Soft Touch Coating on T61 & R61 14.1" durability?

I was just wondering on the durability of the top soft touch coating on the T61 and R61 14.1" widescreen models. I read on this forum somewhere that a user complained that the corners on his machine are showing signs of wear. So i just want to make sure that i take best care of my machine to avoid any such situation.

Also, can some one please comment, if this coating is scratch proof / scratch resistant and what advantage does it have over the plastic of R61 15".

Thanks

 

Don't know about durability--my R61 is only 6 wks old--but it sure feels better than hard plastic. That's a tactile advantage in my book.

 

Unless you're going to keep your laptop stationary on a desk, the paint on the corners will rub off. It annoyed me the first couple of weeks, but then I realized it's a ThinkPad, and it's meant to be brutally used.

I suggest not worrying about it. The ThinkPads were built to be used, not babied like a Macbook Air.

I didn't know they used a different coating for the R61 15'' model. Are you sure about this?

 

Corner rubber paint does rub off.

This is merely cosmetic, and barely noticeable.

Yes, the R61 cover is basically hard plastic similar to the rest of the chassis.

 

I keep mine on a desk unless I have to take it to a class or two and I notice no wear. It's definitely not a low quality job.

 

I have mine for a few months... And it now shows shiny corners... But you don't notice it... (and after a while you just don't care)...

 

I friction-burned the corners, placing it into a bag. I'm kind of sad about it.

If Lenovo would use larger radii on their designs, the coating would last longer because the pressure load would be distributed over a wider area, and besides, the machines would be a little more durable, more resistant to cracks, and look a little nicer.

Even Volvos have a little curve to them now : )

 

I like the sharp corner box look better than say a macbook rounded corner actually.

 

There is a little tradtion to the thinkpad. It was literally inspired by a japanese lunchbox that is totally square and totally black, accentuated
by it's simplicity.

It did not have rounded corners. That's part of the thinkpad tradition.

 

Long live tradition.

 

I agree with the design of the thinkpad and when we bought our machines we actually voted for this design. However, none of us will want rubbed off corners. When we buy a thinkpad we expect nothing short of the best build quality. Sturdy not only means sturdy against breakage but also sturdy against any cosmetic damage.
I had a HP laptop before i bought this and the coating on the top lid was really sturdy. I kept that machine for about a year and it was handled very badly. It used to travel in my backpack all the time as i am student and there was not even one scratch on it...

 

I'm just curious if this stuff is rubbing off or if it is peeling off. Can you feel any rough edges or is it a smooth transition? I ask because my phone, a Motorola V330 had that same rubbery plastic feel but now all that stuff is mostly peeled away or chipped away after dropping it like 50 times. Man...Motorola used to make durable phones...

 

It rubs off, so there's a smooth transition. Besides the corners, the rest of the area should not rub off. As someone stated earlier, the reason the paint rubs off is because of the sharp corners of the ThinkPad.

 

Mine is about a month old now and it shows signs of rubbing off. But its all black so you have to look carefully to see.

 

One other note: The rubber corners on the LCD lid are not cat-proof either. Especially if you have the type of cat that likes to rub against hard corner-shaped things with the side of their head and then attempt to chew on them.

Several mild spankings have temporarily resolved the problem, but remedial punishment may need to be dished out again in the future due to short-term memory loss issues on the part of the species as a whole.

 

Perhaps you should send Comrade Kitty to the Gulag for some tough love labor . 1 month so far and no wear on mine yet...

 

Fortunately it was a small cat, with correspondingly small teeth. You have to look real close to see the couple minor marks.

I was a little peeved for about a minute, then realized --it's in the nature of the beast. (pun intended)

 

Lenovo's finishing is absolute crap. My X300's rubber-finished palm rest corners are chipping away in just a week of use and I keep it well protected in a sleeve. Same thing happened to a T61 I had.

This is nothing compared to HP's scratchproof and highly-durable finishing on its business notebooks. That's what I'd call real quality.