How to Remove Scratches on Your Macintosh?

Every Macintosh is piece of Art. When a person chooses to buy a Macintosh, normally s/he takes into account the design or outlook in the buying decision. The good experience of using it not only comes from the specs but also the cool designs of the machines.

It will be great if it could always maintain a gloss outlook as newly purchased. Unfortunately, sometimes, we may make scratches out of accidents. If there is such a case, polishing it will "cure". 

Polish the case of vintage Macintoshes like iMac, iBook or Macbook is not difficult at all. All you need are the right materials and patient.

Please bear in mind that not all Macintoshes require polishing. The tutorial here does not apply to those with a factory made rough surface (like the Classic, Or Apple II) and those with a metal case (like Macbook Air or Macbook Pro).

There are several materials I usually use to remove scratches, the choice depends on the deepness of the scratches. The following passage will start from the ones with the strongest abrasive power:

(1) Sand Paper: it is used to abrase severe marks on the plastic case. You may apply water during the work.

(2) Polish Notion: the one with a red bottle has particles of 3 mini-metres whereas the one with the yellow bottle has smaller particles of about 1 mini-metre. When your Mac has light scratches, it is better to skip the sand paper and use the red bottle instead. The yellow one is normally used to make a gloss surface after removal of scratches.

(3) Tamiya Polishing Compound: I use it when all the scratches are removed. It provides a perfectly smooth and glossy finish.

(4) Poly Watch: I use it in the very final stage. It makes a even more glossy effect compare with the Tamiya Compound. But it is extremely expensive.

How to Polish?

First you need to access the severeness of your scratch, if the scratch is mild, you may skip the sand paper and use polish notion directly. I rarely use Tamiya Compound or Poly Watch in the very beginning.

And then applies the polish notion onto a soft cloth (I prefer cloths being cut from an old T-shirt), and rub the scratch by making small circles. For a normal scratch I usually rub thousands of times, it might takes several weeks to clear a mark. So the clue is "patient". 

Erik Siivel (@siivel.com)

Modder | Producer | Blogger | Youtuber

Email: siiveldotcom@gmail.com