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

iMac G3 Mod - iMac G3 "i7": an iMac G3 with i7 CPU

The original meaning of iMac G3 refers to the all-in-one desktop computer produced by Apple computer during 1998 to 2003 with a PowerPC G3 processor.

As a product of more than a decade. What can we make use of it in 2015?

(1) it is still a perfect tool for word processing.

(2) it can be used as a music player.

Anything else?

Honestly speaking, even if its hardware is still in good condition, its specification is unfit to meet our needs these days. Nowadays, computers need to handle more complex tasks, such as, backup data of mobile devices, edit and play HD movies, storage of photos, entertainment... Some tasks even need to implemented wirelessly, like sending media messages, syncing data with iCloud, and so on.

If we still want it to be our perfect companion, why don't we upgrade its hardware to meet this goal? Accordingly, we need to treat the iMac G3 housing as an ordinary computer case, in which the elements inside would be replaced and upgraded with latest ones.

iMac G3 "i7" is an integration of old with new elements. We replace the PowerPC G3 logicboard of iMac G3 with an Intel i7 logic board. The outlook of the iMac G3 has no change, but there is "a big change" inside. Instead of calling this modified machine iMac G3, we name it as "iMac G3 i7".

Up to this moment (March 2015), the iMac G3 i7 could be upgradable to the highest possible specification of 4GHz Intel Quad Core i7 with 32GB memory. 

Related Articles:

iMac G3 Mod - What is iMac G3?
iMac G3 Mod - iMac G3 "i7": an iMac G3 with i7 CPU

iMac G3 Mod - The LCD Panel

iMac G3 Mod - The Side Panel

iMac G3 Mod - Its Innards

Written by: Erik Siivel (@siivel.com)

Modder | Producer | Blogger | Youtuber 

Email: siiveldotcom@gmail.com

iBook G3 Clamshell Intel Core i5 Mod - Is it Possible?

This is one of the passages about the iBook G3 Clamshell modification project, of which a logicboard of Intel i5 was being installed into the classic Apple iBook G3 Laptop.

The Blueberry, Graphite and Tangerine iBook G3 Clamshell

The iBook G3 Clamshell was issued in July 1999 and discontinued in May 2001. It was a product for more than a decade. However, as time goes by, we find that its design is still very cool and elegant.

Is iBook G3 Clamshell obsolete?

The iBook G3 Clamshell had been classified as "obsolete" or "vintage" because it is no longer supported by Apple in terms of software upgrade or hardware repairation. Apple won't fix a broken iBook even one is willing to pay. However, if your iBook G3 Clamshell runs out-of-order, you can still find parts from ebay for self replacement.

Ironically, the iBook G3 Clamshell is quite durable, as in my iBook collection (of about 15), 13 of them still life healthy, running effectively and smoothly.

If you are not in pursuit of latest software and hardware, like some hobbyists do, iBook G3 Clamshell, with Mac OS 9 and old applications, will be an excellect machine to play with. Many vintage softwares are still powerful when working with vintage Macs. It is still a perfect tool in word-processing , CD player, or an excellent mobile music station.

You could still upgrade the iBook a little bit by installing a SSD (Solid State Drive), accordingly, the start up speed will have an obvious improment.

As to the DVD rom, you may get rid of it and replace it by a secondary hard disk.

But remember, this is only limited to run vintage softwares in non-internet environment. If you connects this buddy with the world wide web, compatibility issues will be arisen. It will takes long time to load because at its time, the web pages has smaller images, small files and a different set of scripts being used.

Can we replace the hardware of the iBook G3 Clamshell?

My team-mates and I have been thinking the possibility of hardware replacement over and over. We think that it is difficult, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE. Just treat the shell of iBook G3 Clamshell as a computer case, and fit a right logic board into it will make this possible. 

If we could install a PPC G5 logic board into it, it will become a G5; likewise, if we could install an Intel Core i5 logic board into it, it will become an i5.

As mentioned earlier, I have 2 broken iBook G3 Clamshell, I will use them for this experiment. We call this iBook G3 Clamshell Modification Project.

Is this a cool idea?

Related Articles:

iBook Clamshell Mod - What is iBook Clamshell?

iBook Clamshell Mod - Exploring the Possibility of iBook Clamshell Mod

iBook Clamshell Mod - Monitor

iBook Clamshell Mod - Keyboard

iBook Clamshell Mod - Side Panel

iBook Clamshell Mod - Polish the Apple Logo

iBook Clamshell Mod - DIY Protective Skin for the Shell

iBook Clamshell Mod - Applying Protective Skin on the Shell

iBook Clamshell Mod - Modifying the Yo-Yo

iBook Clamshell Mod - Yo-Yo Adapter Modified

iBook Clamshell Mod - Connecting the LCD Panel with the Main Body

iBook Clamshell Mod - SD Card Slot as A Substitute of DVD Rom

Written by: Erik Siivel (@siivel.com)

Modder | Producer | Blogger | Youtuber 

Email: siiveldotcom@gmail.com

The Evolution of iMacs

Since its first launch in 1998, the Apple iMac has undergone several generations. Different people have their own interpretation in classifying the iMac, in terms of general design (tear-shaped, sun-flower, flat panel), the processor inside (G3, G4 G5, Intel), or even model number (M4984, M5521).

I like to identify them in terms of design because it is the easiest way for a person to identify an iMac. When we look into the early generations of iMac, we found that their design is radical at their times: the original iMac is made by translucent plastic with a tear-shaped body; the iMac G4 is dome-shaped with a LCD panel erecting upon it; the iMac G5 has all of the components enclosed at the back the LCD.

How about those after iMac G5? It seem to me that Apple has made no headway: the designs are much alike with merely fine-tuning in material use, a wider screen, a thinner body, and faster CPUs. Is that really an evolution?

Really hope the next iMac will make me say WOW.

The Evolution of iMacs

Written by: Erik Siivel (@siivel.com)

Modder | Producer | Blogger | Youtuber 

Email: siiveldotcom@gmail.com

Why Mac Modification Project?

In many discussion forums, there are always groups of people discussing the possibility of upgrading hardware of old Macs. People are exploring the possibility to upgrade it with present specifications.

There is another group of people who is not upgrading their Macs, rather, they are just collecting them. 

I am both of them. On the one hand, I collect old Macs; on the other hand, I upgrade old Macs for myself and for others. To me, vintage Macintosh is so adorable that "playing" along with an operative old Mac is fantastic, however, I can't stand "working" with a Macintosh with a speed of MHz.

Also, many applications of vintage Macs cannot be used nowadays, for example, you cannot sync an iphone 5 with iTunes v2.0, you cannot watch Youtube with iBook Clamshell, some of the contents in the Internet are no longer readable with IE...

Written by: Erik Siivel (@siivel.com)

Modder | Producer | Blogger | Youtuber 

Email: siiveldotcom@gmail.com