Macbooks are expensive equipment that are fragile in some key places. Anyone who’s owned one is familiar with the keyboard shine that happens over time. While it’s not entirely preventable, it can be slowed down with some regular maintenance.
Here’s how to stop Macbook keyboards from getting shiny.
Why So Shine?
The reason this familiar gloss happens on Macbooks and happens relatively quickly compared to some other laptops is that Apple uses ABS plastic for its keys. ABS stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and this type of plastic, compared to others used for key caps has some advantages. It is durable and cost effective compared to alternatives.
What causes the shiny keys, more noticeable and faster than keyboards made with other plastics comes from a few factors. The first is physical – the matte finish of the keys wear down over time from being typed on and since the matte fishing is particularly fine and as thin as possible, this can happen quickly. You’ll also notice it on the keys and parts of the space bar you tend to use most, because that’s where there’s the most and most frequent impact from typing.
The second cause is where you can really slow down the progression of increasingly shiny keys.
Keys To Prevention
Our fingers and hands are producing oil and sweat all day. They’re also really good at picking up dirt – all things that can accumulate on your keys and make them shinier over time. Try, before each time you sit down at your Macbook to wash your hands first. This will help remove excess finger oils and dirt. Also, don’t eat over your keyboard to prevent additional grease, grime, and dirt from accumulating.
ABS plastic is also particularly sensitive to heat and UV light. Typing outdoors and under the sun especially can slowly degrade the plastic, which you’ll begin to notice as shine, over time. When possible, try to avoid using your Macbook in extremely hot conditions or outdoors in direct sunlight.
Using a cleaning solution like iKlear, which a lot of apple stores use on their display models once a week keeps oil and grease to a minimum and reduces the amount of shine it will accumulate. Macbook keyboard shine isn’t entirely preventable but you can slow it down, and now you know how. If it’s something you’re really worried about you can get a keyboard cover but eventually, the impact of typing – will wear your keyboard out, even if dirt and grease can’t get to it.
