# Help! A fool put mounting tape on my ibook display! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784 "2010-02-12T21:59:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/21 "2010-02-14T19:00:39Z")
I have no useful information, but I want to know the story of why he thought this was a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/22 "2010-02-14T19:10:07Z")
I too am dyin’ to know why he did this. Sorry about the asking after you warned us not to, but it’s just… I’m dyin’ here. And unless the fool is, like, your kid or something, what the heck was he doing messing with your ibook anyway? [QUOTE=The Fantasticks] Why did the kids pour jam on the cat? Raspberry jam all over the cat? [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/23 "2010-02-14T21:28:25Z")
Wouldn’t something oily be safer? Goo Gone and antiglare surfaces are a combination that makes me uneasy. Olive or mineral oil on a cotton ball or swab to get the adhesive off, then a mild cleaner to get the oil off sounds less likely to do permanent damage to me. Definitely what I’d do to a coated lens. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/24 "2010-02-14T21:33:50Z")
This might be a good time to introduce your “fool” to the concept of small claims court. You get a brand new ibook and he gets a lesson in why he shouldn’t do things like this. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/25 "2010-02-14T21:46:15Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Extract the price of an iBook from teh butthead. > [@conurepete](#): > > I have no useful information, but I want to know the story of why he thought this was a good idea. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > This might be a good time to introduce your “fool” to the concept of small claims court. You get a brand new ibook and he gets a lesson in why he shouldn’t do things like this. Yep. He can pay up, or get dragged to court, or have Tony pay him a visit. There is no excuse for this, and let him know that from now on, he needs to keep his grubby little paws off of your belongings. You need to get your iBook REPLACED by him, not repaired. He can have the old one as a souvenir and reminder. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/26 "2010-02-15T01:13:50Z")
**Stoid** ’s OP makes me think the tape itself is still there, not just adhesive. Will the Goo Gone still work for that case? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/27 "2010-02-15T01:23:41Z")
I don’t know if ibooks can handle extreme cold but some adhesives will be loosened by freezing. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/28 "2010-02-15T01:41:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Yep. He can pay up, or get dragged to court, or have Tony pay him a visit. There is no excuse for this, and let him know that from now on, he needs to keep his grubby little paws off of your belongings. You need to get your iBook REPLACED by him, not repaired. He can have the old one as a souvenir and reminder. Seriously? The mounting tape will do cosmetic damages, at worst, unless I am seriously mixed up here. He hasn’t actually broken it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/29 "2010-02-15T01:45:23Z")
What about bringing the computer to an Apple Store and asking someone at the Genius Bar for advice? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/30 "2010-02-15T01:55:34Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Seriously? The mounting tape will do cosmetic damages, at worst, unless I am seriously mixed up here. He hasn’t actually broken it. He put tape on the part you look at. If the tape can’t be taken off, he damaged the display. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/31 "2010-02-17T17:33:17Z")
Bump. How’d it work out? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/32 "2010-02-17T18:02:01Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What about bringing the computer to an Apple Store and asking someone at the Genius Bar for advice? I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a joke, but I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/33 "2010-02-17T20:13:28Z")
There are two types of “Goo-Gone”, citrus based, and naptha based, naptha based goo gone is the one you want, it’s also known as “deglazing solvent” and was commonly used to remove printers ink off offset printing presses. It’s nasty, evil smelling stuff, highly volatile, but it shouldn’t affect the display, and iBooks have the standard polymer coated LCD display I did a test a while ago on a dead PowerBook G4 display that was bad (vertical lines in display), I wrote on it with a sharpie permanent marker and let it dry, then used the goo-gone, it removed the permanent marker ink in seconds and did not affect the screen at all I’d take the naptha goo-gone, put one to two drops on the tape, let it soak in for a bit, maybe a half hour or so, then try to remove the tape, it should come off with no residue and no damage to the screen I’d also like to know why this idiot did this… ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/34 "2010-02-18T06:13:38Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Seriously? The mounting tape will do cosmetic damages, at worst, unless I am seriously mixed up here. He hasn’t actually broken it. Even cosmetic damage will lower the resale value (if any) of her computer. And the point is, he had no right to mess with her computer in any way. He needs to learn this. Usually, the best way for fools like this to learn things is to hit them where they’ll feel it the most. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/35 "2010-02-18T14:18:13Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Seriously? The mounting tape will do cosmetic damages, at worst, unless I am seriously mixed up here. He hasn’t actually broken it. Well, it’s quite possible the display will never be right again - even if the OP is VERY careful when removing the tape, it may mess things up. This is assuming it’s on the LCD screen. A whole new computer? overkill. A replacement display? ABSOLUTELY. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/36 "2010-02-18T14:54:00Z")
The thing is Stoid has never come back to this thread and said if the tape came off without damage or not. A new unit when it actually was removable without damage when tried would be overkill, and cost you money to take to court and get a judgment. There is no opposition raised by anyone to the thought the guy was a jerk and idiot, just to the practical solution to the problem Stoid now has. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/37 "2010-02-18T20:51:45Z")
**Stoid** , come back! We want to know what the idiot thought he was going to accomplish by doing such a stupid thing. And how things turned out. Please, the suspense is killing me! ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/38 "2010-02-20T03:56:34Z")
Hi all… here’s the update: 1. He’s my roommate, soon to be gone. 2. He has a deposit with me. 3. He had just given his notice a few days before. 4. He works as an art director on music videos. 5. I was in his room, with his knowledge beforehand, and decided I’d just take back the computer, which I"d asked him to return so I could work on it abotu 10 days earlier and he’d never answered. I opened it up, saw the tape, and my jaw fell open. I emailed him when I found it as follows (he’s always out, email is easiest) > [@](#): > > Subject line:What the hell??? > > What the hell did you do to the G4 ibook??? And more importantly…WHY??? > > What the hell were you thinking??? He came home around 6. I heard him enter through the back, which is where he enters normally. About 10 minutes later he slammed out, got in his truck and peeled out in a way I’d never heard. Obviously angry. I checked my email abotu 4 hours later, and saw email from him that had arrived at 6:05: > [@](#): > > i had it on set and it got used on screen . > just take it out of my deposit. im taking off at the end of the month. > im over it. Oh. 48 hours later I got this email: > [@](#): > > Subject: receipt > > please slide a receipt for the rent > i paid you the 9th under the door. > > also, i need pics of that screen for > the insurance claim I had processed > through production. email them to me.. I wrote a receipt and slipped it under the door with this note: > [@](#): > > Dear \: > > I have to find the cable for my camera… I’m glad, because I’ve need to for awhile, now I have a compelling immediate reason. I’ll email a picture when I have it. > > By the way, if you ever (and you surely will, being in the business you are in and having to get creative) need to stick something to something else like that, there are a few options, but the easiest is probably the Glue Dots I’ve included in the envelope. They are very effective, but they come off a whole lot easier than mounting tape. (I think there’s a more permanent version as well, make sure you get the removable kind.) > > I offer that information sincerely, not snidely, by the way. Everyone makes mistakes, I just wish you’d told me instead of my finding it like that. Ya gotta admit… it’s an awfully strange thing for someone to do. > > (I’m still confused and curious about what was done… did you put a photograph on the screen so it looked like it was on? I know computer and TV screens don’t come across on camera for some reason.) > > Please let me know as soon as possible if your friend is actually interested in the place, because I’ll give him preference. But for now I’m assuming he’s not and I’m being as aggressive as possible about getting someone else in. Please also let me know as soon as you know exactly when you will be moving so I will have that information for any prospective tenants. > > You’ve been a very nice guy, I’m sorry we had such miscommunication. I hope you are wildly successful and happy. (And cautious… as you’ve already learned, Hollywood has a lot of assholes. Protect yourself.) I think you will be. > Thanks, > > H (my initial) That was last Saturday. He hasn’t spoken a word or written anything since. I was out back in the garage doing laundry the other day when he came in the gate and he was inside his door almost instantly. He’s also apparently moved his girlfriend in, but he’s given notice, so… And that’s the status. Every time I start to pick at the tape I am reminded that it isn’t coming off easily. I stop, set it aside, and do something else. And that’s the latest. I am consistently surprised that people can become adults (he’s 30) and fail to learn that copping to one’s errors is a far less unpleasant than not doing so. If he’d come home the day it happened, brought it to me, explained and said he was sorry… it would have been nothing. People screw up - take responsibility. Instead, he’s busy avoiding me, he’s ashamed of himself for fucking it up, for not telling me, for being shitty to me when I busted him on it… how ridiculous. Sigh… ---
**Author:** ![Remarkable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Remarkable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remarkable)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/39 "2010-02-20T04:18:06Z")
So, he’s letting you take the cost of a new ibook., or screen/replacement? Does his friend have access to mounting tape? That would be my first interviewing question… Either way, with the immediate situation of himself and girl looking like they’re departing soon, and action on the ibook, it’s looking up. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784/40 "2010-02-20T13:31:03Z")
The best explanation for the problem has come to light now. A roommate problem is the root cause of so many nasty problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-fool-put-mounting-tape-on-my-ibook-display/528784.md?page=3)