Worn clamshell iBook touchpad

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Worn clamshell iBook touchpad

Hi,

I've recently gotten an old G3 clamshell iBook. But the touchpad is so worn it's just about impossible to use, my finger literaly sticks to it! The only way I've gotten around this is by putting masking tape over it, which isn't really practical. I'm considering sanding it with a very fine sand paper, but I don't want to compelely break it.

So, does anyone have any sugestions for how I can sort it?

Thanks,

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Re: Worn clamshell iBook touchpad

Hi!
I am owning a tangerine clamshell iBook myself - from new (early 2000) to present.

My trackpad is now well worn, but it still looks rather polished than "sticky". The plastic is now so thin that (if you look from certain angles) you see a sort of grid appearing. This seems to be embedded in the plastic (probably the active electric that detects where you are with your finger).

So I would warn you from using any sort of sandpaper since the chance to destroy this grid is very high. I recommend a mild polishing gel for plastics, which is not very abrasive. However I do not know what sort of plastic the pad is made from. This could be important for selecting the right gel. Try it first at a very small area (on a corner, protect the rest of the surface with tape) and look if it does any harm. It must not be solvent the surface!

Enjoy your iBook!
Theo

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If you sand it, not only will

If you sand it, not only will it not help, it will also likely destroy your trackpad. What I'd recommend is to either take a piece of packaging tape and cut it to fit, or for a better looking fix, take apart the palmrest, peel off what's left of the original grey cover, which will reveal a grid matrix as Theo described above. Cover the grid with the same packaging tape and you'll be good to go.

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Wipe it off...

I bought a powerbook 1400 this way, it felt like the trackpad had some kind of soda pop/sticky substance spilled on it and let dry. i just took a slightly damp washcloth(while it was off with the batery out of course) and scrubed the trackpad down really good, now it works fine and just feels like normal plastic, but YMMV

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Thanks for the replies. I thi

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm gonna take it apart to have a look at it and then find something to replace it. Or try fixing the old plastic.

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Vinyl

You can use my favourite thing, STICKY VINYL!!!! I didnt like the look of the gray on my 5300's trackpad, so i peeled off the black to be left with a green grid covered in sticky glue. After hours of scratching, it finally came off. I went down to the cellar (basement to all you americans!) and brought up some silver sticky vinyl. I cut it to size, stuck it on, now it looks great and actually feels better than the original trackpad. I think it would be worth a try on your iBook. I can send you some vinyl if you dont have any. FREE!

Oliver

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Postage

Whats a pound postage to the us between applefritterans!

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Vinyl

Wow, thanks Oliver! Sent you a PM.

Once I've tried the vinyl I'll let everyone know how it went and post some pics.

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vinyl

that sounds nice. and for anyone waiting for macskinz to bring back the ibook covers (6 MONTHS AND STILL NOTHING) you can use a large sheet of this to cover your computer. i will wiht my ibook since i like the look of carbon fiber vinyl and i learned firsthand that goof off and polycarbonate dont mix too well. i have a powerbook wallstreet from 1998 that is still in wonderfil condition and with veery little wear. i think thats because it spent half of its life in storage. but the batteeries have a problem. i brought them back from the dead with days of charging and they work, but the powerbook refuses to boot from them. any ideas?

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