to a paper towel or washcloth, scrub it in, then use another paper towel/washcloth soaked with a little bit of water to remove the soap. My T60p has a few scratches, but it makes my X61s look like new.

 

I thought they rubberized that so you'd never have to clean it in the first place.
OMG, was I wrong and I should have cleaned it regularly all these years??

 

the rubberised texture increases grip for people holding the laptop, and it gives a matte texture.... everything about Thinkpads are about understatements....

 

Pretty much, it's why most people think that ThinkPads are not worth the money, because they want the good features to be staring them right in the face without having to actually analyze what they are buying.

 

Personally, I have not cleaned the exterior rubberized surfaces of my T500 (other than using a dry cloth to wipe off dust) since I bought it. It's remained very clean.

I use 90% isopropyl alcohol with water to clean the keyboard + palmrests + touchpad, and use a dry microfiber cloth to clean my screen (I never touch it, and am very careful with it in general, so nothing else required).

 

20 to 1 dilution is probably the best concentration for cleaning the surface without physically damaging it.

 

i applied water with very little proportion of hair shampoo to help dissolve dirts/marks, softly rubbed and dried with soft cotton, it worked. Be careful water not to get in

 

I use the iklear solution I bought WAYYYYY back when I first got my iBook G3. Its a bottle of friggin miracles.

 

How about Fairy (detergent)? Is it gentle enough to the rubberized finish?