How to repair scratches aluminum macbook

Think of Them as Beauty Marks…

When you’ve spent close to $2000 on Apple hardware, it would be unreasonable to not expect you to get upset when something goes wrong with your computer. While Apple has you covered in case of a manufacturing defect, the thing with the cosmetic perfection of Apple’s products is that it does hurt a little on the inside when you manage to get a scratch on that beautiful Unibody aluminum body. Like Jonathan Ive, the guy responsible for designing all that smooth aluminum goodness once remarked, the goal of the product design team was to blend form with function in a way that would garner an emotional attachment to the product and the experience of Mac OS X. Well Mr. Ive, goal achieved and the emotional attachment to one’s Mac portable is never as clearly observed as when the system managed to get a scratch on its body.

And before you ask, no, your Apple Care Protection Plan doesn’t include scratches and the like no matter how the happened, unless of course your system got a scratch while it was in the care of the Apple Techs in which case Apple will go out of its way to compensate. While all of the Apple faithful consider Macintoshes to be the Porches of he computer world, getting a scratch on your computer might be a part of the inevitable, just like it is with cars.

Meguiars Scratch x 2.0

Meguiars scratch x 2.0 is a scratch remover meant for removing the scratches off of cars. It uses mild abrasives to smooth the scratches out and buff the paint surrounding the scratch. If you can’t get your hands on Meguiars scratch x 2.0, then any old jeweler’s rouge will do the trick. The idea is to make sure that you rub and polish the scratch in gently. You won’t have to worry about damaging the finish of the anodized aluminum as the scratch remover is designed to work with paint which is a far more gentler surface than polished aluminum.

Time For Some iKlear

If the scratch isn’t too deep, then you should definitely have a look at the iKlear leaning and polishing kit. The kit allows you to use the solution provided to smooth out and clean the scratches on your computer. If that doesn’t work then well, you’re out of luck. Maybe you’d consider putting the sticker that came with your Apple computer on the scratch?

Yes, I’m kidding around. There are some silver/aluminum brushed filling puttys that might help make the scratch less noticeable but no matter how well you apply them, it is extremely unlikely that you’ll be able to replicate the brushed aluminum finish which means you might be better off living with the scratch or getting one of those clear plastic cases for your machine. Some people on message boards also suggested taking your MacBook to get the metal polished or something like that but the problem with that approach is you might end up making the scratch look worse since the aluminum used on your MacBook is anodized not polished — which results in a drastically different finish.