Scratches On New iMac.

Question

I have a new 24" iMac which has some scratches on the white plastic frame around the iSight camera lens. These were inflicted by me quite accidentally.
They're not too bad, but is there a way that I can remove these scratches?
Is the surround on the new iMac the same material as an iPod?

Answer 1

Hello,
I've had two iMacs, and I can tell you that the white plastic will scratch extremely easy.
There are various "scratch removers", but they work by just buffing the surface and essentially scratching the surface with smaller scratches to polish it and remove the more obvious scratches.
So, yes, you can use one of the buffing products, but understand that you are just replacing larger scratches with finer less visible scratches.
The only way to remove such a scratch is to either fill it (which the products do not do), or use an abrasive to wear the surface down slightly and therefore remove the scratch (which is how the commercial products work).
As for comparing the surface to the iPod, yes it is very similar. So, any iPod type product should work similarly on the iMac.
But, you should be aware that the machine will receive a new scratch (however minor) every time you touch it. If you were to tilt your machine to the light, you'd be surprised how many minor scratches there probably are just from the little bit of handling you did setting it up.
I found that there were a lot of minor scratches (visible only in certain lighting angles) that were on both of my machines just from setting it on the table. Touching it with your fingers is enough to cause permanent marking on the case. And, laying it flat on a soft cloth is also likely to scratch it (like you would if you were adding memory).
It's just the design of the machine. So, if you're going to start here, the question is whether you want to polish and scratch at it's surface every time you handle the computer.
I hope this helps.