Frankenstein switches

[boq]

I'm new to this forum so a big hey to you all!

 So, I have a doubt. I'd like to know if it would be possible to swap out the stems and springs between switches, namely Gateron and Cherries. You see, I have an Anne pro which I love but I don't like its Gateron browns so I got a cheap Corsair board to try out the Cherry reds and I love them. So instead of desoldering every switch, I would like to use the Huttala method of opening them up and just swapping out the guts. Before wasting my time I thought it would be a good idea to see if some other tinkerer had already tried it. Sorry to all you Gateron brown fans.

 Also, as an idea, I saw that one of the main differences between good and bad feeling switches comes down to the surface of the stems. The smoother the stem the smoother the action, right? So, I was thinking about using a method which is employed to smooth out 3D prints using acetone. Again, any thoughts? There is a good video of the process on Youtube by DIY perks:

 Anyhoo, thanks in advance, peace out!

[SpAmRaY]

Typically you can't just open switches mounted in a regular plate.



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[Findecanor]

Cherry MX switches, and its clones are closed with clips that need to bend outwards to open. The holes in a switch-mounting plate are too tight for the clips to open.
Many custom keyboards have cutouts in the plates to allow the clips to flex so that you would be able to open the switches and get to the guts. No commercial keyboards do.

Some (both commercial and custom) keyboards have hot-swappable switches though, that instead of being soldered to the PCB are mounted into sockets. On these you could pull a switch and then open it.

The method of smoothing with acetone vapour works only on some plastics such as ABS. Key switches are typically made from other types of plastics that happen to be impervious to acetone. And even if acetone did work, I'm afraid that it could change other properties of a slider such as keycap fit.

[boq]

Well, it looks like I'll have to get a soldering iron and set aside a couple of hours. All said and done, I'm thinking of getting a royal kludge hot-swappable kit and buying some decent switches. This is becoming an expensive hobby. Thanks for the replies!!!