Quick Question RE: Titanium Lid

I was about to close my order of T60 earlier this morning. Since the reseller where'll be getting has several stocks, it could be delivered by Wednesday. But I held it of for a day or two because I'm itching for the widescreen Thinkpad Z series... Just the widescreen that is holding me off from the T60, otherwise, IMO it's a great machine... I'm now considering the Z61t.

I like the titanium lid of the Z series but I'm concerned with what ZaZ said in his review of the Z61m that the titanium lid easily scratches. I'm afraid that it might not look good anymore after a few months.

Now, did I say quick question? Ok, here they are (two ?s actually), especially for those who own a Thinkpad Z series with titanium lid:
Is it that bad? Can it be remedied by metal cleaners/polishers?

 

i think you would not use a metal cleaner/polisher on that notebook...

metal polish/cleaners just "scratch" the surface of a metal "evenly", thus removing the dirt that has been on the said surface. this also means that the more you do the cleaning process with these stuffs, the more likely your metal thins.

i think you are having the same problem and situation between these two thinkpads... still waiting for the right answers to decide whether a thin-notebook will do or the widescreen suits me best

 

A metal polisher/cleaner can make a TITANIUM lid thin?

 

The TI lid on my z60m while I had it didn't scratch one bit.

 

can't comment personally on a Ti Z series (mine is on order) but the normal black top of the T43 I sometimes use gets very "dirty" with fingerprints. I think the Ti lid will stay in better shape. The rubbery black tops are hard to describe if you've never felt one.

 

Thanks for the replies!

@dietcokefiend: How long have you had the z60m?

I know how the rubbery black lid of the T43 feels. Yeah, I agree that it can get dirty with fingerprints easily. Does the T60 comes with the same rubbery black lid?

 

well, a titanium is a metal... but am not really sure if titanium alloys can withstand such polishers

dietcoke's right... i think the titanium lid wont have scratches... though you can make one if you like and if you really are up to making one

i like the rubbery feel of thinkpads... but worried since i have sweaty hands (you can get one by typing/using your hands all day long and wetting your hands,so use alcohol to clean your hands). making the feel something indescribable...

i think that thinkpads reflect the user/owner itself... having a titanium lid is something that boasts "o yeah i am tough" ... while having a T60-lid will make you say "i'm not big but i am tough"... then a panasonic toughbook enters in the scene "if you two are tough, what am i called then?".. leaving them to dust... (sort of a comic strip writing this one)

hmm... i think that we users of laptops should care for our laptops... i think that having a professional notebook like a thinkpad comes with great responsibility. that is, just don't get them that dirty. i can't imagine a professional with some dirty hands using a premium notebook...

other cases are not included... such as natural phenomenon (everyday hadling of notebook)... hehehe

 

Thanks for the information..

You are exactly right.. I am talking about normal day to day use. ZaZ, on his review of Z61m said that it scratches easily. That's the main reason why I made this thread. Like what I am asking, to those who own or who have owned a thinkpad with titanium lid... how bad is it? If it can be remedied by some kind of metal polishers or what? (Which you said should not be used; Well, I won't argue with that. Perhaps, you're right. I don't know, 'cause I haven't seen a titanium lid personally which is, like I said, the reason why I am asking but I'll consider the information you mentioned If I ever choose to buy the Z61t.)
And I didn't talk about getting the T60 dirty, as in dirty. We were talking about fingerprints which really happens and can lived with since it can be cleaned. And please, I beg you not to lecture us about responsibility. This is not the proper forum. This is about notebooks.. Thanks..

 

I had the z60m for a bit under a month before it got returned for a screen issue that cropped up. It was under school duty to keep me occupied during long hauls away at campus.

 

(Let me preface this by saying that I work in the titanium industry)

My understanding is that the Z series with "Titanium" lids is more of a coating/paint job than meaning that the cover is made from titanium metal.
Many companies are very misleading whenever they mention that their products have 'titanium' in them. Titanium Oxide is (one of) the best white pigments known to man. In almost all nice paint, it's the stuff in there that makes the paint opaque (not see-through). You likely have Titanium all over your walls (assuming they're painted). Being non-toxic and white, it's also a pigment in many toothpastes. I could paint my laptop white and say (correctly) that I have applied a Titanium coating to it.

And on a more general note: Titanium isn't all that different from other metals. In certain circumstances, it has better properties (when you're concerned about weight but need higher strength than Aluminum), but many times it's higher cost than steels and stainless steels makes its use unjustifiable. As a rule, if something applies to 'metals' it also applies to titanium.

In summary: Your Z-series likely is no more than coated with titanium; don't be surprised if it scratches and metal polish almost certainly won't help you (assuming that is just a coating).

 

From the sounds of the technical manual, it was a sheet of stamped Ti, with a painted coating on top of it, and probably clearcoated. I doubt it is Ti paint over steel or aluminum.

 

I have a titanium lid and it has zero scratches or marks of any kind after 2-3 weeks of use. I really don't even worry about scratching it cause it doesnt look like it will scratch easily. I really like this lid (for durability) and it impresses all my friends because its a freakin piece of metal on my laptop.

 

hmm... if it has clearcoating on top... then you can not use any other cleaning chemicals. it might stain the lid more (probably).

i have used metal polishers (i was an officer back then in Citizen Army Training, highschool army training, cleaning my brass buckles, armor, sword). they keep the metal clean for a while. it's like the metal always wants to be cleaned once it got the taste of the polisher.

if you do not polish the metal oftenly (maximum of 1 week before cleaning again), the metal will have a stain on it, like a corrosion i guess . so using metal polishers will mean you are stuck to it for almost your life...


do not use chemicals on your notebook...

 

thanks guys for the informative posts.
I also doubt, though, that it's just a paint job. Otherwise, NBR or any other forums (or even pcmag or any othe site) that the Thinkpad Z series with Titanium lid have been reviewed could have mentioned that. Perhaps they could mislead consumers about the Titanium thing but not professional or expert notebook reviewers. But, then again, I'm no expert in metal or paints so I can't tell.

@bman22: It's comforting to hear about your rig. It's kind of worrying me how the Ti lid handles normal day to day handling and if it really does scratches easily.

I guess I shouldn't worry much about that...

But I will still appreciate it to hear from more Thinkpad Z6** with Titanium lid owners. Thanks in advance.

 

the magnesium alloy covers on normal thinkpads are very tough and they also are very pencil and pen resistant. if you write on them, it seems like you make a mark but they all come off. you do get some wear on the edges of the cover where it becomes shiny black instead of dull black (after several 3ft drops). my friends try to scratch my laptop with pens and only if u press down really hard can you make any mark.
The problem is that the T43 picks up oils and sugars very well. They leave stains that can be removed with a wet cloth.

 

I told our purchasing department to hold off my order of T60.. I decided to wait till middle to end of July. Z61m with matte-black lid and a higher model of T60 would have arrived by then. Either that or T60 would be cheaper. The only T60 model I can get for now is 195123A which comes with only 256MB of RAM... and we still don't have any Z61m (only black Z60m).. bad heh?