m15 R2, chassis discoloration, orange

Question

Hi,

I have been using my Alienware m15 r2 4K OLED for two years. The warranty expired in April 2021. With time, I thought that would be cosmetic condition problem, but I am getting worried and I am curious. As seen on the photos below, no matter if screen chassis or hardware chassis, there are discoloration around the sides of chassis, one portion being pretty dense.

1. Is it completely cosmetic on the chassis material?

2. Or is it related to hardware or the overheating of the laptop (because yes it gets really hot on heavy gaming)?

3. And most importantly can I clear it off and get rid of these orange colors with any cleaning material?

Any help is highly appreciated, thanks.

A51-06 · Accepted Answer

Yes this was a common issue on those models before they fixed it with a new coating for the laptops paint that came after yours.

ejn63 · Answer

Best guess would be that the paint is reacting with whatever adhesive layer is below it -- the only sure fix is to strip the paint and repaint the entire system (it's unlikely repairing just small areas will result in a satisfactory finish).

It's most evident on the corners and creases where the paint layer is probably thinner than on the rest of the notebook, but heat could easily be a factor.

Arestheos · Answer

I too thought of heat could be the cause, however I really can't quite agree with this one. Because heating doesn't happen on screen chassis at all, yet most evident orange is there. If the heat was issue, entire above the keyboard would get dark orange. Right? I think there is else cause and a hidden solution with some kind of cleaning material. Might be I am being hopeful though.

ejn63 · Answer

Any chance this system has seen the inside of a carrying bag with an orange or red lining or orange or red stitching on it?

Arestheos · Answer

Hi, the bags I've used never had any orange or red lining/stitching anywhere of them. I am really curious what would be the cause.

ejn63 · Answer

Whatever it is, you have two repair options:  replace the affected parts, or have the entire system stripped of paint and then have it repainted.

Arestheos · Answer

Thank you, I will be contacting with local Dell service. Meantime, I can wait for experiences and knowledge of users sharing.

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m15 R2, chassis discoloration, orange

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