Is Lenovo using cheaper quality paint? (pic)

It seems as though the corner of my ThinkPad is getting worse. This is basically how it looks on all four corners. It's not a big deal but I was just curious if anyone else has this kind of problem. Here's a picture:

 

Lenovo is cheap. It's always been. IBM was the man when they made the notebooks, now cheap chinese lenovo makes cheap !@#$...a friend of mine owns a T61 and it's falling apart...nasty stuff...

 

Thinkpad quality has gone done IMO, from the start after Lenovo bought IBM everything went down hill.

 

Here's an archived thread ... let me see if I can dig up my images ...


I don't think it's cheap paint--just a fact of life. The soft-touch material tends to wear out eventually.

EDIT: here's the original thread- http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=168455

 

Oh yeah, I remember that thread.

Here's what I think, If you don't see wear and tear on your ThinkPad, you're not using it correctly.

 

Yea I have mine in the exact same corner, it's a T61 too. I don't think it's as circular, maybe a small scratch. Only had it for like three months. I'll upload a picture soon.

 

That is normal because of the design. What is more common is the black to fade more to a grayish color after some time.

 

Mine has the same wear too. I have had mine for about 3 months as well.
Tim

 

Tim,

Is your avatar a pic of downtown Minneapolis? I live in the Minneapolis area too.

 

I got a thinkpad back in august and was sadly disappointed in its build quality. The lid didn't close right, the palm rest rattled and moved, the screen wobbled...so I agree that the thinkpad name is shot.

 

There is a noticeable difference in paint quality from the T60 series to the T61 series. On my T60p the paint seems to much more resistent to scratching and paint peeling. On my T61p the corners of my notebook also exhibit the "shinyness." I think it has something to do with the Plastic vs the Carbon Fiber composite lids. Lenovo should sell touch up paint!

 

They need to use rubber bumbers/stops to stop the chafing.

 

OK. Here's a picture of mine. Nothing to complain about, but just posted to show.



I don't believe it's cheap paint. It happens to a lot of laptops; the corners rub against something all the time and are the most prone to these kinds of things because they are the corners. The soft touch material isn't strong but this doesn't surprise me. ThinkPads are still beautiful machines. Only had it for about three months.

 

I blame the lead content

 

Mine is also showing wear on it. I'm really not to picky about looks so I guess I'll let it slide. I just hope Lenovo will hopefully fix it soon.

Otherwise, my laptop is build is great, I couldn't ask for more. I just wished the display quality would of been better though.

 

My 3years old t42p has no issue about this.
Maybe it comes to issue after lenovo makes thinkpad.

 

It is definately cheap. Although my laptop gets used and carried a lot, there should not be this much wear on tear on a 2 month year old machine. You can see metallic surface where both layers of paint have worn. This is an x61.
Another issue that I haven't addressed yet, is that the left side of the space bar does not work.




You think I should contact Lenovo about it? I only have a standard depot warranty on it.

 

If you want it fixed for free, then call lenovo. Would you rather it stay the way it is? Then do not call Lenovo. I think it really is as simple as that.

 

Thank you from your response. I was expecting to hear from somebody who would provide me with his experience in dealing with such issues. I do not want to waste my time on the phone and be without my laptop for week(s) just to find out that it's not covered under warranty.

 

i have the same fading too.
luckily i don't really mind, and if you really do mind and don't want to send it in to lenovo, just use some electrical tape on the corners. sure it'll look uglier, but it'll save the corners from rubbing. i don't really mind the wear though, all laptops go through this.

 

FWIW, my 7 year old T21 which has a similar black rubberized paint has no sign of this at all. Believe me, this machine has spent many many days on the road and is atill in use. It's not an office queen nor has it been babied. Maybe the coating is slightly different than what the T61 uses but this is proof that it is possible to build a case that will hold up to normal wear and tear.

 

On your laptop are you sure it is paint? It could be the composite material that the laptop was made out of so of course nothing would rub off.

 

My t43p had the same issue, so did my X60 (backpack for 2 month and hop!) so I don't think it's specific to newer laptop. I think it's normal wear. I'll gett my X61 next week so I'll be able to compare but don't think it's an issue. Depend how you use your computer. I use mine like a tank in irak

 

I have that corner in my 240Z too. And for sure this is not manufactured by Lenovo.

 

The paint on my T40p started to wear off also. Corners, edges, a random scratch.

Check out my response... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2755489#post2755489

 

LOL, that's awesome.

 

Thanks. And it shows every finger print and smudge.

In the process of stripping off the coating, I found that acetone did a good job of cleaning up small scratches, etc. That stupid coating is thicker than you think and it's base coat is black. Read the post. Go slow. AT YOUR OWN RISK.

 

Umm...WOW!

That is incredible, it looks wicked cool. I thought it was see through at first. Amazing work.

 

My T60 shows no wear! Knock-on-wood. It also has the magnesium cover/lid. T61/X61 believe have the Plastic composite material!

Sircas

 

uhh...T61 also has the magnesium 'stuff'...it has nothing to do with the lid material...the magnesium stuff is the roll cage...which is inside the cover...

 

I have a x61, 3mths or so and i have the same problem with the paint as well

 

But the cover/lid itself (the flat surface-not the internal roll cage) is made of a plastic composite material!

Also, Magnesium is a metal!

This may explain why the paint is chipping!!

Sircas

 

My T61 has that worn paint after 1 months.
Very disappointed for Lenovo's quality.
In the future, I'll never buy these cheap Lenovo.