I use Shin-etsu (G40m) silicone grease that I have left over from building my arcade sticks, yes I know it's not the standard krytox GPL most people use but I just didn't feel like going to source for it.

Bought the shin-etsu from Japan long time ago.

so u use grease.
can ask where u lube the switches? including springs?

Any chance of getting extra tax/charges for importing keyboard from DROP?

So the rest of my 11.11 purchases arrived today. Some metal and wood keycaps.

your ctrl seems fading oledy.

Wow. Sharp eyes man. Maybe coz I have a tendency to rest my hand there?

The spring, shaft pole (where the spring goes) and the side wall of the switch stem. Well aware that krytox GPL is better as it's less viscosity though.

very nice yeah it's simple but boring when you repeat the same for the whole board.

as long as you like the outcomes of your lubed switches, it's all good. krytox gpl is just one of the many community choices. the truth is, most of them are known mainly due to community-driven hypes. i like krytox gpl because they are available in oil and grease, and they have different viscosity. all these are not important if you just wanna lube switches only.

I lubed my board with a combination of krytox grease + oil and also experimented with superlube grease.

To me, the effect of lubing isn't long lasting. After a few weeks, the sound is very obvious not the same as when it is freshly lubed.

The lubes will all wear off.

no, that's not lube wearing off. if it's worn off, smoothness will be gone.

when you lube your switches, the switches will have two different states. the first one is the freshly lubed state (typing sound is normally more damped), and then the steady state after a few days/weeks of use (typing sound will be relatively louder).

krytox gpl is a durable lubricant meant for extreme conditions. we use it for switches, and for typing only.

for me, personally i feel like there's 3 states. After the "steady state" that you mentioned, the lubed effect will keep wearing off because the lubes were pushed to the sides. The stem will keep rubbing on the rails and push the lube to the top or bottom. Not to say it is totally gone, it will still be smoother than 0 lube, but it is definitely slowly wearing off, even after the weeks or months.

It was particularly obvious on my stabs. it just keeps getting louder and not as smooth.

Yes, Krytox ix supposed to be high grade lubricant meant for extreme conditions but i believed it was meant for closed condition and not open condition as how switches and stabs are .

Just my opinion based on my experience on 2 different boards, a gateron linear and a topre.

This post has been edited by ck.chunkeat: Nov 23 2019, 01:27 AM

Yeah, it's really your opinion only.

Even cheaper lube like permatex, super lube have grace period 3 years in exposed condition before dissolved.
Anyone with lubing experience will tell you your lubing method or choice is wrong from the few points you mentioned and you twisted the facts that Krytox wearing off.
"lubed effect will keep wearing off because the lubes were pushed to the sides" - This showed you put excess grease into your switch / stab.
The foundation why we use grease is to fill gaps, while we use oil is for pure lubrication.
Grease is made of oil + thickeners, so, if the rails have small gaps, just use slight grease, or just use oil will do. The oil will stick on the wall act as permanent lube; it won't wearing off.

Anyway, early morning, lazy diu you, since you mentioned is your opinion and observation.

.. ok. maybe i misunderstood, as the way you put it sounded like lube effects will be gone after few weeks, which is around the time period when freshly lubed state ends. at this rate, when it's used in air plane engines and parts, to me it sounded like lube effects are gone before the plane can take off. (scary man)

switch/stabilizer lubing is never about changes of sound or feel during the freshly lubed state. they are side effects. it will be very tedious to maintain those side effects because you will need to repeat everything every few weeks/months.

it's really ok to have own opinions, as long as they're not deviated from common observations. we use the same lube, the same switches, etc. (well, maybe different lube techniques hehe)

come on la kw, dont diu people early in the morning

but anyway, i mention the decreasing effect, probably cause my expectation was that after i lubed, i will get smoother switches and muted sound and all the other goodies.

It doesn't help when all the lubed keyboard typing test videos are all recorded right after they finished lubing. Rarely anyone document the typing test few weeks after the lube break in.

My main concern is not that the lube totally wear off. but because it is not performing as when it is freshly lubed.

Let me rephrase my point, maybe I worded wrongly:
If I lube because I expected the same effect as all the before after lube typing test videos, then I will be majorly disappointed.
Yes they are still smooth and the lube is still there, just the effect is maybe 50-80% of when freshly lubed before the lube is broke in?
Hence I said the effect of lube (which I had too high of a expectation based on watching all those videos before deciding to get the lube) , will wear off.
So i will correct my sentence, the effort of fresh/excess(in some cases) lube, will wear off.

ok just as i thought

don't believe in those videos. they are just hypes. i understand that your expectations, and frustrations due to misleading information from those videos. most people only talk and test about freshly lubed switches (when they're still hyped about doing it obviously), but not making another video after few weeks of daily use, as a follow-up to highlight changes. it's just like no one telling us clear/hard housings have various levels of switch top wobbles (and you must get switch films to fix them), while nylon housings have none literally.

tbh i once had similar expectations, but reality is still reality. this is why if you do mkb modding first-hand, you will realize there were many untold stories in those videos.

lubing really means making switches smooth, and to certain extents, quiet them down. (at least there is no obvious pings from springs after that) if it's krytox gpl, for our usage as switch/stab lubricant, it will last for life. these are not my words. you can find articles about endurance of krytox.

edit: btw, use low-viscous krytox gpl like 203 if you wanted to have relatively better and long-lasting smoothness. i use excess of the grease to fill up gaps as well. they're fine.

This post has been edited by horns: Nov 23 2019, 03:59 PM

I lubed my old AF Majestouch 2's brown keys 2 years ago, today it's still free of the infamous sandy and scratchy feel that browns are known for. I could remove a stem and see that the grease is still there, all fine and dandy.

Let's put it this way, if a standard arcade stick (which I also apply grease to on the pivot) can last vigorous usage for 3 years (and yes, you do way more inputs on a lever vs a keyboard) - keyboard switches will last just as long if not even more. They're not exactly the same thing, but their operating concept is similar.

Dear sifus, I am looking for quiet type of non rgb backlit mech keyboard.
Any recommendations? my budget : 2XX to 500RM.

thanks in advance.

if you liked tkl you can look for leopold fc750r with cherry mx silent red at shopee.

I'm looking for full size keyboard .. FC750r is not a full size keyboard.

This post has been edited by yhsiau: Nov 26 2019, 02:24 PM

Anyone ordered directly from Tai-Hao shop before?

I can select Malaysia but the checkout button is greyed out

Nevermind, browser issue.

This post has been edited by niakulah: Nov 26 2019, 05:35 PM