Shiny Keyboard Issue...again

Im bringing this up again because I have a really bad case of it, now that I have had my unibody MBP for over a year.

I have tried rubbing alcohol, soap, eyeglass wipes, hydrochloric acid from my lab, but nothing worked.

I was just wondering if anyone has found something that works?

 

No doubt I have reduced the shininess and the keys feel new and clean.

But it still looks gross compared to a brand new MBP. Since I"m out of warantee, Im looking into replacing the keyboard myself. Im going to order a new updated MBP and when that comes I'll be taking this one apart and see what I can do.

 

What you can do that will be cheaper, is if you buy a silicone cover the keyboard.

 

This.
You can get pretty thin ones that are fairly clear so you just have to get used to the difference.

 

There is nothing you can do about the plastic wearing down.

 

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't using all these harsh chemicals make it worse? I'm pretty sure the shininess is beneath the matte layer. The more abrasives you apply to the keyboard, the faster the glossy layer will appear, no?

 

Quite a good reasoning. but i believe that the key itself is matte. Repeatedly polishing it will cause wear. I think the keys and be removed and replaced one by one. Try googling.

 

its rough plastic, worn down over time to be smoother... which makes it look shiny. cleaning it of course will not do anything, its not shiny because something is on it, but because the plastic is just worn off.

 

Not sure why you'd try HCl on keys like that. I hope it was at least a weak dilution.

 

LOL @ using HCl.

But I've also tried to clean my keyboard keys as well with no luck. I'm very OCD when it comes to the aesthetics of my MBP.

I've sorta just gave up and stuck with wiping down the keys every night before I go to bed with a microfiber cloth. Other than that, these keys are made to be used and using them, I am.

 

Like everyone has mentioned, the shiny keyboard is not because something adhered to it, but the plastic has worn off.
My fingers are very abrasive that all my desktop keyboard is shiny and even lost the lettering
When I got my first laptop, it was a Pentium 3 Toshiba, the keyboard is shiny within a week of usage (not because of oil, etc, but worn off).
When I got my Apple PowerBook, I used iSkin ProTouch keyboard skin for the keyboard and it still looks brand new until now, 6 years later. The Skin is also still in very good condition.
Now I will NOT use any of my laptop without keyboard skin. Desktop keyboard I can replace easily so I don't really care if the keys become shiny, but laptop keyboard is harder to replace since you have to disassemble the laptop and not to mention the cost.
(Oh and I also use external mouse to avoid shiny touchpad , but since the new MBP using glass touchpad, I don't know if it will become shiny over time)

 

i use a sillicone keyboard cover and the only thing i can say is that it changes the way the audio sounds broadcasted through the system speakers... but it keeps dust and debris out.

 

Ah yes, I guess that's because for the 13.3" Macbook/Pro, there are no dedicated speaker grills so some of the sound emitted from the keyboard is kinda "muffled"

 

i was wondering about that when i first got my mac cause it happen to me on my hp pc,so i bought clear roles of this sticky stuff and cut small squares to put on the keys and that workt,although once i took them off i had to gently rub some stickness on the keys,but it didnt rub away any of the finish

do this if you plan on selling it at a latter date cause i wouldnt buy a used mac with them little glossy circles lol.

 

Thankfully, not everyone is quite so particular.

 

Keyboard cover won't help. I've had a keyboard cover on mine since the day I bought it and the keys still get wore down. I'm not sure if it slowed down the wear at all, but you can still see the wear after removing the cover.

 

Thats weird. Is your keyboard skin just a plain sheet of silicone or shaped exactly like your keyboard?
I have seen a keyboard skin which doesn't sit well and had to be taped to the laptop body so it doesn't move around, but mine doesn't require a tape to hold it still.
I don't know what type your keyboard skin is, but I guess the key wear down is because of friction, if yours still worn out after the skin application, then the skin might still rub with the keyboard while typing.
My keyboard still looks like new with no shiny area at all, and that is after daily usage for 6+ yrs (since the end of 2003).
Just my $0.02.