geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: rf86u on Wed, 11 March 2020, 09:37:50
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I have 2 Realforce 86u keyboards, almost 10 years old. Now they feel a bit harder to actuate than my Filco brown switch.
what's best practice to maintain old Realforce keyboard?
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I'm not sure how old my 86u is, but when I got it I lubed it immediately, due to preference. It removes most of the friction felt during presses. If you like the sound of that, then I recommend it.
Other more significant modification include buying new domes (eg https://www.keyclack.com/products/bke-topre-dome-replacements?variant=21063031062605), or installing silencing rings, which as a side effect, decrease the travel distance of the slider by not allowing the dome to fully uncollapse, resulting in less force required to press down the key. Both of these options significantly alter the experience though.
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yes.
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This may be entirely irrelevant to Topre, and whatever sort of rubber substitute they use for their domes (silicone?), but I know that auto detailers are convinced that plastics and rubbers dry out over time as the oils within work themselves out, evaporate, etc, over time. There's no arguing with the results either when you look at those gritty old looking bumpers and somebody hits it with a hair dryer or heat gun and lets it soak up some good old ATF. It seems to restore its original color and some of its flexibility, and it lasts afterwards. I have tried similar things myself with rubbers and plastics, and it has worked wonders on 50+-year-old rubber recoil pads, grips, etc, that felt as hard as rocks and were beginning to crack.
With that in mind, if the domes similarly stiffen and/or become brittle with age, I can't imagine a decent synthetic lubricant could hurt matters. ATF is used by a lot of people, in a lot of businesses, for its combination of an extremely low price, mechanical lubrication properties (primarily between metals), and the fact that, being a synthetic oil, it doesn't tend to break down/gum up over time. Not that it is in any way suitable for keyboards.
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The domes stiffen over time with use, and lubing doesn’t help with that, it only modifies the upstroke. You could replace the domes or replace the keyboard itself.
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The domes stiffen over time with use, and lubing doesn’t help with that, it only modifies the upstroke. You could replace the domes or replace the keyboard itself.
Has anybody tried what many do with different rubbers and plastics and soak the domes in ATF (or other suitable synthetic oil), after heating if possible, overnight, or longer, then either leave out a while or wipe off, then reinstall? Most of the excess should soak in over time either way, if the rubber substitute is anything like most others.
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I'm not sure how old my 86u is, but when I got it I lubed it immediately, due to preference. It removes most of the friction felt during presses. If you like the sound of that, then I recommend it.
Other more significant modification include buying new domes (eg https://www.keyclack.com/products/bke-topre-dome-replacements?variant=21063031062605), or installing silencing rings, which as a side effect, decrease the travel distance of the slider by not allowing the dome to fully uncollapse, resulting in less force required to press down the key. Both of these options significantly alter the experience though.
what tools/supply do I need for lubing? thanks
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I'm not sure how old my 86u is, but when I got it I lubed it immediately, due to preference. It removes most of the friction felt during presses. If you like the sound of that, then I recommend it.
Other more significant modification include buying new domes (eg https://www.keyclack.com/products/bke-topre-dome-replacements?variant=21063031062605), or installing silencing rings, which as a side effect, decrease the travel distance of the slider by not allowing the dome to fully uncollapse, resulting in less force required to press down the key. Both of these options significantly alter the experience though.
what tools/supply do I need for lubing? thanks
Screwdriver for disassembly, small paintbrush for lube application, and the lube itself.
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I lubed one of my 86u with GPL206, only on the rails. All good so far. After 10 years of use, Actuation force may have increased, but still as smooth as new.
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RF should provide replacement rubber sheets.
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To be fair you can probably trade the domes + paypal on mech market for new domes. People want more tactility these days.
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I lubed the other 86u on both slider and rails with g205, I wiped excess off with microfiber.
It feels even better! very glad I did this.