Laptop with white Keyboard - will it darken?

This may be a silly question but I am giving it a shot. I'm looking for a laptop for a friend of mine who has expressed his concern about notebooks with white keys. These being constantly exposed to the sweaty, oily and possibly slightly acetous threat that is the human hand (as well as UV-sunlight), is there a chance the white keys will darken over time and acquire some sort of brownish patina? What if the user is smoking regularly?

He plans to use the laptop for a long time (four years or more). Have any of you noticed something like darkening? If so, what can be done about it?

Sorry, if this is sounds a little ridiculous but I'm curious. Thanks for the answers!

 

Usually yes. My old toshiba has that issue and teh keyrs have gotton dark over the last 5 years they have a kind of brown tint to them. It was noticible after about a year and a half.

 

regular cleaning will help though...

 

Had that problem on a white LG S1.

 

Smoking yellows anything.. I know.. I used to be a chain smoker...

 

The keyboard on a Northgate laptop I own purchased in 1986 was a beautiful pearl white. After 22 years of light use and light and what not, the keys are more or less brown/yellow. You can clean the keyboard with q-tips dipped in bleach if you really want them to stay white. However, I do not think mine became brown because of light or oils, but use. The plastic which made the keys is brown from the bottom, so its simply the paint/dye on the plastic wearing off.
The thing is old as hell, so I dont think new laptops will have this kind of problem.

K-TRON

 

That was very helpful. Thank you very much!

 

Some plastics change colors over time due to light. For example, look at a Super Nintendo if you have one. I bet the main case is yellow.

It is best to get a black keyboard just so it hides the junk better and holds up to wear showing through better.

 

Don't forget that the keyboards on laptops can be replaced...so if your friend is really worried that in 5 years the colour of they keys might change then they can just buy a replacement keyboard ahead of time.