Author Topic: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH  (Read 43719 times)

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Offline Photoelectric

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Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:36:45 »
Final Update Here

I received a bent-in-mail LZ-GH today as a repair project, which I'm very excited about.  The keyboard is fully functional but has an unsightly bend in some of the parts.  My plan is to get it straightened out, probably re-anodize to cover the damaged finish, and to swap LEDs to a different color (they are currently red, and I'd like a combination of cyan and white most likely--I have those on the way).  The keyboard already has 62g vintage MX Blacks, which are among my favorite switches, so no complaints there :)

I figured it could be fun to document the transformation, as this is my first "Korean Custom", and I think it's an awesome keyboard.  I'm honestly very impressed by it.  First, the weight is surprisingly high.  I've read that it's ~5lbs, but it certainly feels extremely hefty.  Secondly, the LZ-GH "salmon red" is undeniably pink in person and is in no way "red" in any light I've looked at it.  I now understand how difficult it is to represent the color on photographs, as I have tried.  It invariably comes out too yellow/orange.  In person, in most lighting, the keyboard looks quite pink.  It's warmer pink than my pink Filco, but I'll take a photo of the two next to each other tomorrow in better light.  Anyway, I love the current color.  Sad that I will most likely be changing it to another--only because I won't be able to reproduce the current one exactly and because I might as well go for my favorite color :)

Initial photographs (please excuse the poor lighting)


You can see the bend quite clearly here


Beautiful color...  that I can't get to show up well.

After disassembling, the switch plate and the back steel plate snapped right back to their proper shape:


The top case and the riser "leg" are definitely going to need straightening




And two of the back corners of the top aluminum case also need some unbending / filling



Going to walk to my local auto body shops on Monday to get some opinions and quotes, as preferably the unbending of aluminum should be done after heating the aluminum to a certain temperature, or it can crack. 

I've learned from LZ that the aluminum alloy used for this keyboard is AL6061-T6, if anyone is curious.  This could be important for anodizing and heating.
« Last Edit: Sat, 19 April 2014, 22:51:37 by Photoelectric »
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Offline meiosis

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:41:11 »
Good luck :) if anything fails can still make use of the plate/pcb and bottom ;3
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Offline Thimplum

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:41:31 »
Good luck!
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:42:17 »
Thanks :)  I doubt it will "fail" as there's not much wrong with the keyboard other than the case.  It might not look as pretty as brand new, but it will still be fine.  But... I do hope to make it look perfect in the end!
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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:54:34 »
I'm mad at you Photoelectric. Why did you have to tell me it's 6061? That's so cool. I'm totally nerding out over the material choice now. Damn my engineering self and wanting the keyboard based on material selection! :P

In other news, I'm pretty stoked to see how you get it bent into shape. Can you try and take pictures of the shop at work? I know it's a lot to ask but I had to :P

Offline Photekq

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:56:42 »
Good luck!
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Offline Thimplum

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:59:26 »
I'm mad at you Photoelectric. Why did you have to tell me it's 6061? That's so cool. I'm totally nerding out over the material choice now. Damn my engineering self and wanting the keyboard based on material selection! :P

In other news, I'm pretty stoked to see how you get it bent into shape. Can you try and take pictures of the shop at work? I know it's a lot to ask but I had to :P

6061 is pretty common, ya know...
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Offline BunnyLake

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 16:59:49 »
good luck, a really amazing project
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Offline Sifo

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 17:01:30 »
Excited :)
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 17:02:04 »
Yeah, sure, I'll try to document it.  Unless someone helps me do it and shoos me out of the area until it's done.  I've tried bending the steel leg, but it's so thick, I couldn't do much.  It's also a bit springy, as is normal for stainless steel, so I'd bend it slightly, which I can feel, and it'd just snap back into the bent shape.  Really needs some STRONG vice and more force than I can apply myself.  The aluminum top I'm reluctant to try fixing myself because there are really a lot of things that need to be done for it.  The corners, the vertical bend, and the slight horizontal deformation at the bend location along the front.

We'll see.  I've gotten in touch with an anodizing shop in the area (2 hours by public transportation, boo), and a guy I spoke with was quite nice.  They have some generic color selection like gold, red, blue, green, black, gray.  I've asked if they can mix custom colors, and he said yes :)  I'll be going for some shade of teal.  I'll bring some color samples with me when I go there for a consultation.  First I need to take care of the straightening!
« Last Edit: Sat, 12 October 2013, 17:04:53 by Photoelectric »
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Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #10 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 17:06:45 »
Oooh, this is most interesting.  Excited to see how you do with the repair!

Also, now you have a much better idea of the color!   :p

Offline MOZ

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 17:11:29 »
Hooked.

Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #12 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 20:27:03 »
6061-t6 = the highest common quality of aluminum. there is a HUGE difference between aluminum alloys folks. 5000 series is crap, the 6000 series is considered entry-level for aerospace applications and mostly used for non-critical parts IF used at all. 7000 series is aerospace grade. 6061 is the alloy t6 refers to the heat treatment. i believe there are only subtle differences between t6 heat treatment and t651, which you'll sometimes see substituted for t6 in the same parts line; both to me, are excellent aluminum stock. cptbadass would have more to say about this.

i have gotten 5000 parts before when i expected 6061, and the difference in both hardness and other material properties is easily fungible. 5000 is both cheaper, significantly weaker, but much easier and cheaper to machine, as well as purchase. many of the "aluminum keyboard cases" you're seeing from vendors are cheaper alloys. LZ is a fantastic machinist, frankly, and does not cheap out. With all respect to LZ, I would put Hammer a step above him; to me, hammer is a god of metalworking, period. i believe boost has specced his case for 6061, but he's free to correct me -- i'm almost certain that it's 6000 series.

one fantastic thing about the higher spec aluminums is that elongation at break, a measure of how much fatigue a metal can be subject to before it literally breaks, is MUCH higher as you go up the chain, and you will probably see that when photoelectric gets this case straightened. a weaker alloy would probably already have broken/fractured from the stresses on it.

you can also see the effect of the hard anodize and the heat treatment in how damned good the finish still looks, even after all the abuse it suffered. that is a very hard and relatively thick aluminum oxide surface layer on there to go through that much abuse and still shine like that. huge props to LZ for making a baller case.

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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #13 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 20:28:28 »
also, as i said at keycon, i for one really like the salmon color.

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Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #14 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 20:37:11 »
also, as i said at keycon, i for one really like the salmon color.

Me too.  It's an awful red, but it's a nice color.

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #15 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 20:41:43 »
Its proper name is Wine Red, I believe, which is accurate to me.  It looks like red wine was spilled over bare aluminum.  I like it.
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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #16 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 20:42:44 »
interesting! i agree. fwiw i think it look as snazzy and cultured as that sentence implies.

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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #17 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 20:57:09 »
mkawa, you mentioned hard anodizing.  I was under the impression that these finishes were not hard-anodized, unless specifically indicated.

Is there anything specific that I should know to ask at the anodizing place when I bring in the cover?  I plan on telling them the aluminum alloy code name and the color I'd like to achieve, as well as lightness and transparency.  I'll have a look at their samples in person, and if hard-anodizing is an option for this alloy, I'd definitely go for it.

The person I spoke with said they can do some filling of the dents I've described.  I need to research just in case, which fillers look decent under color coats.  Thankfully, the dents are mostly out of sight.
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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #18 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:10:39 »
anodize vs hard anodize is just the RMS depth of the anodization. the longer you leave it in the anodization tub, the deeper the oxidization layer creeps. the only way that i know of to really tell whether it's an anodize or hard anodize is either to use some high energy physics techniques (i have been told that an electron beam spectrometer would can do things like this, but this as you know is not really my field) it or to do a rockwell style hardness/depth test that is destructive. the nice thing is that the latter has already been done, though not exactly in a controlled environment, and i'd say it passed whatever test with flying colors ;).

anyway, if you reanodize, definitely ask for a hard anodize. there are a couple of ways to hard anodize. i believe the easiest is just to leave it in the acid bath for longer. the quicker-cycle-time-way is to either apply more voltage differential or like, crap, i can't really remember but i did read something that involved a chemical rx. hard anodizing is an option for any alloy; when it comes down to it it's really just a matter of how long it takes to achieve a deeper coating, and the harder and less porous the alloy + treatment is, the longer you have to leave it in or higher you have to set the differential (and i actually don't know whether higher differentials are achieved chemically or via an actual cathode and anode on either side of the tub/object-to-be-anodized assembly.

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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #19 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:18:03 »
Thanks--I'll discuss this with the Anodizing shop!  I am worried that hard anodizing dulls the finish, as on case photographs, whenever I see hard anodized gray, it's always rather opaque and matte.  Something I'll read about tomorrow.  I'd like to get a similarly transparent satin finish to the current Wine Red one.  I guess I'll just have to improvise with what will be available.  I got the feeling that the shop/factory doesn't deal with small orders often, as the guy I talked to did a bit of a pause when I brought up the keyboard case :)
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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #20 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:19:36 »
you can paint clear gloss coats over anodized aluminum. it looks REALLY GOOD.

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Offline Photekq

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #21 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:22:36 »
Hard anodising doesn't make it matte necessarily.. It all depends on what kind of finish (polishing/bead blasting) you get before the anodising.
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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #22 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:28:06 »
but the one thing to remember is that anodized aluminum just looks like aluminum oxide with pigment in it. it is NEVER going to look glossy. if you want gloss you need to add a glossy material to it or very likely polish it (but not so much that you cut through the anodization and pigment layer). the preferred method to get gloss + anodization is to hard anodize and then powdercoat with a clear gloss polyester refraction/reflection modifier coat that is thin but not too thin.

note that charge, again, determines how thick a powdercoating layer is. powdercoating involves grounding your metal object, then shooting highly charged fine polymer powders at it. by highly charged i mean 1-100kV. obviously you're going to get more of the powder to stick to the grounded object at 100kv than at 1kv.

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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #23 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:30:40 »
what photekq is referring to is that you can polish then anodize. when what you get is a polished aluminum look (which because of porousness etc. will always look a little matte). powdercoating can give you a serious gloss, much better than metal treatment will get you. note that high end car wheel finishes _always_ end with a powder. this is why. paint-like gloss requires paint.

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Offline Photekq

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #24 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:34:27 »
Also, if you get a very fine & smooth bead blasted finish it'll look matte. If you get a more textured finish then it will usually look more shiny/less matte.
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #25 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 21:40:21 »
Alright, so to get a mental image of what you're saying, is the current finish on LZ-GH clear powder-coated in a thin layer over anodizing?  Or is the shine purely a result of the coarse aluminum surface (not a matte surface to start with).  These are all good points to bring up when I bring in my case for service.  Thank you for tossing random bits of information at me :). I assume they will dissolve the current finish and will coat over pure aluminum alloy without altering the surface.
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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #26 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 22:05:30 »
they'll probably give you the option of bead blasting or dissolving the current anodization layer off. that's my guess anyway. i mean if you're going to blast it you might as well start blasting the hard stuff. ammonia to dissolve the oxidization layer and then a bead blast would give you much more loss of dimension. however, what photekq is suggesting for a mate finish would work really well that way. basically you would dissolve the AlO2, then take a super fine grit of glass bead like 300-ish, and lightly blast the surface, almost like a polish. low pressure, fine beads. almost like wetsanding to 4-800 grit carbide.

if you're going to try for a glossy anodize, and a coarse grit bead blast, i'd just blast with like a 50-60 grit bead on the existing AlO2. It's easy to tell when the AlO2 layer is gone because the color will leave the surface. personally, i've never seen a good glossy anodize that approaches a gloss powder though.

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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #27 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 22:07:22 »
Anodization is a process that changes the surface of the part; it increases the oxidation layer on the outside of the case. In order to reanodize, you'll be literally grinding a layer of the surface off to get rid of that oxidation layer then dipping it back into the bath in order to get a new coating. And it's a dye added to anodization process that creates the color. I don't think it's powdercoated at all.

And the difference between T6 and T651 is how the metal is stress relieved in the tempering process mkawa. T6 is cold worked by flattening or straightening. T651 cold worked by stretching.

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #28 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 22:12:03 »
Anodization is a process that changes the surface of the part; it increases the oxidation layer on the outside of the case. In order to reanodize, you'll be literally grinding a layer of the surface off to get rid of that oxidation layer then dipping it back into the bath in order to get a new coating. And it's a dye added to anodization process that creates the color. I don't think it's powdercoated at all.

And the difference between T6 and T651 is how the metal is stress relieved in the tempering process mkawa. T6 is cold worked by flattening or straightening. T651 cold worked by stretching.

I thought I read somewhere you can remove old anodizing by leaving the item in a bucket of caustic soda, much the same as you would prep it for anodizing? Probably would need a polish after that anyway though.

Great looking project, hope it can be restored. Although I am surprised you don't leave the unbending to the experts... the postal service. Put it in a parcel upside down and send it to yourself via the other side of the world, and hope they can be as precise as they were last time, in reverse.
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Offline Photekq

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #29 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 22:13:04 »
This photo shows what I mean when I talk about a more rough bead blasted finish.


It isn't a glossy finish. It isn't matte either. It's just kinda shiny, it has texture to it. Most LZ cases are like this.
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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #30 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 22:17:17 »
I thought I read somewhere you can remove old anodizing by leaving the item in a bucket of caustic soda, much the same as you would prep it for anodizing? Probably would need a polish after that anyway though.

Great looking project, hope it can be restored. Although I am surprised you don't leave the unbending to the experts... the postal service. Put it in a parcel upside down and send it to yourself via the other side of the world, and hope they can be as precise as they were last time, in reverse.

LMAO, that's one way to do it eh?

I have no idea about the caustic soda. The way I understand it is once it's anodized, it's a mechanical process to get the oxidized layer off.

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #31 on: Sat, 12 October 2013, 22:21:33 »
When I did some quick reading yesterday, it's apparently possible to dissolve the anodized layer by submerging / spraying it with some caustic liquids: something like Greased Lighting, where you coat the surface then wait and just scrub with a brush.  That's just one example.  Though I suppose results vary based on aluminum alloy and anodizing variety.
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #32 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 12:04:50 »
Some places were open today (Columbus Day holiday), so I visited them--all auto body shops.  Unfortunately they don't really do the sort of aluminum repair I'm looking for and referred me to machine shops instead.  I've called a few of those, but most are closed today.  One metalwork shop was open, and the guy I spoke with sounded receptive when I described the parts and the damage; said to stop by tomorrow to see what can be done.  There are a bunch more in the area too for aluminum repair / metalwork / machine shop work which I'll have to consult.
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Offline Tym

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #33 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 12:12:27 »
Presumably it was bent due to longtime spent under high pressure? Can you no recreate this? Obviously you would need to spread out the weight load, but sheet of wood/base metal (presumably some fabric to avoid scratches) Then just pile on weight. If you happen to have a full sized pool/snooker table to hand they're great (British pubs!)

Just my ghetto thoughts.
unless they have some unforeseeable downside (like they're actually made of cream cheese cunningly disguised as ABS)


Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #34 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 12:28:35 »
At the last car repair shop I went to, the guy I spoke with could not believe such damage was done in the mail.  He was like "it must have been like that already before it was shipped" haha.  And at another shop, a guy said that the steel leg is so thick, it can lift a car; he was amazed it could be bent like that during shipping.
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Offline mkawa

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #35 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 13:25:59 »
When I did some quick reading yesterday, it's apparently possible to dissolve the anodized layer by submerging / spraying it with some caustic liquids: something like Greased Lighting, where you coat the surface then wait and just scrub with a brush.  That's just one example.  Though I suppose results vary based on aluminum alloy and anodizing variety.
ammonia dissolves aluminum oxide, which is the most of the anodization layer. the thing is that you're going to have to blast or polish before you reanodize regardless, so i don't know if it's worth trying to dissolve the oxidated pigmented layer. just blast it off and prep the underlying metal at the same time.

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #36 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 13:45:13 »
At the last car repair shop I went to, the guy I spoke with could not believe such damage was done in the mail.  He was like "it must have been like that already before it was shipped" haha.  And at another shop, a guy said that the steel leg is so thick, it can lift a car; he was amazed it could be bent like that during shipping.
Eh its believable.  Pallets weighing a ton or more getting thrown on top of it.  **** happens.

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #37 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 13:47:41 »
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #38 on: Mon, 14 October 2013, 18:35:28 »
Most probably won't care for this bit of trivia, but I was quite puzzled by the "Wine Red" color of LZ-GH (often called "salmon").  I was deciding on a color of another LZ keyboard a while ago, and Wine Red was one of the options.  I did not select it, thinking it was really going to be warm salmon-like.

So here are some photos of this color, which turned out to be more pink than red or salmon (salmon is usually more orange).  The Ducky wrist rest is deep red.  Next to pink Filco and some other red white things.  Please keep in mind that it's still turning out to be more "salmon" on the photographs than it looks in person due to indoor lighting. 









So I think calling it "red wine" over aluminum is accurate.
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Offline dorkvader

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #39 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 08:57:58 »
I'm mad at you Photoelectric. Why did you have to tell me it's 6061? That's so cool. I'm totally nerding out over the material choice now. Damn my engineering self and wanting the keyboard based on material selection! :P

In other news, I'm pretty stoked to see how you get it bent into shape. Can you try and take pictures of the shop at work? I know it's a lot to ask but I had to :P

6061 is pretty common, ya know...

among items that we would be interested in: probably, but in general: certainly not!
For "consumer" goods, 6061 is only often used in flashlights, otherwise it's mainly used in aerospace and a few other industries. Even 1000 series (pure, non alloyed) aluminium are probably more common.

Photoelectric, I would call it a semi matte finish from your pictures. Looks excellent!
---
For materials nerds in this topic: heating it while re-bending is an excellent idea as it'll anneal it somewhat (grain growth, etc) and make it more ductile, but less hard. it will probably dent more easily in the middle no matter what do you. Don't drop your rail spike collection on it!

At the last car repair shop I went to, the guy I spoke with could not believe such damage was done in the mail.  He was like "it must have been like that already before it was shipped" haha.  And at another shop, a guy said that the steel leg is so thick, it can lift a car; he was amazed it could be bent like that during shipping.
that's 'cause it would take a stupid amount of force to plastically deform the case,  and even more for the case + that thick steel bar foot.

Thanks for this cool topic! I hope you can find a place that can accurately bend it back (or get it close enough that you wont notice)

Offline Thimplum

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #40 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 10:17:58 »
I'm mad at you Photoelectric. Why did you have to tell me it's 6061? That's so cool. I'm totally nerding out over the material choice now. Damn my engineering self and wanting the keyboard based on material selection! :P

In other news, I'm pretty stoked to see how you get it bent into shape. Can you try and take pictures of the shop at work? I know it's a lot to ask but I had to :P

6061 is pretty common, ya know...

among items that we would be interested in: probably, but in general: certainly not!
For "consumer" goods, 6061 is only often used in flashlights, otherwise it's mainly used in aerospace and a few other industries. Even 1000 series (pure, non alloyed) aluminium are probably more common.


I eat my words.
TP4 FOR ADMIN 2013

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #41 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 12:04:53 »
Called a few machine shops in the area, and yikes, they are expensive per hour!  Ended up taking the case parts to a nearby shop and left them there.  The guy who will be working on them will call me tomorrow or day after to pick them up.  He seemed to know what he was talking about and knew the aluminum alloy, so we'll see!  He also said that he's not too surprised by the damage, as he's seen similar.  Such as a 3/4" steel rod getting a deep dent/hole in it when shipped in a cardboard tube, and it looked like someone smashed it a number of times against something very hard.

Feeling a bit jittery, as I hate it when things are out of my hands, and I can't comment on whether the repairs are going well.  But I did explain that I want the top cover reanodized, so not adding any scratches would be much preferable, to which he agreed.

I guess we'll see soon how successful this shop will be!
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
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Offline Computer-Lab in Basement

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #42 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 12:06:24 »
Good luck! Looking forward to seeing how this comes out...
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Offline mistakemistake

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #43 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 12:10:06 »
gl with repairs!

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #44 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 12:13:50 »
Thank you, I'm REALLY hoping the repairs will be successful.  Or I'll have to get post-repair-repairs =/  But someday this keyboard will be restored to its former glory!
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
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Offline Moosecraft

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #45 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 13:23:55 »
gL looks to be a fun project to take on with a hopefully very promising result  :thumb:
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Offline esoomenona

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #46 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 13:32:09 »
Throw it in a fire. The color will be much improved, and you'll heat it up to bend it!

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #47 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 13:41:32 »
Perhaps I should toss it into volcanic lava for some rejuvenation.  :p
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
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Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #48 on: Tue, 15 October 2013, 13:42:55 »
Perhaps I should toss it into volcanic lava for some rejuvenation.  :p

You just might get the urge to do that before this process is over ;)

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Keyboard Repair project: LZ-GH
« Reply #49 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 12:47:35 »
Well, guys and gals, you are in for a surprise!

I know I was when I went to pick up the cover this morning.  To say that my jaw dropped is an understatement.  The metalworking guy is a veritable wizard!  The top cover and the support leg look near damn perfect--other than the two small dents in the back bottom corners of the top cover--not much to be done about those other than to fill them and file.

I don't know how he did it, as he was a really chatty guy and kept talking about other stuff. His work building is amazing (imagine a backyard large warehouse with a rooftop tomato garden and a roof over outdoor work space made like an upside-down skeleton of a ship, made of metal, with tarp stretched over it.  It was really something.  I love meeting artisans like that--you can tell it's his life and not just an 8-5 job.  And he's restoring a car that looks like it's from 1930s.

Anyway... here is what the cover looks like now.  Imagine that he did not even scratch the finish when doing all that straightening!











Other than the back corners and the SLIGHT ripple along the front (only visible when the light hits it JUST right), you can't tell that anything happened to that keyboard.  Basically from the front, it looks perfect if you don't scrutinize it by twisting it around near a window a bunch.
« Last Edit: Thu, 17 October 2013, 12:49:39 by Photoelectric »
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
- Keyboard Case Painting Tips -
- Join Mechanical Keyboards photography group on Flickr -