Re: Recommended Lube for Cherry StabilizersVaseline is petroleum jelly, which is based on petroleum (oil). It will eat your switches. Lithium should be safe. Silicone is safe.
At around three minutes per switch, hand-lubing switches takes a couple of hours per keyboard.
A closed switch is one that provides a direct (low resistance) path for current to flow through.
A switch is defined as a device that is used for making and breaking of electric current in a circuit. It is used to turn on and turn off daily used equipment like television, washing machine, fan, light, etc. A switch can be used in series and parallel circuits.
What is the difference between Optical switches and Gateron switches? Optical switches use the light sensor for quicker response rates compared to the Gateron switches. To experience a different tactile feel, Gateron switches are available in blue, brown, red and yellow. Optical switches only come in blue or red.
Note, you can't swap the switches since the board isn't hot swappable.
Absolutely never, NEVER use WD-40 or other axle lubricants. These lubricants are too viscous for the switches and make them gooey.
Lubricating OmniPoint switches:This is where the viscosity of the lubricant is crucial, using a runny oil will probably not work as intended and it could damage the switch if you add too much since it will all drip to the bottom where there's the sensor.
Auctually it is okay and gives good results. Its more worth than taking keyboard apart and lubing switches. People use spray lube on moving parts where you cannot access otherwise. Super lube multipurpose with ptfe is completely fine and it dont destroy your switches.
When it comes to lubing, I subscribe to the theory that less is more. I like when the finished switch is much smoother, but still feels like itself, and not just like lube. In general, proper lubing will make the switches sound more precise, and often noticeably quieter.
SuperLube is ideal for and can be used to grease your switches, stabilisers and other components of your keyboard. The Synthetic Grease by Super Lube is a patented NLGI Grade 2 heavy duty multi-purpose lubricant that can be used on all mechanical components.
Then finally clean the keyboard by dampening a microfibre cloth with a special keyboard cleaning liquid, then passing it several times over the keys and the entire surface. You can also use WD-40® Smart Straw Multi-Use for this purpose. Be careful not to apply too much liquid that could end up between the keys.
Lube will improve feel, but more drastically change the sound for the better. It's good practice to do it on something cheap like Browns, and you'll always have the option to swap them out if you don't like them. And if the primary worry is the effort, that's just the nature of the hobby.
I got over 100 olive trees, and produce a couple hundred kilos of extra virgin olive oil lube. So far in my experience with using it, it is a fairly cheap and easy way to lube your switches if you use it in moderation.
You can also lube Cherry MX Blues. Yes, you really can. But it also means taking the switch apart and it's best to only lube the spring and parts that don't have contact with the click-jacket because otherwise, you will lose the click and just create weird Cherry MX Browns in the process.
Soldering switches to a PCB is very, very easy. I would actually say that it would be difficult to mess up. Just watch a youtube video on basic soldering for 5 minutes or so and go for it. It is not difficult to screw up.
Hotswappable keyboards have sockets which you can just stick a switch in, no soldering. Most PCBs are not hotswappable, and will need soldering. The key word is hotswappable. If the pcb is not advertised with that, then you need to solder.
It takes me about 1-2 hours with some variance based on how cooperative my cheapo sucker decides to be that day. You definitely get faster as you do it more so it doesn't hurt to get more practice in! I'd solder a few, let them cool, and then desolder them to see how you feel first.
Never desoldered/soldered before. Ducky Shine are plate-mounted, so you would have to disassemble the keyboard, desolder the switch, solder in a new switch, and reassemble the keyboard.
Place your wick against the point where you want to remove solder, then hold your irons tip over that point. You'll see the solder soak into the wires around the point where your iron is touching once it gets hot enough to melt.
To take out a switch and install a new one, you'll need to be able to open the keyboard itself to access the printed circuit board, de-solder the malfunctioning switch with a soldering iron and pump, remove the switch and insert a new one, and finally, solder the new switch into place.
