Darn Shiny keys!!

[Alpha Centauri]

So you use this product and never had shiny keys? Every MacBook I have ever had developed this issue.

I hope it will work after the shine is on the keys. I will give it a go. Certainly looks different than the cleaners I have used. Thank you.

Screen specific it's brilliant, first used it in AU back in olden days. I used an alternative maccentric cleaner here in DE but have just recently returned to iKlear after seeing it on Amazon here. I do find it very effective, only needing small amounts really, so it lasts many many years.

Caveat: I'm typing this on a 13 yr old MBP and the KB looks brand new and never had sheen. But it's not because of any cleaner but off course the material Apple used to use. Their site does allude to the product playing nice with modern coated screens but again, my use has been only with vintage screens that used to really endure heavy handed cleaning with no visible impact.

But yes, give it a go. It's fairly competitively priced and gets the job done, definitely a vote from me.

 

[Technerd108]

I have only had it for a month so I will reserve a final conclusion. I looked at my 2013 MBP and it does definitely have a permanent shine on those keys. So I’m guessing all such keyboards eventually will. How long it will take on my new MBA I don’t know since my usage is light. Until then I’ll keep using iKlear occasionally to get rid of the early days shine. It really is a good product, I have probably used it for over 10 years on just about everything. The only aggravation is that I’m used to shutting a laptop down when cleaning the keyboard, and I can’t do that with this without restarting it every time I touch a key.

I have a Smart Keyboard Folio for my ipad and that rubberized material hasn’t ever developed a shine. I really like that material!

That makes sense to me. It will probably develop some shine at some point.

I started an entire thread about auto boot on any key because it bothers me so much in October of 2021. Why even have a power button? I wish I could turn off the auto boot on any key!!

 

[papbot]

I started an entire thread about auto boot on any key because it bothers me so much in October of 2021. Why even have a power button? I wish I could turn off the auto boot on any key!!

That really surprised me when I first got the MBA. I was going to replace that old Macbook Pro and use migration assistant to set the new device up. But I wasn’t ready yet and all I did was raise the lid and it booted up. I kept yelling “no, no I’m not ready yet, how do you turn this damn thing off!” I’ll get used to it but it does go against everything I’ve done for the last 10 years.

 

[rpmurray]

Before I go out and buy it can you post the ingredients? I am curious what is in this magic solution? If it is truly different from what else is on the market I will give it a go. Thanks

According to the Material Safety Data Sheet it contains:

0.77% Proprietary ingredients
0.13% Methyl Paraben
99.1% Water

So you can save yourself some money and use tap water.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

According to the Material Safety Data Sheet it contains:

0.77% Proprietary ingredients
0.13% Methyl Paraben
99.1% Water

That's the one I posted an extract from (post #22), also dated 2010. Certainly nothing on the bottle I have, nothing on their site either. That 0.77% proprietary secret sauce does indeed appear to be the magic stuff.

 

[orionquest]

Stop eating KFC and using your laptop 🤷‍♂️

 

[papbot]

So you can save yourself some money and use tap water.

Water won’t do it. Whether it’s a surface tension factor or something in their formula that dissolves a greasy smudge without just smearing as water will this stuff works extremely well, especially on screens. But I found that even on keys and trackpads it is remarkably effective. And all you need is a little spritz so a bottle lasts a long time. I also use it to clean my glasses. As anyone who wears prescription glasses knows water will not do very well. This stuff is remarkable and we only need to get a bottle about once a year.

 

[rovostrov]

My 2012 Macbook pro keys have no shine on any of them. After cleaning, they all look brand new. My 2019 macbook has shine all over them. Newer macbooks use different (cheaper) plastic is my thought

 

[rpmurray]

Newer macbooks use different (cheaper) plastic is my thought

I think that's correct. Apple does seem to want to save every penny they can.

 

[papbot]

My 2012 Macbook pro keys have no shine on any of them. After cleaning, they all look brand new. My 2019 macbook has shine all over them. Newer macbooks use different (cheaper) plastic is my thought

My wife and I have identical 2013 rMBPs and we definitely have shine or worn spots on the keys. Cleaning does not remove those areas. But when we got them, around October of 2013 we weren't in the habit of cleaning the keys. I only began doing that some time later so those spots could have just worn in. I am now cleaning this new MBA frequently, I have the Midnight which as many others have noted is a fingerprint magnet, so maybe this will forestall those wear spots. But that damn touch any key boot up feature aggravates the hell out of me when I want to do this. Touching different keys while cleaning will also trigger various functions that I don’t want at the time.

 

[mi7chy]

Surprised no one makes skins for individual keys and not the whole ugly keyboard condom.

 

[papbot]

Surprised no one makes skins for individual keys and not the whole ugly keyboard condom.

Well I still have a lot of those latex-like gloves that I ordered at the beginning of the pandemic. I suppose I could just use those

 

[Sowelu]

Shiny keys (even after cleaning them) isn't from skin oils, it's from wear. As you type you're wearing away the matte layer exposing the shiny plastic. The heavier you type, the sooner this will appear.

I think Apple still uses ABS plastic because the alternative (PBT - polybutylene terephthalate) doesn't allow for a clear keyboard light to shine through each key. At least this is the case in the mechanical keyboard world.

But yes, cleaning the keyboard regularly should at least help with any skin oils and or hand lotion that may cause even more harm to the plastic. I used a damp microfiber cloth once per week or so to wipe my Macs down entirely.

Also, for those saying that you wish you didn't have to shut down your Mac to wipe your keyboard, you don't have to. There is a cool little app named 'Keyboard Clean Tool' that will disable your keyboard as you clean it. It's free, works as intended - I've been using it for years.

 

[Technerd108]

Shiny keys (even after cleaning them) isn't from skin oils, it's from wear. As you type you're wearing away the matte layer exposing the shiny plastic. The heavier you type, the sooner this will appear.

I think Apple still uses ABS plastic because the alternative (PBT - polybutylene terephthalate) doesn't allow for a clear keyboard light to shine through each key. At least this is the case in the mechanical keyboard world.

But yes, cleaning the keyboard regularly should at least help with any skin oils and or hand lotion that may cause even more harm to the plastic. I used a damp microfiber cloth once per week or so to wipe my Macs down entirely.

Also, for those saying that you wish you didn't have to shut down your Mac to wipe your keyboard, you don't have to. There is a cool little app named 'Keyboard Clean Tool' that will disable your keyboard as you clean it. It's free, works as intended - I've been using it for years.

Yes, there is an app. The problem is why do people need to install a third party app simply to clean the keyboard. Why can't Apple just have a toggle switch to turn off the boot on any key functionality. It would be a much better solution.

Yes, it is ABS plastic. Yes it is from wear. However there are plenty of other manufacturers like Microsoft who use black keys that have backlight that don't suffer from the same problem.

You would think with the focus on premium quality and build Apple has had for so many years that this issue that has been ongoing for many years would be resolved since it is not an industry wide problem but limited to Apple laptops.

 

[rovostrov]

My wife and I have identical 2013 rMBPs and we definitely have shine or worn spots on the keys. Cleaning does not remove those areas. But when we got them, around October of 2013 we weren't in the habit of cleaning the keys. I only began doing that some time later so those spots could have just worn in. I am now cleaning this new MBA frequently, I have the Midnight which as many others have noted is a fingerprint magnet, so maybe this will forestall those wear spots. But that damn touch any key boot up feature aggravates the hell out of me when I want to do this. Touching different keys while cleaning will also trigger various functions that I don’t want at the time.

Not sure about the 2013's. I used my 2012 daily for many years and the keys look just fine

 

[rpmurray]

Surprised no one makes skins for individual keys and not the whole ugly keyboard condom.

Keyshorts

 

[Technerd108]

Keyshorts

I wish I would have known about these when I bought my Mac. This is about the best solution I have seen. The clear stickers would work. My only concern is if they would peel off during cleaning?

The black ones with white lettering would be pretty hard to line up perfectly.

Still $20 plus shipping to solve Apple's problem and hope you install these before the issue starts to happen. At least this seems like it would be a good preventative measure that would mostly keep the feeling of the original keyboard.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Keyshorts

what a fantastic idea! Not just to preserve the keys but as a language option.

 

[MBAir2010]

Mike Stipe makes sure this MacBook all have shiny happy keys!

There's no time to butter-fly, happy, happy

 

[iamfredrik]

Please don’t use iKlear on your screens. I used it on my late 2013 mbp and got screen delamination and had to replace the screen.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Please don’t use iKlear on your screens. I used it on my late 2013 mbp and got screen delamination and had to replace the screen.

Not because of iKlear. Just search for the term "Staingate" and you'll see that for quite some years Apple issued a repair program for this very delamination issue. There was never an official recall but many units of that era were affected.

 

[iamfredrik]

Not because of iKlear. Just search for the term "Staingate" and you'll see that for quite some years Apple issued a repair program for this very delamination issue. There was never an official recall but many units of that era were affected.

Well I had no problems before using it which was much later than the Staingate repair program. Apple does not recommend using any screen cleaning solution on laptops. You should only use water and a piece of cloth.

 

[DMG35]

I’ll throw in another recommendation for keyshorts.

They are an incredible pain to install, and I mean it’s brutal. But once installed they look fantastic and they completely prevent the shiny keys issue from happening.

Just be prepared to pull all your hair out while trying to put them on all the keys. Its tricky and takes a LOT of time.

 

[papbot]

Well I had no problems before using it which was much later than the Staingate repair program. Apple does not recommend using any screen cleaning solution on laptops. You should only use water and a piece of cloth.

I’ve not really had to clean my laptop screens that often since they're not touch screens. But I have used iKlear over the years when needed and have never run into this. But as you mention most manufacturers recommend only using a damp cloth. I had a Sony tv years ago that I was cleaning with some solution, and it may well have been iKlear but I can’t remember for certain, and the anti-reflective coating did partially erode. So I definitely would only use a damp cloth on a tv. But I use iKlear on my iOS devices as well as my eyeglasses regularly with no problems. Thinking about it I may have used one of those lens cleaning solutions on that tv and not iKlear. Regardless on my tvs I will only use a damp cloth.

 

[Tagbert]

I clean my keyboard with a microfiber cloth after each use and I have had the laptop for about a little over 3 months and several keys and the space bar have shiny areas.

It is obviously not a huge deal but it looks ugly and the finish on the keys should stay normal for at least a year.

The keyboard is one of the main areas of interaction on the laptop. Why have a glass trackpad that doesn't show wear if your keyboard does in just a few months?

The shininess is not dirt or oil, it is what happens when friction polishes the surface of the keys. By rubbing them with a microfiber cloth you are further polishing them. Don’t do that so often.