TotalNoob?: Razer Blackwidow Keycaps question

[shogrran]

Good day!

I have a Razer Blackwidow and it doesn't have too much customization options. I only have the standard non back-lighted edition. I would like to know if anyone has tried 'removing' the letters on the keycaps to make them look stealth like. Is it even possible or are they constructed in such a way that removing those letters means destroying the keycaps?

If it's possible then this process would save me a lot of trouble in finding keycaps. Besides I'm not really interested in spending anymore on this relatively cheap mechanical keyboard because it is indeed cheap and that was the purpose of buying it in the first place. Why spend more on an item you bought for its cheapness right?

Obviously I am new to this keyboard business and this is one of my total noob question threads.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[IvanIvanovich]

The standard caps just have the pad print (painted on) legends so you could sand them off if you want to. First try sugar sanding as it is much milder on the surface texture, but can remove the printing quite well most times. Use fine sugar not the large crystal raw natural type. You'll want to remove the cap from the keyboard first of course, and make sure it is clean of all sticky sugar residue after. Just take some sugar and damp your finger or a paper towel and rub it gently until the lettering is gone. It is a time consuming activity. If you want it to go faster and are not concerned about loosing the texture on the key top some fine 1000grit sand paper can be used instead. Just make sure you wash the keycaps before using them again.

[Foodmanchew]

You probably don't need to start every thread with "TotalNoob?". lol

[shogrran]

The standard caps just have the pad print (painted on) legends so you could sand them off if you want to. First try sugar sanding as it is much milder on the surface texture, but can remove the printing quite well most times. Use fine sugar not the large crystal raw natural type. You'll want to remove the cap from the keyboard first of course, and make sure it is clean of all sticky sugar residue after. Just take some sugar and damp your finger or a paper towel and rub it gently until the lettering is gone. It is a time consuming activity. If you want it to go faster and are not concerned about loosing the texture on the key top some fine 1000grit sand paper can be used instead. Just make sure you wash the keycaps before using them again.

Thank you for your suggestion, although I am  not too keen on sanding the caps since a slight uneven sanding can ruin not only the appearance but the typing experience as well.

Is there any known solvents I can use? Paint remover perhaps?

May be I should collect sweat and soak the caps in it..since sweat apparently makes keyboards fade anyway  JUUUUST JOKING!

[shogrran]

its impossible for me to get a sandblaster gun or anything similar. I live in a third world country, I don't even know if the attendants in the hardware store knows what a sandblaster gun is.

How about rubbing compound?

[shogrran]

You got some really good information on your sig! Y YOUR SIG LOOKS LIKE AN ANNOYING AD! no seriously you got some nice info there. To be honest that's one reason why I never clicked your sig before.

[shogrran]

That's in my sig too.  F3 for "Laser vs Pad Printed" - chemical test section.

I couldn't find the rubbing compound section though. So I now know not to try any of those solvents on the keycaps. So I have suggestions on sanding and sandblasting. The rubber compound is pretty much like sanding with fine sand, its used for buffing car finishes with a buffer. Shouldn't it work the same way as using sandpaper or sugar sanding? I hope it doesn't contain harmful chemicals.