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Author Topic: HHKB cleaning  (Read 9493 times)

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Offline iMav

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HHKB cleaning
« on: Sun, 01 June 2008, 18:38:21 »
Just put my HHKB Pro back together after a good cleaning.  Had a key that was sticking and also noticed that there was some "board chow" building up.  

For those of you with black HHKB's, know that the black DOES wear off.  I have some white showing through now on the keys, which surprised me...I had figured that it was black dyed all the way through.  Oh well.

But it IS nice and clean now.  The nice thing about the electrical capacitive switches is that all of the moving parts are submersible.  If you desired, you could put out the electronics and throw it all in the dishwasher.  (I opted for the kitchen sink)  :)

Ahhhhh...there's nothing quite like a fresh, clean keyboard.
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Offline zetan

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 01 June 2008, 20:36:44 »
Kind of off-topic, but some people put the RO-59 keyboard lubricant after they cleaned up each key of their HHKB. http://www.ro59inc.com/
It's somewhat popular in Japan among keyboard lovers and is supposed to be the best lubricant to reduce key friction
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Offline jemkeys

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 01 June 2008, 22:16:33 »
Aw, the black wears off?  How could this happen!?

I thought they were using black plastic... this sucks.  I would've gotten the white one if I knew my $300 KB's paint would wear off.
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 00:18:49 »
Mine looks like it is solid plastic. That is a bummer.
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 00:21:29 »
Quote from: zetan;5039
Kind of off-topic, but some people put the RO-59 keyboard lubricant after they cleaned up each key of their HHKB. http://www.ro59inc.com/
It's somewhat popular in Japan among keyboard lovers and is supposed to be the best lubricant to reduce key friction


Do they only do this (and what exactly do they do with it) with HHKB Pros?
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Offline Korbin

  • Posts: 131
HHKB cleaning
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 00:47:39 »
Quote from: iMav;5038

For those of you with black HHKB's, know that the black DOES wear off.  I have some white showing through now on the keys, which surprised me...I had figured that it was black dyed all the way through.


I wonder if that is the same on the Pro 2 as well.
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Keyboards: Nyquist, Ergodox, Levinson

Offline djones

  • Posts: 113
HHKB cleaning
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 01:27:56 »
how can I remove the keys from my hhkb properly? i've been scared to do so but I want to get rid of a few strands of hair stuck in there. (though imav probably doesn't have that problem, judging from his avatar :D:D:D)
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Offline zetan

  • Posts: 24
HHKB cleaning
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 01:37:38 »
Quote from: xsphat;5047
Do they only do this (and what exactly do they do with it) with HHKB Pros?

They do it with all kinds of non-mechanical keyboard (though some might do it on mechanical kbds). One retailer in Japan sells a product called "Smooth Aid" for like 10 bucks, which contains some amount of RO-59. They don't import RO-59 from the company, but buy Smooth Aid instead. They just rub it over where key friction occurs. To get a sense, see the pics in http://www.ne.jp/asahi/uv33a/hidlab/company/iodevice/keyboard_senjou.html.
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 02:02:32 »
That's really interesting, but I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon. Cool though, thanks.
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Offline iMav

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 02:09:39 »
Quote from: Korbin;5048
I wonder if that is the same on the Pro 2 as well.

These are Pro 2 keycaps that are wearing off.
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 02:11:52 »
Quote from: iMav;5052
These are Pro 2 keycaps that are wearing off.


Post pictures!
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Offline lowpoly

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 07:41:33 »
Quote from: iMav;5052
These are Pro 2 keycaps that are wearing off.

How long did that take?
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Offline jemkeys

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 02 June 2008, 10:33:14 »
Yea, please post pictures!  I really want to avoid this happening to mine...

:/
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Offline xyzzy

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 04 June 2008, 17:14:31 »
Maybe this is the kind of wear that the black HHKB can suffer after intense use? http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/112880011

Looking at the photos I thought the keyboard was under a bright light, but trying to decipher the babelfish'd translation I think it's just that the black keys have suffered some discoloring over time and have now an uneven gray color finish.
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IBM Model F62 (Ellipse's) • PFU HHKB Pro Type S Hybrid • PFU HHKB Pro • Leopold FC660C • IBM Model M SSK 1391472 • IBM Model M SSK UNI04C6 • IBM Model M 1391405 (x4) • Cherry MX 1800 Compact (blue Cherry) • Cherry MX 11900 Touchboard (brown Cherry) • Dell AT102W (black Alps) • Apple Extended Keyboard II (cream Alps) • Acer 6312-TA (black Acer) • Unikey KWD-601 (white Cherry)

Offline iMav

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 04 June 2008, 17:27:49 »
Quote from: xyzzy;5146
Maybe this is the kind of wear that the black HHKB can suffer after intense use?

That's pretty much what I am seeing.  I'm having trouble getting the camera to properly reflect what I am seeing.  And, actually, once they were dry, it wasn't as bad as I thought initially.  But it is definitely noticeable.
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Offline Korbin

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 04 June 2008, 19:30:01 »
Quote from: xyzzy;5146
Maybe this is the kind of wear that the black HHKB can suffer after intense use? http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/112880011

Looking at the photos I thought the keyboard was under a bright light, but trying to decipher the babelfish'd translation I think it's just that the black keys have suffered some discoloring over time and have now an uneven gray color finish.


Uhm.. I can't even see it. Is it the shinyness around the edges of the buttons?
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 04 June 2008, 23:16:43 »
^^ Me either.
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Offline lowpoly

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #17 on: Thu, 05 June 2008, 02:59:54 »
Quote from: iMav;5152
That's pretty much what I am seeing.  I'm having trouble getting the camera to properly reflect what I am seeing.  And, actually, once they were dry, it wasn't as bad as I thought initially.  But it is definitely noticeable.

If the keys are painted - how did they look from the inside? And is it safe to just pull a keycap off or is it easy to break something?
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Offline iMav

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 05 June 2008, 04:13:16 »
Quote from: sofa king;5161
If the keys are painted - how did they look from the inside? And is it safe to just pull a keycap off or is it easy to break something?

They are black on the inside as well.  I have no idea how they are colored.  I just know that mine are now a bit discolored.  (which i'm really not at all concerned about.

To safely pull a keycap, use xsphat's two-paperclip method.  Unbend two paperclips and make "hooks" out of them.  Hook two opposite corners and pull straight up.
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Offline lowpoly

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #19 on: Fri, 13 June 2008, 11:09:06 »
I finally pulled a keycap. Looks like they're painted but only on the outside. It's a very thin semi-matte coating. There is a 1mm border at the lower edge of each side of a keycap that is not painted.

The plastic is black and more glossy so that's probably what you see where the coating wears off.

Quote
To safely pull a keycap, use xsphat's two-paperclip method. Unbend two paperclips and make "hooks" out of them. Hook two opposite corners and pull straight up.

If you do not pull completely straight up, one hook might slide along an edge resulting in both hooks pulling at the same edge. This possibly can break a switch. I had a keycap puller so this didn't apply to me, just something to consider.
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 13 June 2008, 12:19:52 »
I bought a couple keycap pullers a while back as well. They work great on everything except Alps, and what's my favorite switch?
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Offline lowpoly

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #21 on: Fri, 13 June 2008, 12:42:35 »
Mine came with an Alps keycap set, hehe.

Nothing special though, just a piece of bent sheet metal.
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Offline xsphat

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #22 on: Fri, 13 June 2008, 14:06:59 »
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Offline lowpoly

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #23 on: Fri, 13 June 2008, 16:01:56 »
I'll post pictures as soon as I make some progress with my current keyboard related project.
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Offline xsphat

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« Reply #24 on: Fri, 13 June 2008, 23:22:36 »
Quote from: sofa king;5484
I'll post pictures as soon as I make some progress with my current keyboard related project.


Which is ...
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Offline lowpoly

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HHKB cleaning
« Reply #25 on: Sat, 14 June 2008, 04:45:32 »
I have an old laptop keyboard made by Alps which I'm going to convert to USB.
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