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    T400 Palm Rest Mod? Swap it?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by sikorskius, May 21, 2011.

  1. sikorskius

    sikorskius Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey all,

    The palm rest on my t400 has been bothering me lately. The plastic finish is irritating my skin when i spend a lot of time on the laptop.

    I know that previous versions of thinkpads had rubber finish on the palmrests.

    Is it possible to perhaps order a palm rest cover from the previous model of the t400 thinkpad line? Which model would it be and can I order it from lenovo?

    Alternatively I might consider paint spraying the palmrest with something like a plati dip rubber paint. Though I am kind of curious how the paint would withstand daily use and the heat generated from the CPU and the harddrive.
     
    sikorskius, May 21, 2011
    #1
  2. Colonel O'Neill

    Colonel O'Neill Notebook Deity

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    I don't think you'll find any recent, compatible ThinkPads with a rubber finish on the palmrest.
     
    Colonel O'Neill, May 21, 2011
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  3. sikorskius

    sikorskius Notebook Enthusiast

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    That's what I was afraid about.

    The plastic finish is freaking irritating me so much. Just plain uncomfortable.
     
    sikorskius, May 21, 2011
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  4. Colonel O'Neill

    Colonel O'Neill Notebook Deity

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    Lol I like my T400 palmrest texture :p
    It's a year and a half old though, so it's fairly broken in.
     
    Colonel O'Neill, May 21, 2011
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  5. sikorskius

    sikorskius Notebook Enthusiast

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    My palms are red after longer usage. :(
     
    sikorskius, May 21, 2011
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  6. Colonel O'Neill

    Colonel O'Neill Notebook Deity

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    I recall seeing someone identify two different types of palmrest textures; one rougher than the other. Not sure what came of it.

    Maybe try using an eraser to smooth out the texture a bit?
     
    Colonel O'Neill, May 21, 2011
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  7. sikorskius

    sikorskius Notebook Enthusiast

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    It's not that rough. I wore it down after 3 years of using it, so it's smoother now. But still uncomfortable.
     
    sikorskius, May 21, 2011
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  8. Colonel O'Neill

    Colonel O'Neill Notebook Deity

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    I dunno... Maybe try to move your palms less?

    Also, less downward pressure means a smaller force of friction, so that might help too.
     
    Colonel O'Neill, May 21, 2011
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  9. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Perhaps something like this might be worth a look?
     
    ZaZ, May 21, 2011
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  10. Colonel O'Neill

    Colonel O'Neill Notebook Deity

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    Buy an unmolded piece and cut to fit the palmrest?
     
    Colonel O'Neill, May 21, 2011
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  11. Pylon757

    Pylon757 Notebook Evangelist

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    Sand it down?
     
    Pylon757, May 21, 2011
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  12. LoneWolf15

    LoneWolf15 The Chairman

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    Have you tried simply cleaning the palmrest with mild antibacterial soap and water?

    Perhaps something left behind is serving as a skin irritant.
     
    LoneWolf15, May 21, 2011
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  13. sikorskius

    sikorskius Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey guys,

    Yeah I clean the laptop pretty frequently. I just don't like the plastic texture. Something softer would be nicer.

    Thanks for the links by the way. I think i will give it a try with the faux leather contact paper. I will see how it goes and maybe I will post pics if I do decide to go that way.
     
    sikorskius, May 22, 2011
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  14. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    I had a faux walnut laptop skin for my X200. I thought it looked quite nice.
     
    ZaZ, May 22, 2011
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  15. sikorskius

    sikorskius Notebook Enthusiast

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    Was it nice the the touch?
     
    sikorskius, May 23, 2011
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  16. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    It kind of felt like shelving paper. I like the feel on ThinkPad lids better, but they get dirty easily while skin looked new all the time I had it. I ordered the brown leather one for my X220. It won't be here for a couple weeks. I offered them $20 and they accepted.
     
    ZaZ, May 25, 2011
    #16