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macmesser

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 13, 2012
921
198
Long Island, NY USA
While some will be spending quality time with their cars this holiday I will be detailing my 2009 Mac Pro. I have already purchased some of my supplies: a patriotic mouse pad, a little pine tree shaped scented card to hang inside and, along with a can of canned air, a can of carnuba wax.

Noticed that my Mac Pro is getting a bit dirty. Might have come that way because I bought it used. When I rubbed part of the case with a little isopropyl alcohol quite a bit of grime came off. Just wondering what people use to clean dirty cases. I don't want to use anything that may be too harsh and might oxidize or otherwise discolor the finish. Suggestions? Alcohol, Fantastic, Mr. Clean, Windex?

Also, my machine has some dings on the outsides of the handles where it apparently was secured to a desk. These mounting points are scratched and rough; the finish has been scraped off. I'm planning to smooth the areas with a little emory paper and use some Testor's flat silver model enamel to touch up. Will have to be careful not to let any aluminum filings or dust get inside the case. Sound like a plan?
 
While some will be spending quality time with their cars this holiday I will be detailing my 2009 Mac Pro. I have already purchased some of my supplies: a patriotic mouse pad, a little pine tree shaped scented card to hang inside and, along with a can of canned air, a can of carnuba wax.

Noticed that my Mac Pro is getting a bit dirty. Might have come that way because I bought it used. When I rubbed part of the case with a little isopropyl alcohol quite a bit of grime came off. Just wondering what people use to clean dirty cases. I don't want to use anything that may be too harsh and might oxidize or otherwise discolor the finish. Suggestions? Alcohol, Fantastic, Mr. Clean, Windex?

Also, my machine has some dings on the outsides of the handles where it apparently was secured to a desk. These mounting points are scratched and rough; the finish has been scraped off. I'm planning to smooth the areas with a little emory paper and use some Testor's flat silver model enamel to touch up. Will have to be careful not to let any aluminum filings or dust get inside the case. Sound like a plan?


I'm not sure if your trolling about the air fresher or not


but I recomend scent of mailman :p
 
For the case I use about 2 to 5% bleach in hot water with a little dish-soap. Then hot water alone, then 40/60 alcohol/water for the final rub.
 
Best of both worlds - I've already stocked up on Armor-All Extreme Tire Shine in anticipation of detailing the new Mac Pro when it comes out later this year :D
 

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For the case I use about 2 to 5% bleach in hot water with a little dish-soap. Then hot water alone, then 40/60 alcohol/water for the final rub.

Sounds a little bit like Meguiar's 3 step! :)

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While some will be spending quality time with their cars this holiday I will be detailing my 2009 Mac Pro. I have already purchased some of my supplies: a patriotic mouse pad, a little pine tree shaped scented card to hang inside and, along with a can of canned air, a can of carnuba wax.

Noticed that my Mac Pro is getting a bit dirty. Might have come that way because I bought it used. When I rubbed part of the case with a little isopropyl alcohol quite a bit of grime came off. Just wondering what people use to clean dirty cases. I don't want to use anything that may be too harsh and might oxidize or otherwise discolor the finish. Suggestions? Alcohol, Fantastic, Mr. Clean, Windex?

Also, my machine has some dings on the outsides of the handles where it apparently was secured to a desk. These mounting points are scratched and rough; the finish has been scraped off. I'm planning to smooth the areas with a little emory paper and use some Testor's flat silver model enamel to touch up. Will have to be careful not to let any aluminum filings or dust get inside the case. Sound like a plan?

Seriously though, I recently cleaned someone's G5 case and used Clorox Green Works on it. Worked just fine.
 
I use aluminum cleaner on my aluminum mac cases and most of the other aluminum products that I clean. The good kind smells like toxic fumes and peppermint.
 
Magic Eraser

I use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (or its generic equivalent) and my Macs come up looking like new. My old iLamp iMac and white MacBook were transformed! My G5 tower went from dingy to semi-gloss new. (Wasn't sure how to describe the finish - it wasn't changed just cleaned). If you're worried about the effect on the finish then pop one of the covers and use it on the inside or lay tower on side and clean the bottom. I've never noticed any problem on the 6 different Macs I've used them on.
 
I use metho (methylated spirits). I'm not sure whether that's called something else in other places. It's a pretty weak solvent (works well for interior things like computers, no point for car parts - at least, not parts from a 40 year old VW's oily engine bay).
 
Well, I took my MP down to the local fire station and had it battle it out with one of their high powered hoses. And what a battle it was but too much water wasted like that. Next time I will just strap it to the top of the SUV and drive through the car wash!:D
Has anyone seen a power supply laying around?
 

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Obviously my MP is in the stage of having just been cleaned or about to be cleaned. What's that saying? "Surely the humor does elude you"
Get a seat closer to the stage next time you come to the show!:D

I guess I might need a closer seat because I missed anything that was humorous.
 
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