W3V power button paint...chipping!?!?!

Hey guys,

I just saw the thread about the W3V palmrest paint fading, and I was encouraged to post about my issue. First let me say that I don't have the problem with the palmrest yet. But then again, I've only used my laptop extensively maybe 12 times in the past 3.5 weeks for which I've owned it.

I did notice something tonight that bothers me a bit. The nice metallic paint on the power button is chipping off in certain areas. I have two shots below. You can see somewhat what I'm talking about in the pic with the light off. With the light on, this problem is very apparent. To be honest, it looks pretty cheap, especially considering the short duration of time I've owned this laptop. Anybody else notice this? Will ASUS cover this under 'defect of craftsmanship'?





Thanks for the help.

-Brian

EDIT: Let me add that I've treated this machine very well. Basically 99% of the time for which I haven't been using it, it's been in the case, in an air-conditioned room. I don't get it...

 

Brian - my W3 has been used extensively since the day it came off the truck... so I can honestly say I've physically used it more than anyone else in north america could have......... my power button doesn't look like that.... although keep in mind your picture above is like 4x life size.... you've got to be looking mighty close to be able to see that. You can give Asus a call, but that's considered physical wear and tear.. not a defect in craftsmanship... just in case you were wondering.

 

I took a nice macro shot to show the problem well, but believe me, you don't have to be looking clost at all to see the chipping.

And I guess it would be physical wear and tear if I'd owned the machine for a while, but seeing as it's not even a month old yet, I think paint chipping at this point would be stretching the boundaries of "physical wear and tear." I hope that if I buy a nice Ferarri some day, the clutch doesn't go at 5,000 miles from normal everyday usage.

Anyway, thanks for the response, Jason.

 

Brian, it's Justin, not Jason... not that it's a huge deal and you probably didn't mean it, but it is disrespectful, especially since it's a visual thing and not auditory... it is written above.

Listen, I don't make up the warranty and I also know what's normal. I realize you took macro shots and that's why I'm saying even at that size you have to realize how thin those circular ridges are that make up that button. Edges wear off ridges a lot quicker than a flat surface. This isn't "normal" but it's physical wear and tear. There's not a boundry on that. If the chrome just fell off, that's one thing.... but if you touch something over and over, over any period of time... that's what it's called.

Keep in mind your power button didn't stop working. If you want to compare this to a clutch in a ferrari, then that would be more like it. The fact is, it doesn't effect the performance or usage of the notebook and about all you can do is see if Asus will do anything about it.. i'm just telling you don't be pissed if they say sorry. If you got it like that, yeah I know they'd do something. Also, if you read that other thread, you probably read all that I said about cremes and so forth.... use any? I mean it in the kindest way... I'm just trying to judge how this stuff holds up. The plastic chromed button the the W3 isn't much different than the buttons Asus has been using for a year or more now and they've all held up rather well. So, it's not a widespread thing, but that doesn't help you much.

 

First off, I'm really sorry about the name thing. I'm getting my forum people confused. And really there's no excuse, since I should've just checked your sig. Sorry again.

As for the power button, I guess you're correct that I'm being a bit dramatic in the Ferarri comparison. And I'm really not that upset about this, so I'm sorry if I came off as being pissy. I'm just a little aggrivated about this.

I only use cremes in the Winter when my hands dry out, and I haven't used any (that I can recall) since I've had this machine. I really have treated it very, very well.

 

It could very well be atmospheric conditions that is causing the wear and tear... maybe you have corrosive oil/sweat on your hands.

No one can say for sure...

 

It's ok... old people have called me Jason since I was a little kid right after hearing me say my name was Justin... makes you wonder if people are listening..... the funny or sad thing is, I get it in emails and the forums as well... and my name's in print.. but thats ok.

I for one wish they'd make the buttons that are used a lot like.. oh.. the power button... clear and just engraved... backlit.. something that isn't going to show wear. I know for a fact on this unit, it's the chromed ridges... which anyone could see just aren't going to wear well. considering you've probably used the space bar more times just typing in this thread then you've had to turn the system on in the entire month you've had it. ...... I'd like to see what kind of wear you've put on that since usually people use their left or right thumb (depending on which hand is more dominante) and that thumb usually lands in the exact same place.

 

My space bar is quite worn out...

 

My power button is fine, and I use it fairly often every day (at least turning it on and off twice a day). I've had it since the beginning of May. Maybe they used a different type of paint in your batch or something. My only complaints with any wear is the discoloration on the left palmrest, and some paint is worn off on a few spots of the lighter color border around the palmrest.

 

I just started noticing the same problem on mine, it's no where near as bad as yours, but I can notice some light seeping through the button overlay.

 

I've used the laptop maybe twice since the last post a few days ago, and it seems like the paint has chipped so much more already. I can take another shot, but there's no point.

 

I'm thinking about getting a W3V so I was worried about this problem. But anyway, you might want to try and put some clear nail polish or something over the button to prevent further damage maybe? I don't think the nail polish would damage the paint but test it first.

 

Yeah, if you're gonna compare it to a Ferrari ... and talk about paint on the notebook, then the obvious thing to talk about is the paint on the car, not the clutch - which definitely will have chips if you had driven it for any significant amount of time.

I've used my W3V very heavily in the past 5 months or so. Consistently put into and taken out of a backpack 4-5 times every school day. It is on practically 24/7, with me personally using the computer about 4-5 hours / day on average, if not more.

There is definitely paint wear. On the bottom - the supporting ridges - they've all worn down to their natural pastel-white colour. On the upper surface, surrounding the keyboard, the 'silver' paint on the edge is definitely wearing off. Not so much on the palmrest - but I am too lazy to remove the stickers.

I wish I didn't have this much wear, but I think it's part and parcel of being such a heavy user. It might not have been an issue with a notebook that uses plastics for the casing that have the same colour throughout, but it is with the carbon-fiber W3V.

On the other hand, my power button is in near perfect shape. Nothing like what you have posted.

My solution?

I pretty much never turn my laptop fully off. I'm almost always using Standby mode instead; not nearly as much wait to boot up or shut down, and it can stay in this mode for over a day without a problem. This means I don't touch the power button very often at all... I just hit Fn-F1 instead.