Dents in VPCF115FM Speaker Bar

I recently got an annoying dent on my speaker bar (because of an embarrassingly stupid accident involving a PlayStation Move controller and some taped cardboard tubes), I was wondering if anyone here could help me out with that.

It would be nice if someone had any idea how to work the dent out, but it doesn't look to me like the metal grill is removable.

I've been looking online for a replacement part, but it looks like nobody even has the right color listed (dark gray). I'm a bit weary to buy from a part supplier online without some recommendation. Does anyone have any experience with this? I noticed a lot of people that were buying back-lit keyboards were using ebay, but that doesn't seem to be an option for this part.

I called Sony to see if they had the part in stock, but they said the only thing available was the entire keyboard assembly ($180). I don't think the rep I spoke with really understood what part I was looking for though.

I guess if worse comes to worse I can just ignore it, but with the part being listed around $20 online, I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to just replace it.

Let me know if you guys have any advice!

 

I'm pretty sure the speaker bar's removable. You just have to remove the keyboard. Usually something like that has a few screws anchoring it in place underneath the keyboard.

Sometimes, though, if you're careful, you can work out the existing dent. When I mean careful, make sure to keep an eye on how it's connected and be careful about how much force you use. Don't want to further damage or burn out something.

 

Are you referring to the entire plastic part, or just the metal grill? I've seen how to remove the entire assembly (including "display off, play/pause, etc"), but not the grill itself. It looks like the grill might be glued to the plastic (though I haven't removed the part yet).

 

I think I'm referring to either. If your top surface is two pieces, you should be able to remove the keyboard, then remove the upper piece with the speakers in it. If the top surface is all one piece, you'll have to remove it entirely, and I'm pretty sure there are screws holding everything together.

If I'm thinking of the right laptop, though, it's all one piece and you'll have to flip it over and there should be screws mounting the speakers in place, and unless you dented the grille right over a speaker, it should be easy to work out.

 

I'll check into it after a good night's rest and get back to you. Thanks for the help so far!

Though, looking at this image, I'm not really sure how I'd access the grill itself...


Edit: I guess the site hosting the image is filtered for some reason?

Here it is on my server

 

See if this helps you remove the speaker cover: http://tinyurl.com/3xuf23c
Edit: On that same site, you can also look at the link to replace the display, which involves removing the speaker cover.
2nd edit: I see you've already found that site. Your image was not showing when I posted this so I didn't know what you were talking about.

 

It may be glued in. In that case, I'd do it carefully. As in the slightest excess force could bend the grille and look nastier than the original dent. Which wouldn't be fun, and would only be aesthetically fixed with a new piece. If you dented the grille in a spot where you can't access it easily, you may just have to live with it unless you want to replace a bit more than you damaged.

 

I think I'm just going to have to deal with it, I'd be willing to replace the whole part, but I can't find it anywhere in-stock (or even available to back-order)...

 

Didn't realize Sony parts were so rare... I'd think maybe sparepartswarehouse.com might be able to provide some enlightenment, their dearth of parts is a new one on me.

 

Yeah, I looked at sparepartswarehouse earlier, they don't even have the F11 models listed. I didn't find the particular part listed for the F12s either.