Very deep scratch on top of Surface Pro 2/paint chipping very easily

[Celantal]

I've had my Surface Pro 2 since April 15th, 2014. The other day, I noticed that there is a very deep scratch on the top left corner of the unit (so deep that the scratch itself is white/went past the paint and down to the metal). I haven't done anything to neglect the unit; I keep it in a storage bag specifically designed for the Surface Pro 2 whenever it is not in use. I have a theory that the zipper may have caught it one day as I was zipping the bag up, but I'm not entirely sure.

I've also noticed that the unit is chipping paint and being worn away at very easily; The area where the type cover connects in particular is losing quite a bit of its paint, and there is a silver ring around the area where the charger connects (I did order a case for it from Macmall, but they waited over a week to tell me that they had discovered the case was now on backorder).


I have a $150+ warranty on my Surface Pro 2 from Best Buy.


My question is, is there any way to repair the deep scratch that goes down to the metal? It is around 3/4" long. Should I utilize the warranty? It just seems like this thing is getting damaged far too easily. Any help is appreciated.

 

[GoodBytes]

A full body repaint is the only way to remove the scratch without any traces.

It is normal that the device can scratch, as it is painted metal. This is a common issue for all painted body devices. Aluminum can be dyed (unless the manufacture is cheap), but not magnesium (well, at least I have never saw or heard about it, so I would assume you can't or the results aren't good). It sucks, but on every laptop forum I visited where the laptop is magnesium or painted metal, it's the same story. Paper will scratch the paint. I know form my previous laptop and work systems.

As for the chipping, I think you had bad paint done. This is nothing new. I hear this many times with other painted devices, I am not sure what is going on. But my guess is that Chinese manufacture are cheap and switch to inferior paint, or dilute it in some way, which results in bad batch that passes quality control, but not time.

I wish what the Pro 3 would use aluminum, hopefully a smaller battery could be used to allow a heavier metal to be used (aluminum), so that they can dye it, and be more scratch resistance (can still get scratch and show metal if its deep scratch, but light scratch won't show or stand out).

Now, I don't know if BestBuy (or Microsoft extended warranty) will cover paint chipping. Many manufactures (Dell, Lenovo and HP) sees it as "cosmetic", so to bad for you, not covered.
So you'll have to try. You may need to push hard BestBuy for a replacement unit.

 

[al2fast]

I'd personally hold out on the replacement unless they will do it for free. I know the Microsoft complete you could get it replaced for $50, but you can only do that twice. I guess if it bugs you that much, go for it. Mine has a few tiny chips by the area where you can get your finger in to pop out the kickstand. I put a vinyl skin on to offer additional protection. Maybe you could look into one of those to cover up that scratch.

 

[javispedro]

It seems that virtually every other SFPro2 unit has "paint" problems so I wouldn't really bother with replacements unless it really matters you.
E.g. see
http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/microsoft-surface-pro-2/8754-about-scratches-warranties.html