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Lucas Curious

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 30, 2020
631
794
is there some coating on the keys which will rub off with 70% alcohol? typing I notice oil stains on keys. I only wipe with water on microfiber towel or a Clorox wipe but id like to clean all the bacteria form my greasy fingers off the keys.
 

usagora

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2017
4,869
4,456
I use a 1:1 mixture of distilled water and either 70% or 90% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning my Macs and have never had any issues, including the keyboard and display. Cleans very well! Just don't spray the computer directly, of course, but spray some of the solution onto a microfiber cloth and then wipe the computer down.

I don't have a MBP but have used on various other MacBooks and Apple Keyboards with no issues. I can't imagine a MBP would be any different.
 

Lucas Curious

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 30, 2020
631
794
I use a 1:1 mixture of distilled water and either 70% or 90% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning my Macs and have never had any issues, including the keyboard and display. Cleans very well! Just don't spray the computer directly, of course, but spray some of the solution onto a microfiber cloth and then wipe the computer down.

I don't have a MBP but have used on various other MacBooks and Apple Keyboards with no issues. I can't imagine a MBP would be any different.
but wont that remove the anti fingerprint coating on the keys? not sure there even is a coating but just checking.
 

TinyMito

macrumors 6502a
Nov 1, 2021
863
1,226
Been wiping my macbook with 70% alcohol for the last 2 months and the screen as well. There is no anti-fingerprint coating... not a touch screen to begin with to have one.
 

usagora

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2017
4,869
4,456
but wont that remove the anti fingerprint coating on the keys? not sure there even is a coating but just checking.

I've never heard of such a thing, and even if it were there, I doubt it would be so fragile that a 1:1 water:rubbing alcohol solution could harm it.

Been wiping my macbook with 70% alcohol for the last 2 months and the screen as well. There is no anti-fingerprint coating... not a touch screen to begin with to have one.

OP is referring to the keys, not the screen, but I don't think the keys have it either.
 

ptfuzi

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2019
147
33
is there some coating on the keys which will rub off with 70% alcohol? typing I notice oil stains on keys. I only wipe with water on microfiber towel or a Clorox wipe but id like to clean all the bacteria form my greasy fingers off the keys.
Clorox wipe is a bit harder on the Mac, i usually use isopropyl alcohol to clean the display, and the day I used a clorox wipe it wiped the anti glare Coating on the display in a fairly recent macbook.
Fortunately it was within the time period for free replacement
 
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solouki

macrumors 6502
Jan 5, 2017
339
213
Hi all,

I agree that a Clorox wipe is a much harsher, chemically, entity than using isopropyl alcohol. The isopropanol will evaporate totally leaving behind no residue (if pure with no dissolved salts), while the Clorox wipe is probably somewhat alkaline (high pH ... if it was low in pH then the Cl_2 would be given off as a gas) and could leave behind a slight alkaline film. Neither the generated Cl_2 nor the alkaline solution would be particularly good for the keys nor the display.

Having said this, I, personally, find that my typing tends to "polish" the mat finish on the keys so that they appear to have fingerprint oil on them while in fact they are simply polished. While isopropanol will remove any oils present on the keys, it will not remove the polished areas on the keys.

Solouki
 
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Lucas Curious

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 30, 2020
631
794
Hi all,

I agree that a Clorox wipe is a much harsher, chemically, entity than using isopropyl alcohol. The isopropanol will evaporate totally leaving behind no residue (if pure with no dissolved salts), while the Clorox wipe is probably somewhat alkaline (high pH ... if it was low in pH then the Cl_2 would be given off as a gas) and could leave behind a slight alkaline film. Neither the generated Cl_2 nor the alkaline solution would be particularly good for the keys nor the display.

Having said this, I, personally, find that my typing tends to "polish" the mat finish on the keys so that they appear to have fingerprint oil on them while in fact they are simply polished. While isopropanol will remove any oils present on the keys, it will not remove the polished areas on the keys.

Solouki
I think I put Clorox wipe on keys on older MacBook and then closed the Mac. later I did find stains on the screen that wouldn't come off. this is why I now let keys dry before closing macbook
 
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