Chosen Solution
I tipped a burning candle over onto my 4 month old macbook air. I immediately wiped off the majority of the wax and stuck the computer in the fridge. I took the computer to the apple store and they quoted me upwards of $755 for repair. They claim the wax seeped under the keyboard. I have a hard time believing this because the laptop worked perfectly. The major issue was that the keys were all stuck. In particular, the ‘shift’ key was stuck down forcing the computer to boot in ‘safe mode.’ I am wondering 1) how I can check to see if the wax is ACTUALLY in the computer and not just on the keys and 2) how I can get this repaired for less expensive. I am a law student, living on student loans, I really REALLY need this to be less expensive. e.g. I found a refurbished keyboard/top case for about $69. Could I replace that myself (or have a tech savvy friend replace it)?
Today I will answer this in the form of a movie. The Good - Candle Wax is has extremely low conductivity so the probability of you damaging essential electronic components is very low to no chance. The Bad - Make absolutely sure you are getting the right part before you order it. The last thing you want is to buy the part only to find it does not fit. I recommend taking it apart and making sure everything matches before ordering. The Ugly - Your tech savvy friend better be pretty good because this is a difficult system to get in and out of. Additionally if candle wax did get onto the motherboard (which I doubt it did), then he should not use any metal tools, excessive force, or a lighter to clean it off. The End - There is an excellent guide on how to get to the upper case provided by the iFixIt staff and I have the link right here.
The extra ugly - you should drop out of law school now. There are very few jobs and I’m shocked that you decided to go to law school in 2014. There are tens of thousands of unemployed and underemployed law school graduates. Why are you joining their ranks? Even if you have a job, it likely won’t last long so you’re only delaying the inevitable. This candle wax is doing you a favor. It’s the universe telling you not to commit financial suicide by going to law school.
