Z60m titanium cover PROBLEM !!!!!!!!!!

[empiref]

My name is Johnny and I live in Lebanon.

Maybe someone here can help me decide what to do.

I got a Lenovo Z60m with a titanium cover a few months ago. I was very happy with the finish of the cover.one day I discovered that it had developed a "mark" near the middle...
about the size of a thumb, it looked the same as the rest of the cover, but this part was shiny, while the cover was matte (imagine breathing on a window and then drawing on it with your finger: that's more or less how the stain (looked).

It was on the exact place where the strap of my laptop bag made contact with the cover, so I thought it had somehow "polished" that spot by rubbing against it. I tried to remove the mark, tried a pencil eraser, later I tried a wet cloth and soap. Nothing changed. Then, I tried a cloth with alcohol, and the edges of the mark faded, so I kept on scrubbing. The scrubbed zones looked shiny, and the rest was still matte. I kept on scrubbing with alcohol until the whole
cover was completely shiny.

It turned out I had removed some kind of transparent coating that covered the titanium; the laptop bag strap rubbed off the coating on a spot, and the alcohol dissolved the rest. "Nice", I thought, "the mark is gone". But that coating was there for a reason: it prevented smudges from showing on the surface of the metal. When cleaned, it looks awesome, but if any part of skin (finger, arm, wrist, anything) touches the metal, it'll leave a really ugly greasy mark, which will stay there until wiped off again with a wet cloth I can't describe how annoying the effect is; the smudges stand out a lot, it looks as if the lid was covered in oil.

now I have my Z60m top covered with a dark solar window film, the same material they use to get the car windows tinted...it's preventing the smudges, but it's looks ugly.

my Z60m has a 3 year international warranty on it, I emailed IBM, they never got back to me, can someone please advise me on what to do, and if the warranty covers such issues.

Thank you all in advance.

[christopher_wolf]

Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums

I think your best bet would be to call IBM/Lenovo and tell them about what happened. The worst case is that they could just say no, but I don't think that is very likely. As for what this falls under for the warranty, I don't know. You could say it was normal, everyday use that did it and you would like a new lid.

[sliston32]

You could try something like an acetate/plastic spray like the kind art suppliers sell as a temporary solution (should look nicer anyway) but prob best to do as Chris says in the longer term………
Sean

[GomJabbar]

If it turns out that you can't get help from IBM/Lenovo, and you don't want to replace the Titanium cover just yet. I have one idea that may work. Cover the keyboard and base completely with a non-absorbant material, such as aluminum foil. Get some low-stick masking tape such as painters use (in other words, tape that can be easily removed without leaving a residue).

Now get some clear acrylic lacquer in a spray can. Test spraying the lacquer on some of the low-stick masking tape applied to a mirror or piece of glass away from the ThinkPad to make sure the lacquer and it's solvents do not dissolve the tape or bleed through. Peel the tape off of the mirror or glass after the lacquer is dry to verify that it comes off without a problem.

If the above test went fine, carefully tape up the LCD panel to protect it, then lightly apply coats of acrylic lacquer to the Titanium cover, keeping the spray can a good distance away to avoid puddling and running. Follow the directions on the can and take your time.

[sapibobo]

This post had enlighten me on something. I have that mark too in the titanium lid. I thought it was a scratch.

The mark is so tiny, almost half milimeter square. It is invisible if you not really pay attention. It located in the edge of the lid, a little bit in the middle at the front panel.
If you tried to open thinkpad with your face perpendicular with the front side (where the opening switch reside) you can see the mark at the begininning of titanium cover (the titanium actually cover the whole lid area with a bit downward extension to the front panel).

If you see from above the whole titanum cover is evenly coated with the layer, producing a bit brown gold color.

I think the mark is where the coated actually ends (or begin? i am not sure). Somehow they cannot evenly coated the cover because it is not a completely flat surface - it has downward extension at the edge.

[f1reverb]

You've taken the clear-coat off the finish. If you get a new cover, someone wants to protect their unblemished cover for the future or wants to keep a potential rubbing mark away, get some sheets of clear LCD protectors for cells or PDAs and put that in the right spot after cutting to the size you need. You'll protect the finish and be able to remove it with no damage in the future.

[truthiness]

isn't this a repeat thread? I thought I read this months ago?

deja vu, perhaps...

[LasseFJ]

Did anyone ever solve the problem? I'm having it too...

[sparta.rising]

Just completely remove the coat with alcohol and apply a high quality spray clear coat. I suggest removing the back cover from the laptop instead of just taping off parts.