MacBook Air MIDNIGHT has a PROBLEM!

Описание: Midnight is the best colour. Don't buy it.

I've talked about it before and people keep asking, so why is everyone so afraid of scratching the MacBook Air in Midnight, and is it justified?
In this video we'll talk about everything from the anodising process, how the colour is added and how the design of the device makes a huge difference with this, vs Apple's other devices in the colour, as well as what you can do to mitigate the problem. So let's get geeky.

In this video we'll cover:
How Apple's aluminium products are made
What is Anodising
How Apple's design affects durability of finishes
Specifics about the MacBook Air Design
Why Midnight is problematic
How to mitigate the issue

Links:
Anodising visuals and deeper information:
   • What is Aluminium Anodizing and How Does I...  
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Apple have talked in depth in the past about how their Unibody MacBooks are made - and in case you're unaware, Apple's Unibody process is how MacBook shells bodies are milled from a block of Aluminium, rather than making layers like most PC makers which are thinner and don't produce such a rigid result.

Apple machines the parts using huge numbers of CNC or Computer Numerically Controlled mills, cutting the holes for every key on the keyboard, mounting points for the logic boards, ports for your USB-C and MagSafe connections. CNC means that these can be milled to very exacting tolerances which contributes to the quality finish you see on Macs.

Once those parts are machined, they will have visible marks from the tooling, so the next step is to bead blast the surface, basically firing very fine beads at the surface - more or less sand size, at high velocity to give the iconic finish which diffuses light that hits the surface and gives the matte finish.

Then, we can anodise the part - this is the process which gives the finish, whether adding a colour or not.

Sulphuric acid electrolyte is the liquid while passing an electric current through the liquid. Oxygen atoms are released from the electrolyte which combine with the aluminium forming an aluminium oxide coating - or what is essentially Aluminium rust.

The process can consist of up to 5 steps, cleaning, etching, anodising, colouring and sealing.

That cleaning step removes any grease or oils left over from the extrusion and machining processes in a bath of a strong alkali or acid liquid.

Etching uses an acid bath to remove any surface imperfections, and then the material is rinsed for anodising.

In the anodising tank, the anodic coating is created, as the electrical current is passed through the sulphuric acid bath. This can create enough heat that the acid bath itself has to be refrigerated. The immersion time is carefully monitored so the thickness of the finish is controlled. The parts are then rinsed with de-ionised water to ensure a uniform finish.

Now the interesting part - colour. The Anodic coating has a porous surface, which can be dyed to the desired colour with the dyes leaching into the surface.

This is then sealed with Nickel acetate which closes the pores and provides a durable surface.

So anodising provides a very durable finish on aluminium devices. So what's the problem? Durability, like everything else is relative, and there are differences between how different anodised will show their wear.

I'm sure this will become MidnightGate or ScratchGate or WearGate at some point for Apple, but this is no different from the finish on basically everything Apple has made in the past. Where the issue comes is the delta between the colour of the finish and the colour of the metal below.

I think there's a good reason that for many years, Apple's aluminium devices were Silver, and only silver. To keep them looking as new as possible. For example, here's a 2011 MacBook Air that I used as a full time system until at least 2018, when my wife started using it as hers. Anything beyond a close examination and this looks pretty new, because any scratches, even deeper gouges, just reveal the same silver that the surface finish is.

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