geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: certifiedBOSS on Wed, 25 November 2020, 11:32:56
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I saw a post on Reddit saying that you shouldn't lube U4's, but if you still want to lube them you should use thinner lube than 205g0, is this true or is it just fine to lube them with 205g0?
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Gazzew (the designer for u4s) recommends leaving them stock. You can lube them if you want, nothing's stopping you
edit: if you are lubing them, I'd recommend a thinner grease like tribosys 3203 or 3204.
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I always lube springs no matter what. Sounds better.
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I might just be biased of wanting to lube them cause this is my first build and I want to try my hand at lubing :D
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I don't see why you couldn't i am waiting on my boba U4's. lubricating moving parts yes sir probably gonna lube them with 3204 with 45G spring swap.
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I have been experimenting with them. They don't take to lube as well as other switches. The improvement is more mild / minimal.
I think the only real justification for seriously lubing the switch parts is if you are using lighter than stock springs, and need to thereby help the action along. I find that this helps with 55 G U4 Bobas, for example.
I definitely lube all the springs for any type of Boba switch, and the distributor recommends this as well. It makes a difference and is simply better. Definitely 100% lube the springs.
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it looks as though my latest batch of Boba U4 silent tactiles have lube on the base of the spring ... has anyone else noticed that? Do you think it's still necessary to lube the top of the spring?
Just curious about anyone else's experience.
-G
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If you want to tune the tactility or want them to be smoother, go for it
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I lubed mine and I did notice a slight difference in sound and feel, however i would recommend lubing only the springs to eliminate any ping, the rest of the switch is not worth lubing in my opinion.
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As it happens I got a bunch of U4's in the mail today. I found them gravelly, but found this improved with lubing (and also longer springs). I lubed quite liberally: the rails, the stem pole, the housing....basically everything but the tactile legs and leaf. They definitely feel better to me now.
Though having said that, I think the best answer to this sort of question is to simply do it to a couple of switches and compare yourself. Preferably blind. Mark the lubed ones with a dot, place both lubed and unlubed randomly on a switch tester, cover them with keycaps, and try to forget which ones are which. Then decide which you prefer, and take the keycaps off to see which ones they were. It helps to write down a score out of 10 for each switch - this forces you to keep things concrete so you're not just just coming up with vague impressions as you go around in circles pressing them all.
There are too many factors involved to be able to reliably rely on other people's advice. Maybe (probably) they will lube differently to you, maybe they enjoy a different feel to you, maybe they prioritise/ignore different results to you (sound profile, loudness, smoothness, pre-travel reduction, bottom-out feel, etc.)