Lubricating a Cherry G81

[keyb_gr]

A Cherry G81 series keyboard is hardly pure joy to type on, which is rooted in
a) the linear, steeply rising force displacement characteristic with forces of up to 100 cN
and
b) some friction between the mechanism's slider and its casing and the resulting roughness especially with off-center keypresses, which tends to increase the number of missed keys.

While there is not much one can do about (a), this is absolutely possible for (b). I used some silicone spray, which is plastics friendly, nonconductive and non-gumming. The supplied small plastic tube will be needed, and the dispenser should allow very small doses.

The mod itself is somewhat laborious (an hour maybe) but rather straightforward:
Open case, take off keycaps, with some extra care for the stabilized ones (inspect the mechanism closely so you can get things back together).
For each key mechanism, push down stem, apply a small squirt of silicone spray in all four corners, check sound of stem operation (should be smoother and damped, else apply some more), wipe off excess, proceed to next one. Use a bit only really, no flooding of the mechanism please.
Replace keycaps, checking for keys that still need some more lube.
Close case.

The result should be a smoother-feeling, quieter G81. It still won't be pure joy to type on, but the number of missed keypresses due to off-center strikes should be reduced. Ultimately this should allow for reduced force levels and increased typing comfort.

After first experiments with a mostly dead parts donor board, I applied this treatment to a 1992 vintage OEM (Peacock) G81-3004HAD. This seems to have taken it well so far, especially the keys which had already seen a good bit of use (and thus wear) in its life.

Please note: This mod has not been tested in the long term, therefore it can't be said whether some of the silicone stuff might want to creep between the membranes and mess up the contacts in the long run. If you don't feel comfortable with that, wait for as long as you deem appropriate and check back for whether my guinea pig board is still working.

[JBert]

It helps a little, but only just a bit. In general, the thing remains far too stiff to type on.

If you really want to make it useful, you'd probably need to mod those springs.

[HaaTa]

Interesting, I may have to try it some time. Though, I'm starting to like the dead octopus feel.

[J888www]

I use a Dry Teflon lubricant which comes in a bottle, sold in all good bicycle retailers as a lub for bicycle chains. Application is with a cotton bud, which is more controlled than spraying straight from a canister.

[keyb_gr]

It helps a little, but only just a bit. In general, the thing remains far too stiff to type on.

If you really want to make it useful, you'd probably need to mod those springs.

Actually my guinea pig vintage G81 seems no stiffer than a board with blacks now, just different. Maybe a bit lighter even, as one could have concluded from the force displacement diagrams.

Modding the springs... that may not be so easy. The problem with this construction is that the spring is a little short in general. It would take a longer, less stiff spring. The problem for the Cherry folks may have been that they had only one kind (diameter) of spring wire available. Now less stiff means more turns, and that in turn means reduced travel or even more nonlinearity at the end. It would have to be something thinner, with correspondingly higher wear.

Interesting, I may have to try it some time. Though, I'm starting to like the dead octopus feel.

I like the feel on vintage G81s somewhat better than their modern counterparts to begin with (plus the better construction and high-quality lettering), and now this board is quite acceptable to type on. Better this than a Dell "OMG are my fingers really this heavy?!" AT102DW.

I use a Dry Teflon lubricant which comes in a bottle, sold in all good bicycle retailers as a lub for bicycle chains. Application is with a cotton bud, which is more controlled than spraying straight from a canister.

I tried a cotton bud first, but that didn't work out too well - the tip diameter was too large, and the tip quickly dissolved on top of that. Those little plastic tubes are very helpful though, as they always are when trying to get some spray to one specific place only.