Cleaning your MacBook screen: our workshop method

Cleaning a MacBook screen is a quick job in itself. Yet in our workshop we regularly see screens that have turned dull or show faint streaks, simply because the wrong cloth or the wrong spray bottle was used on them. The anti-reflective coating on a MacBook screen is more fragile than most people think, and once damaged, it doesn't come back.

Because of that, we clean every screen that leaves our workshop the same way, with the same product. We're happy to share that method here.

How we clean screens in the workshop

We use Falcon 530. The key principle: the spray never goes directly onto the screen, but always onto the cloth first. Use a cloth that's as clean as possible, ideally a new microfibre cloth. A cloth that's already been used several times often contains dust particles or grease, which you'd then just smear across the screen.

Falcon 530 evaporates very quickly, so it doesn't leave streaks the way an ordinary glass cleaner does. We also sell it in our shops: a bottle costs €15 and lasts two to three years with normal use.

What you should avoid using

Glassex and other ammonia-based cleaners, acetone, and abrasive products attack the anti-reflective coating. You usually don't notice right away: only after a few cleaning sessions do stains or a haze appear that won't go away. Paper towel is another common mistake. It feels soft, but the fibres are coarse enough to leave fine scratches in the coating. Always use microfibre.

Spraying directly onto the screen isn't a good idea either, even though it seems like the fastest way. The liquid runs along the edge and inward, toward the gap between the screen and the housing, or even toward the keyboard, and that's not where you want moisture.

There's a lot of confusion about alcohol. Apple allows 70% isopropyl alcohol to disinfect a screen, but only gently, without rubbing hard over the coating. In the workshop, we prefer Falcon 530 ourselves, because it evaporates quickly and leaves no residue.

Stains that won't go away: the coating problem

Over time, some MacBook screens develop dull or dark stains, often in the corners or along the edges, that can't be wiped away. This is known as staingate: on a number of MacBook generations, the anti-reflective coating lifts, sometimes from ordinary wear, sometimes accelerated by the wrong cleaning products. Wiping doesn't help here. The stain sits in the coating itself, and the harder you rub, the greater the chance the damage spreads.

In the workshop, we can remove the damaged coating completely, so the screen looks like new again. Whether that's possible for your screen, we can tell after a quick check. If you're dealing with vertical lines rather than stains, the cause usually lies elsewhere; you can read more about that in our article on streaks on your MacBook screen. If you're not sure whether it's the coating or damage to the panel itself, take a look at screen repair by model.

Don't forget the inside

A screen that looks clear again tells you nothing about what's happening on the inside. After a few years, a MacBook's fans and cooling system fill up with dust, which makes the device run hot and respond more slowly, especially with heavier tasks.

With our internal cleaning, we open the device and remove the dust with small brushes, right into the smallest corners of the cooling system. On request, we also replace the thermal paste. We recommend that: a MacBook with fresh paste stays noticeably cooler and quieter. You can read more about that in our internal cleaning.

Frequently asked questions