realise this may be an old topic - but regarding cleaning a white/black MB or an older iBook.

I have found that the humble Brasso will take the scratches out of and polish Perspex.

whilst I realise the composite used in Apple products is different from perspex, I nevertheless had a go on the scratches on my MB (tried the bottom first) and hey presto - it worked.
next I tried the wrist rests and that was fine too - no detrimental effects.
next I did the standard damp soft cloth all over then the old soft nappy buffer- and now I have a like-a-new MB..

*Caution* - do not try this at home on yours unless you are happy with a small test area on the underside where it don't matter.
& please don't blame me if it don't work for you.

****& under NO circumstances go anywhere near your lcd screen*** - that's for damp lint free cloth and soft-as buffer cloth.

Mate i did the same last year on a powerbook - it worked great

I used this trick when I purchased a second hand iBook from Macquarie Technology Services on ebay for my younger sister. The iBook was in pretty good nick, and with the help of Brasso, it looked almost new.

Now if only I could find something to get the Superglue off her screen that she somehow managed to get on it just after I gave it to her....

where can i get brasso from and how much does it cost?

EDIT - found REALLY old bottle of it in my cupboard

Either your local supermarket or hardware store - probably around $5-7 a bottle - which lasts forever!

Nail polish remover gets rid of super glue, but I don't know that I'd want to try nail polish remover on an LCD screen!

If you're game to try it, make sure that you let us know the results!!!

Cheers,
Andrew

how long should i be hammering at it with this brasso stuff?

doesnt seem to make it look much better than mother's plastic polish did...still inherent marks and whatnot in the top surface.

Brasso is one of those things that requires multiple applications to see some decent results. Having polished brass with it for many an hour (thanks to the military) you have to be patient. Just make sure you don't get too much of in the laptop joins, as it is a pain to clean out.

Last night I did the same on my iPod - thin smear of Brasso on the chrome back and front plastic, slowly buffed this off. Then, I smeared a thin layer of Maguiar's "PlastX", designed for cleaning plastic on cars. This brings back it's shine, and makes the iPod look like new.

JB