Fixing scratches and dents on my M17x-R2

Hi, my R2 (which I won't trade or sell until Alienware comes up with a decent alternative!) has acquired a few scratches on the top of the lid. One of them went a bit deep making a dent. Does dell repair aesthetic defects? My warranty is the cheapest I'm afraid... Also, I saw a bunch of repair shops online as well as your plethora of scratch removing products. Any of you have experience with fixing scratches/dents yourself?

Thanks in advance.

 

check ebay or part-people.com, normally lids sell for $50.

 

Hmm, ok, it would have been my last resort but it seems quite cheap...

 

I do not think you can actually fix the scratches.
As inap said, you can buy a new lid.
Another thing you could do is to respray your current lid with new paint (and colour if you want).

 

Ok, seems like the best bet, although I'll still try a scratch remover... Thanks for all the help. It wouldn't be a problem since I usually change my Alienware once a year around the October sale but not this year!

 

I would lean toward Simplified's thinking. While you *can* probably buy a new lid, if it is just the aluminum parts and hinges and you need to get into a major LCD disassembly, forget it. It will not be worth the trouble and you will probably never get the polycarbonate screen cover and LCD out and back into the new one with anything like a clean "OEM" look. On the other hand, if you buy a complete assembly, I would imagine you would be okay, but your wallet a bit light.

Several in this forum have done really nice case paint jobs on theirs, and while that could also be a significant project, it might be fun. If you were thinking of a replacement in not too many years and like hobby work, a strip down, clean, and paint (you might need some scuff-sanding for best adhesion too) could be great.

 

A new paint job is out of the question. I already found the Lid/LCD replacement guide on here and that actually looks like fun to me much more than spraying a new coat! Funny you should mention the OEM look, I got mine very "distorted" from the factory, the lid comes out over the LCD about 1 mm on the left side, which is where the scratch is. So the whole OEM look isn't an issue, if anything I might get a better fit

 

I think we are thinking two different things. If you purchased (or are going to purchase) a complete lid assembly, then it's probably an easy bolts-and-plugs-only replacement. If you are going to attempt component-wise disassembly of the lid, like removing the clear diffuser and LCD out of the aluminum panel, you are in for a delicate and difficult job. There are people here who have done both, and there is undoubtedly a "guide" for either, but that won't make the latter approach fun or easy. In fact, I think it was 'aarpcard' who tried full disassembly and found the lid unit glued together and extremely difficult to work with in that context. Others have taken Dremel tools to the screen diffuser and other Dr. Frankenstein maneuvers and found the results less than pleasing. Some have avoided worse issues by replacing the glossy screen panel with a matte one, so if you were planning on something like that, you might be okay, but if you are considering full lid disassembly and reusing original adhesive-bonded parts, I urge you to reconsider a bit.

 

Yeah, maybe I'm referring to the wrong thing... The scratch is on the top of the lid, is that the plastic case, where the Alienware head is? It's the silver casing that covers the LCD panel. As far as I understand, after removing the LCD from the unit, there are 2 screws holding the case attached. It would be a matter of sliding the casing on and off...

 

I guess it's the aluminum panel I'm talking about... Still, if the scratch remover won't work, don't have much of a choice.

Basically I have to replace this part

 

It's just a matter of "sliding (bolting) the casing on and off" IF you buy a COMPLETE lid assembly, with the whole LCD and polycarbonate screen cover already installed. If you buy just the aluminum chassis of the lid, and perhaps the hinges go with it, you still have the huge issue of swapping your existing LCD, Alienhead LED unit, probably WIFI antenna, camera, microphone, and the plastic screen cover over. That stuff will not be a trivial thing, especially if the cover is all bonded on with adhesive. And you have to do it REALLY cleanly or you will get visible dust particles between the cover and the LCD. Not so cool.

With aluminum, other than grinding out scratches by grinding down the surrounding area to the same level as the valley of the scratch or somehow filling with a hard filler, I don't know what you can do. Filler and paint doesn't sound all that bad to me if you really want to ensure you cover the scratches decently. Getting into lid replacement over it: Is it really all that worth it? You decide, I'm just asking a rhetorical question.

 

replacing the lid really isn't that bad, just have to be carefully.
here is a video to help.

YouTube - ‪M17x Teardown Part 2 of 2 **READ SAFETY PRECAUTIONS PRIOR TO REPLACING PARTS** (Official Video)‬‏

 

Thanks for the video, it gave me the confidence to go ahead and try it! Heck, I've never fiddled with a laptop beyond changing the RAM, this might just be the incentive