my Sym key (the blue arrow) is loosing it's "blue". I was surprised when that happened because i had a N73 before and used to text heavily - 3 years using it until N900 and the keyboard isn't as bad as the N900 is right now.

The L key has a little brightening dot too, and the space key looks a bit bad too.

It's Matte and i'll check later where it was built, i ordered it from Portugal (i'm interested in US keyboard layout, does someone knows where to find good-quality ones? Because Portuguese layout sucks a bit bad on the arrows :| Have to use Sym to use arrow up and down!)

Same here. See photo.
Sometimes it looks like it's peeling from below.

Cut your Nails Before you press the Keys People

mine's wearing off too. do yourself a favour and buy a spare keypad. they don't cost much. mine started wearing off after about 3 or 4 months of ownership. i now have this issue on a, s, shift, c, d, e. i am keeping the spare keypad until this one gets unbearable.

It may not apply to the N900 but this was a common problem with the N810. The sliding mechanism would rub against the keys and scratch them, particularly the space bar. Both of mine have it and many of the photos I've seen of heavily used N810s display the marking. http://www.mail-archive.com/maemo-us.../msg11717.html various posts and photos on this forum confirm but I can't find them ATM

Are you sure there's not a piece of sand or something stuck inside causing the abrasion on the keys?

This is kind of scary... it should not be happening on a flagship device.

Is not nor ever was a flagship device.
for flagship device, read N97.

The first thing that happened when I got my N900 last December (build code 48/2010) was the blue coating on the Shift key departed for points unknown. I've noticed some of the other keys are beginning to display signs of use.

After the warranty expires I'm picking up a couple of new keypads for back up. I'm considering applying, pre-installation, a layer of automotive clearcoat to protect the finish on the keys. I will not know until I try it if the clearcoat will have the flexibility required. My big fear is that the clearcoat will adhere to the printing on the keys better than the printing on the keys adheres to the keys and then the clear coat will flake off taking all the printing with it.

There are some excellent videos on the Internet showing how to disassemble the N900. It looks like something I'd be able to do without breaking it.

You do if your not using a pick/plectrum.
Ever heard of finger picking?

Wouldn't advise this.

The top coat/clear coat/laquer will build up between the keys and probably stick them together.

Plus after a top coat you need to flat the laquer as it'll have an orange peel effect. To do this you need ~2500 grit wet and dry.
you'll then need to cut it back using some fast cut compound (3M "perfect it" is my favourite).

This is a hard job to do well on large areas, so on small things like the keys, it'd be a nightmare!