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PowerBook G4 flaking paint: Reader responses
August 7, 2002
by Stephen Hildreth
Editor-in-Chief
Our recent articles on flaking paint on titanium PowerBook G4s elicited several replies from readers. Some folks reported numerous problems, while others didn't seem to have any problems at all. Here are the responses, posted unedited:
I live in Portugal, we don’t even have Apple here officially, only an International Marketing Partner (very, very good btw). On the issue of paint, my TiG4 667 Combo has been used and abused for 7 months. In and out of sleeves and my briefcase 3 – 5 times per week (to an from work). The only chip has been caused by my Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch where my wrist rested! Also the little rubber support went inside (the one on the right side that supposedly protects the screen). BTW I use a leather piece from OWC (you could custom cut a chamois I suppose too) to protect and keep clean my screen and keyboard, that’s it! I hook up my mouse and firewire nearly everyday too. My only bitch to-date is the fan noise, such is life..... When we see something over 1 ghz, I will upgrade....
I babied my Powerbook Ti667, but the paint ended up flaking off. I don’t wear a watch, don’t poke at the paint, etc – it appeared to solely a reaction to my skin. The Ti800 I have now has not flaked, but I’ve only had it for two weeks.
As a side note – I called Apple Support after one of the guys at the Genius Bar told me that paint flaking was a “known issue” and was advised to call Apple. The Apple folks on the phone asked me several times if the exact words used were “known issue”, and said they'd call back. When they returned the call two days later, they iterated that this was a “one time only” repair, and reiterated that 3 times. Sent the machine out Wednesday, got it back on the following Monday. Perfect case for selling. :)
I am on the border of obsessive/compulsive about the cosmetics of my Apple equipment. I take EXTREME care of it; before using my PowerBook G4 I temove my watch, ring, etc, and make sure my hands are clean! It has no scratches or abrasions. Has this kept the paint immaculate? Unfortunately, not.
The front edge of the housing has begun to develop dark splotches. They are NOT bubbles, or raised or indented in any way. you can see them here: http://homepage.mac.com/scotts13/PhotoAlbum9.html (At least until September 30th...
Anyone else have this?
Just read your article about Powerbook paint and thought I’d add to it.
I bought a Powerbook 550 late last year and within 6 weeks started to see some strange markings on the paint surface. I got onto the Apple support line and they told me to bring it into an Apple service centre but was told that I’d lose it for about 10 days, which was out of the question at the time.
In terms of how I care after my Powerbook, it’s quite sad really how well I look after it, it made my girlfriend jealous!! My PB had literally, never left my house since I took it out of the box, when the paint problem started.
The markings (which looked like mould under the paint) continued to get worse and then started flaking off, mostly on the bottom surface and around the latch, card slot but also on the top surface. I had been on the phone to Apple a number of times and had asked that they keep a record of my calls. Things got complicated when I found some freak in my house at 5 in the morning with my PB under his arm. During a brief scuffle, it got a minor dent near the latch but was otherwise fine. He got away but I rescued my TiBook!
Eventually I had the time to bring it into an Apple service centre and they took pictures and sent them off to an engineer. I was pretty shocked when I was told that my problem was a combination of wear, tear and abuse. They suggested that I had an unsuitable laptop bag (!?!) Naturally I disagreed and got Apple to pick it up (PB, padded PB sleeve and padded laptop bag) and look at it firsthand. This time, I was told that it was, again not a manufacturing problem and that maybe I had spilt acid or something on it.
This went on and on for about 6 weeks (I won’t bore you with any more details) until one day I got a call from the customer relations manager that I had been dealing with all along and she apologised, said they had found records of my calls and that Apple would fix everything under warranty, no problems.
There were a few more hiccups and the monitor hinge had to be replaced a second time, but otherwise my Powerbook is a thing of great beauty once again!! The moral of the story is to not give up and say nothing when FALSELY accused of abusing the warranty. Also a good idea to ring the Apple support line with any such problems as they keep records. In my case, they just needed to be encouraged to use them....
I have a new DVI TiBook 667 w/768 MB RAM. It’s already been to Europe, California, Florida, and New York from my home in Michigan. It does double duty in my office as my desktop machine, running a big monitor that rises out of the heaps of garbage that define my work space. I treat it like the fairly fragile $3,000.00 wonder that it is.
No chips, flakes, or scratches. No display problems, no bad pixels, no hiccups. It just works, and it just works flawlessly. Audio, video, stills, you name it. Just plug stuff in and it works. My only criticism would be the useless rear door, but that hardly rises to the level of a true gripe. The iBook’s side panel connectors offer a superior user experience. Who wants to crane their head around to see if a firewire plug is properly oriented?
Of course, I’m probably having this great experience because I ponied up for the AppleCare Protection Plan. On the other hand, I’ve been buying Macs since 1984, and other than a sluggish 7200 I bought when I was feeling poor, I haven’t had a bad experience yet. Apple’s been my favorite company for almost 20 years, despite their sometimes maddening foibles, missteps, and claptrap.
PS: I get greasy marks on my screen too, especially when I’m done eating greasy food and then closing the lid. Big deal. To call that a design flaw rather than operator error is narcissistic whining. Give me BlueTooth toys and another cheeseburger.
On today's news about TiBook paint scratching you mentioned another thing I've heard complaints about and seen even at CompUSA's own TiBooks. The scratching on the screen from the keyboard. This problem is easily remedied by slipping in a piece of paper as wide as the keyboard over the keyboard before closing the Powerbook's cover.
It will keep the oils from your fingers from spreading onto the screen itself. It is such a simple solution, yet nobody seems to have thought about it.
I find it odd that this person believes that they have taken good care of their PB. Those are ghastly pictures. I use my PB every day, at home and at work. I pack it in to my top loading laptop bag in the morning, and unpack it at work. In the afternoon repeat the process in reverse. I could understand the first set of images happening over a period of time; however, I began to believe that the person was a computer abuser when I looked at the pictures of what happened after 6 WEEKS of use. This person doesn't take care of their computer. I've had my PB for twice that amount of time and have not had those issues. Maybe they should invest in a better laptop bag. To me this whole situation could be related to buying a porsche, parking it under a continuously shedding tree without covering the car, and then complaining to the dealer that the paint is faulty because after 6 weeks of pine cones hitting the car it's starting to have some nicks and paint chips.
I have had my TiBook for about five or six months, and so far the paint has work just above the CD slot. I am right-handed, so this is the ONE spot where my hand/arm ends up rubbing -- just on the leading edge. And that is exactly where the paint is chipped/rubbed off. On the flat surface where the edging meets the interior silver, the paint seems to be pitting, too. Not gone, but 3-D.
Looks like heck, and for about $6000 (Canadian) I would expect more. How will it look in another six months?
Otherwise, perfection! I worship my Macs, and this one above all. |
