The paint comes off - anyone else?

Hi, I'm looking for people who experienced the same as me: the paint comes off my few months old laptop. It started on the left touchpad button but now its many other places. This is not from using wrong cleaning solution, I only used water(have worked with computers for over 20 years, doing support for 5).

This is from normal use, and I suspect that it has to do with my laptop not got a protective layer of polish/finish from the factory.

The probleme is that Toshiba claims they never heard anything like this before and the service partner says they will charge me "if they find that I used wrong cleaning solution". Well, as I said before, I'm a supporter of profession, I would never use anything else than water to clean my laptop.

So now I'm asking if anyone else have the same probleme?

Another thing is that the screen has not been closed properly from the factory, if its dark in the room and you look at the screen from the side you can see small stribes of light. This is only a probleme in the summertime if there is small flies in the air, but I still like to get it fixed. Toshiba's servicepartner said that it might not be repaired on warranty - which puzzles me. So have anyone else had this probleme.

I have a Toshiba Satellite L40-139, but all the Satellite and Satellite Pro L40 in Europe should have the same basic design.
This could be on other models also.

Hope to hear from you soon

Thanx

Jan

Pictures:

http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=typingrightwn4.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=typingleftmw2.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=usingtouchpadyq5.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=usingtouchpad2mb8.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lefttouchpadbuttondl9.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screentop2fx4.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenrightrw2.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenleftut7.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rightlockjw6.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rightspeakernotassembleah2.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=leftspeakerfd7.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fronthr2.jpg

 

it is a common problem with Toshiba satellite line models , I have used my friend's Toshiba( I dont even know its name but some Satellite model) for about 2 years and I noticed that his lappie's left tocuh pad button is just like yours in the second photo posted here.

and this was the reason why I did not choose a Toshiba this time for myself and went for a HP , I think current Toshiba Satellite models(besides the U305 ,which I have used at my work for about 4 months) have build quality issue.

I some time compare my U305 and HP DV2760T to his Satellite A or M something model , I just notice how cheaply his Satellite model built.

I love the U305 screen but its keyboard is not so nice and the color of the palmrest changed ike filthy grey now, supposed to be silver though.

So I dont recommend current Toshiba if you care design or look of your pc for a long time.

I dont care about the color comes off issue , but I know it is annoying and very uncool.

 

Its happened to me on my HP, Dell and Medion laptops, Its fairly common imo. but It is annoying
Quick respray and clearcoat is the only way ive found around it (on the hp it got so bad that the left trackpad button
is now see through)

 

I like to hear from more owners of Toshiba laptops who experienced the same issue

Thanx

Jan

 

i've no problem here, a105 owner.

 

Looking at the pics, I say what's happening is 100% wear related. It's highly likely it's not a manufacturing defect nor related to whatever cleaning chemical may have been used as the parts worn are are typically the highest wear points on the laptop. The left track pad button is a prime example in terms of wear.

A possible cause of the paint wear issue is that sometimes skin oils can contain natural chemicals that act as corrosive agents.

That all said, not all Satellites have paint wear issues as many don't have painted keys, buttons or palm rests. It's the models with silver or colored parts that are generally painted plastic. With time the paint wears thin showing the bare plastic underneath.

Case in point: while my old Satellite 5205 doesn't have a painted palm rest or keys but it does have painted metallic grey track pad buttons and a metallic blue case surround that have shown some wear with time. So when it came to upgrade laptops, I chose a ThinkPad T60 specifically because it has no painted parts at all--it's just a huge monolithic expanse of black plastic with nothing to wear.

 

Sure it can happen with older laptops, but I'm pretty sure you will agree with me that it definately should not happen on a laptop from 17 december 2007.

And it did start in the end of february 2008, where I reported it to Toshiba support. The only solution they had was to send it to service, which I would love to do, but then the service partner came with that statement about charging me "if they found that I had used wrong cleaning solution".

I dont really want to be charged for an factory error just because the service partner finds it hard to belive that the factory made this mistake, and thinks that I have done something wrong.

Regards

Jan

 

I am a mechanic by trade, I had a late model pickup truck come in one time and the guy wanted the steering wheel changed because the leather was cut. After examining it I came to the conclusion the guy was digging his fingernails in while he was driving. The service anager gave the guy a new wheel anyways. I knew the guy was guilty by the look on his face when I got his keys to install the wheel.

Anyways regardless I think Toshiba could fix that for you just for goodwill so maybe next time you might buy another one. If I plan on using my laptop touchpad excessivly I might cover wear areas with some type of clear plastic protection, like the stuff they use for stone chip protection on the front of cars. Those people who install that stuff are pretty talented and probably wouldnt charge you much to install some in critical areas.

 

My cousin's ~2 year old Gateway laptop had that happen to the palm rests...they are like black now.

-J.B.

 

The reason I bought Toshiba, was that it used to be a good brand where you didn't run into this kind of probleme. I've done support on most other brands with the exception of Toshiba so I know what kind of problemes the other can have, but I never expected that a few months after i buy a laptop then it has to go into service because the paint comes off from wearing.

Maybe I put too big expectations into this, but a company that lives from making laptops, I would expect that they know that thin layer of paint can get worn off so that they make sure that those areas are made with coloured plastic and not painted. Or at least have had a protective layer of some kind.
We are not talking about a bamboo laptop here but a brand name, so some expectations have to be met.

Had I known that they didn't, well then I would have covered the area with some protective film or just not bought Toshiba. But since they don't disclose this when you buy the laptop then its totally on Toshiba's head and in fact a design flaw. At least in my eyes.

 

OK, there seem to be a little confusion here This laptop is only a few months old, it was bought in december 2007, so you would not expect to see this kind of wearing on it. On an old laptop for sure, it can't be helped unless you enclose it in plastic and dont use it!

What I wanted with this post, was to hear from other people with the same probleme, I didn't excpect to hear from people with old laptops or from someone that didn't have the probleme.

So, you who have the problem I will be happy to hear from you

Regards

Jan

 

it is not a design flaw , believe or not does not affect on any performance , just simply change of look so I dont really care bout it.

also, the thinkpad build quality people rave about is not really true and not based on any scientific reserch, but so?

dont expect any cheap computer to look great and durable too, cause it simply impossible to ask for any huge corp like Toshiba , HP and Lenovo, they will have to compete in price reduction too that was started by Acer.

think about why people choose Acers : they are cheap , this is the reason why.

at least these computers from Acer, Toshiba , HP , Lenovo are all functional and I think they last longer than at least most of people want to keep them close to them(my case I need to keep a laptop for a year and change).

how many people want to use a cheap computer for more than a couple of years and how many cheap computer break down or stop working in a couple of years?

now,you know the answer why they are cheaply made and when you dont pay premium for premium products you can't complain about it and I dont expect my Toshiba or HP to be built like they were in last decade since I do not pay as much as I paid for a laptop in 90th for these computers I use now.
I like them because they are cheap and good performers , I dont care how badly they are built, even my thinkpad was not as good as thinkpads of 90th, but in 90th , we used a coputer for a long time (cause a laptop was so expensive in 90th) so we needed to care about build quality.

I think the BQ should be considered to be least important when comaprring models and models.

And nothing these days designed to last for a long time because we do not use them for a long time like 5 years.

If you want to get a premium build quality at the expense of CPU or RAM , then go for it but I do think it is ridiculous to pay lots on a bit better build.

I know it is a personal matter but I prefer fastest processor in a cheap plastic body(like Dell Latitude) over a cheap T5250 in a metal case like some buisness models from Fujitsu or Lenovo.

 

You can say what you want but it is a design flaw, the ouside as well as the inside is designed and when any of that fails, well then its a flaw.

I will say this again since apperently you didn't understand it so well, its a few months old laptop. This should not happen now, in a few years ok, but not now! Thats the flaw!
It may be that my laptop was the last on the assembly line and didn't get the protective finish, but its still a flaw because that should have been discovered in the factory!

If you buy a new car and the paint comes off when you wash it, what would you say then? Its not a design flaw?

 

There is no protective finish on the paint. This happens with all laptops, some faster than others.

Recently Toshiba has been using clear plastic panels and painting the inside of them so that the paint cant be worn off (like remote control lexan car bodies), but its only on certain models.

In any case, its not covered under warranty, so dont even bother wasting your and Toshiba's time by calling in.

 

Actually it is in my country, you see the first 6 months is by law always consider a factory defect unless proven otherwise. And this certainly is.

There is 2 years warranty on this laptop, and according to the ombudsman in my country this has to be covered. So if you in the future want to say something like the above please refer to your own country, otherwise I would say you dont know what your talking about.

 

That may be so but good luck getting Toshiba to replace it. If you do, then that is great, but it is not something I would expect any company to warranty.

Futhermore, you did not state which country you were from so it is impossible to know where you are from. If you don't state which country you are from I have to assume you are in the United States as this is a US based forum.

Lastly, (and slightly off topic) the L40 is the lowest end current Toshiba. The L series are the super budget laptops. Toshiba designs this series different from their A or P series and are generally of inferior design and quality of parts. Had you purchased an A series Toshiba this most likely would not have happened.

 

i was reading this post and i have to say you are lucky with your Toshiba. i have Toshiba Satelite P100-429 and after about 6 months i've noticed that it's loosing silver colour where i keep my left hand. i use my laptop at least 4 hours per day, sometimes i work on it all day. i don't use any chemicals, and because i care i usualy wash my hands before i use it. after 12 months this place is yellowish now and it looks like some old laptop not almost brend new one. everything else looks great.

should i mention that my Toshiba was broken twice during first year warranty? first time - main board or motherboard, second time graphic unit/card. so i think Toshiba is rubbish or maybe i'm not lucky. i'll never again buy Toshiba. i was trying to talk to Toshiba team - about free warranty extension. they say no way - i could buy it but they don't care. before buying this laptop i've made some research and Toshiba was a good company in others opinion. i can't say the same. just takin care about companys good name and customer satisfaction i think i should have at least 6 month extra warranty extension for free.

i'm using also IBM ThinkPad T40 - believe me or not it's working better then my Toshiba in my opinion. i just need 17" screen for my work and Toshiba has really good one - the only plus for it.

lappyforphotoshop well i can't agree with you - even when you are buying cheap laptop you don't expect it to loose colour after few months did you? i don't care how much i pay - £300 or £1000. when i pay i expect that what i buy will work fine at least for year. so what could i say when my laptop is loosing colour after 1 year (started after 6 months of use)? i have to say it's not a good laptop. and Toshiba Satelite is not the cheapest one on the market.

i'll try to add some photo later.

 

had my P100 for 2 years now I hard game all the time and no problems here at all looks the same has new except for a few scratches