100% Silicone Oil as Lube and Sucky Switches

[Kavik]

I have some MX Blacks that I'm trying to lube to see what all the fuss is about. I've also previously lubed MX Silent Blacks with little success.

I have some Krytox lube VPF 1514, which is just 'meh'. I recently bought some 100% silicone oil to lubricate a treadmill, so I decided to try it on switches. It seems to be a little bit better since it's slightly thicker and doesn't bead up like the Krytox. I also tried using some of my paintball gun grease (GOG Gr33se), which didn't produce much better results.

These MX Blacks are from a couple of G80s from around 2003, I think. They sucked as they were. I put them in an ultrasonic cleaner and have lubed them in various ways with various combinations of these three lubricants, and it just seems random which ones are decent and which ones are bad. I'd say 10% of them turn out pretty good, 40% turn out ok, and 50% of them still suck after lube. The only thing that's consistently fixed by the lube is the spring noise. I have a few Gateron Blacks as well. I've heard they are supposed to be really smooth, but they feel about the same but don't sound as good, so maybe my expectations are too high. I have an MX Black from a switch tester with no lube that feels fantastic, and I have one from this batch that turned out great, which I'm using as a benchmark for the others.

Anyway, I'm wondering a couple of things: 1. Is expensive lube just a placebo? How different could it really be? It's the same few non-petroleum ingredients, just in different ratios, right? 2. If a switch is crap, lube isn't going to do much, is it?

I just don't want to waste my time lubing these and soldering them in if I simply need better switches or lube.

[Sup]

Lube definitely makes a switch way smoother. You could try to get some retooled blacks and lube those. I had very good success lubing those and they felt great.

[Kavik]

Lube definitely makes a switch way smoother. You could try to get some retooled blacks and lube those. I had very good success lubing those and they felt great.

I believe the MX Silent Blacks I have are retooled. They're from a GB about a year ago (the one in which Cherry put MX Red springs in them and then admitted no fault). They don't feel any different in smoothness to me. They actually feel worse than the regular blacks I have with and without lube.

[tp4tissue]

It depends on the size of the contact area,  if the area is huge, you want to make sure to use low viscosity, other wise it feels sticky. But low viscosity will also roll off quicker and need reapplication often, (BAD for keyboards), because these switches are NOT meant to be lubed and taken apart frequently.

If the area is small, and point like,  you can use a higher viscosity lube (better staying power),  without issue.

[killyou]

I tried lubing some switches but for whatever reason they turned out SCRATCHIER every time. Tried various mixes of super lube grease and silicon oil and some other teflon based lube. The only thing I find lube good is to eliminate spring noise. Hell, switches can get scratchier even when you open them up and close. I was trying to do some lighter Tealios. I bougt SPRiT springs, 3 different lubes and all combinations came out scratchier than stock Tealio that was not altered.

[clik_clak]

I tried lubing some switches but for whatever reason they turned out SCRATCHIER every time. Tried various mixes of super lube grease and silicon oil and some other teflon based lube. The only thing I find lube good is to eliminate spring noise. Hell, switches can get scratchier even when you open them up and close. I was trying to do some lighter Tealios. I bougt SPRiT springs, 3 different lubes and all combinations came out scratchier than stock Tealio that was not altered.

The latest batches of spirit springs seem to be ultra scratchy. I don't know a single person that has them that's happy with the sound of them.

Did you try them with the stock springs?

[Kavik]

I bought some vintage MX Blacks on Mechmarket, and they freaking suck. They were extremely dirty. Ultrasonic cleaner did little to nothing to clean them, but, even after cleaning them with alcohol and Q-tips, they are much worse than the switches I mention in the original post of this thread. Lubing them does not help. I don't think they're fake; they have number markings and tooling marks on the sliders I haven't seen before.

I'm wondering if I should just sell all of these and get Tealios or BOX Blacks. It seems the former are smoother but the latter sound better. I guess I'll never know unless I waste more money.

Anyway, I'm frustrated. I just want a great linear switch to try in my next build.

[oh_chesteroni]

I bought some vintage MX Blacks on Mechmarket, and they freaking suck. They were extremely dirty. Ultrasonic cleaner did little to nothing to clean them, but, even after cleaning them with alcohol and Q-tips, they are much worse than the switches I mention in the original post of this thread. Lubing them does not help. I don't think they're fake; they have number markings and tooling marks on the sliders I haven't seen before.

I'm wondering if I should just sell all of these and get Tealios or BOX Blacks. It seems the former are smoother but the latter sound better. I guess I'll never know unless I waste more money.

Anyway, I'm frustrated. I just want a great linear switch to try in my next build.

You know what I've learnt with blacks? Either get retooled or just spend your money on a different linear.