Alright, so until a few days ago, I simply carried my iPod around in my pocket. And while the main result was a few superficial scratches, there is this odd smudge on my click wheel that happened when I put it in my jeans pocket. Dunno why.
Either way, does anyone around here know an easy way to clean these things, preferably without causing irreparable damage to it?
denatured alchohol? nailpolish remover? googone? uhh… sandpaper? 
Denatured alcohol lightly on a rag would be worth a try. Don’t use laquer thinner or acetone as they’re too agressive and will attack plastics right away. Dawn might work too but just don’t use Power Dissolve Dawn as it’s very agressive also (I inadvertantly stripped the paint off my barbeque with PDD).
And if you need a reason to upgrade to another iPod, you could try just putting it in the dishwasher! :yikes:
One thing that works great for cleaning and for removing scratches is Brasso, strange as it sounds. You put a tiny bit on a cloth and then rub in a circular motion, and it should be fine for both the back and the front.
The important thing to remember when cleaning iPods, regardless of the cleaning product you use, is to use as soft a cloth as possible. Otherwise, you will get scratches (using such things, for example, as paper towels and ordinary rags).
Dishwasher.
On a more serious note, I’d suggest really really highly concentrated rubbing alchohol. You use it to clean processors, whenever you need to seat one, because it evaporates so quickly you don’t have to worry about it causing a short . . . cause it won’t be there. The higher the concentration, the faster it evaportes. Its a decent cleaner, too.
As far as scratches . . . well, an idea just came to me.
I was up late a few nights ago vegging in front of our TV when I saw an add for this product thingy, right? It was a clear polymer that you could paint onto scratched lenses that would fill in the scratches. It looked real nice, but you wouldn’t want to use it on a glass lens cause polymer bends light differently. Anyway, it should be perfect for getting rid of scratches on your ipod. It wasn’t too expensive, but I don’t remember what it was called. But now you know that such products to exist.
I use an anti-static wipes that you use to clean a monitor, to clean my iPod. Works great, gets rid of all the smudges, and most of the scratches. But there are two downsides. Don’t rub too hard or otherwise you will rub off the lettering on your iPod, and it will be a little sticky for a couple of hours.
My clickwheel stopped working for a day after I used windex, but now its back to normal.
I hear this works well too http://www.ipodcleaner.com/