How to prevent grease stains / shine on keys?

Hello

For longtime thinkpad users, I'm sure you'll understand what I mean. Very soon after you start using a new laptop, the keyboard gets all 'greasy' by the fingertips punching on the keys. And it is not like you're having fried chicken when you're using it. Even if you have made an effort to keep your fingers clean and non-oily, after some time, it still gets all shiny with those 'grease'...

Does anyone have a solution to clean up those shine, or to prevent it from happening?

 

Keyboard covers can do the job.



Some notebooks have issues with heat if these are used. It is very uncommon though.

 

I'm pretty sure that a mixture 40% rubbing alcohol, 60% water on a microfiber cloth can make the grease disappear from the keyboard and lid.

 

Yea I have the exact problem. I haven't tried the rubbing alcohol approach but I have used disinfectant wipes on the keyboard. It only takes off small amounts of grease and the keyboard still feels greasy afterwards.

 

X2P: where can I get those keyboard covers? Do they fit the thinkpad keyboard layout perfectly? Mine's a T60...

Floyd: Where can I get the mixture of rubbing alcohol and water? I have a microfiber cloth...

 

You can get one here. If you want to shop around more just google it

EDIT: Actually I just noticed its from singapore like you so its pretty lucky.

 

You can buy 99% rubbing alcohol in a pharmacy, then mix it with water..
Just make sure that the alcohol is less than half of the mixture (40% is usually good) because too much alcohol can ruin the keys..

 

My method is use a typical paper towel (e.g. Bounty or Brawn) and wet it with water. Be sure to twist the paper towel to the point where it's moist but not dripping. Then in a circular motion, I wipe each key with the wet paper towel. Next step is to dry the keys with a separate paper towel. This works very well and removes that slick feeling on the keys as well as preventing future shine IMO. Works well on the palm rests as well. Only issue with this method is that you'l need to do it every couple of days.

 

Isn't the shine caused by the keyboard being "polished" (top layer being rubbed off) by your fingers rather than having oil on it?

 

I say it being polished

 

Yeah, I think it's from the corrosiveness of our fingers and its oils.

If so, I don't think there's a fix for that besides a new keyboard.

 

Yes, in that case I read the original post incorrectly. I thought that the OP had meant that his keyboard was getting oily and slick instead of the actual finish wearing off. However, if you do manage to wipe down the keyboard after every use, the rapidity at which the finish wears off decreases significantly IMO.

 

Not quite. While skin oils can be corrosive, one's fingertips are in fact abrasive by their very nature--after all they're designed to allow the fingers to grasp and grip items. The more dry one's hands are, the more *more* abrasive one's hands are.

 

Oh ok, well I guess in that case, my hands are pretty abrasive; only the right side of my space bar is all smoothed out.

 

Same with mine, I guess I use my right thumb more often than my left thumb.

To the OP, you can order a new keyboard if your ThinkPad is still under warranty at no charge.

 

Isopropyl Alcohol (aka: rubbing alcohol) is an EXCELLENT solvent. I think several people have mentioned using it in this thread. Technically: it's not as polar as water and is more lipid soluble, therefore it'll take that grease right off.

I actually keep several alcohol pads with me at all times. I'm a student. When I go study, I use them as antiseptic wipes for the tables. They've now become useful for cleaning my laptop screen and keys.

No I'm not anal. That's just how OCD you get after learning proper I.V. lab techniques.