geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: iMav on Fri, 18 January 2008, 06:21:16
-
Are there any members here (aside from SigonLegacy) who have recently done any keyboard coloring with vinyl dye? (xsphat, didn't you use regular paint on yours?)
I think the consensus was that the Plastikote brand was the stuff to go with...I've ordered some from Amazon (not a lot of colors currently available), and am going to do some experimenting on my ML4100 stock. ;)
-
I used car paint on the keys and it came right off in giant flakes.
-
I still say someone should lacquer (http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/hhkeyboard/hhkbprohg/hg_j.html) their keyboard.
-
I used car paint on the keys and it came right off in giant flakes.
How did you prepare the keys before painting?
-
"Hey keys! Get ready to be painted!"
-
How did you prepare the keys before painting?
I cleaned them really well and roughed them slightly with steel wool. The paint stuck for months without an issue, but I wanted to see if I could get the paint off so I popped a keycap off and I was able to chip the paint off clean. My first Apple clicky keyboard with the fake Alps switches still has the keys painted that way and it looks good. On my second keyboard like that, with the pink Alps sliders, I took off the paint on all the regular-sized keys so the 'board didn't look stupid anymore.
-
Are there any members here (aside from SigonLegacy) who have recently done any keyboard coloring with vinyl dye? (xsphat, didn't you use regular paint on yours?)
I think the consensus was that the Plastikote brand was the stuff to go with...I've ordered some from Amazon (not a lot of colors currently available), and am going to do some experimenting on my ML4100 stock. ;)
I used black Plastikote on one of my Ms and the results were quite good. It has seen a few months of action as my primary work board and has suffered neither flaking or chipping. Of course, I only died the frame not the keys, but even on the bottom side of the board where it rubs against the desk shows no signs of wear. I'm pretty impressed.
Prep and painting is pretty straight forward. Clean everything down with rubbing alcohol, make several light coats with the dye (I think it took about 7 coats to get complete coverage) and you should be all set.
My only complaint is I wish the black Plastikote dye was about 30% less shiny, more of an eggshell than a semi-gloss luster would have looked better IMHO.
-
For those of you that used the Plasti-kote product, is it labeled as an actual dye? I bought the plasti-kote Vinyl Color (the only plasti-kote product I could find for vinyl).
I treated several keys with this product. First one I did too heavy, so the following ones I did EXTREMELY light coats (8-10 in total)....giving a good half an hour or more between coats. Once I was completed, I left them alone for a good two days.
The result? They looked GREAT...well, ONE of them looked great. Two of the others had bubbles and uneven application (this type of work is NOT my forte). Out of curiosity, I grabbed some non-acetone nail polish remover to apply to the imperfect keys. To my surprise, it wiped off like I was wiping a marker board! No elbow grease required. It does not appear that that this product dyes the plastic at all. I grabbed the next key and did a small area...then used my nail and PEELED off a huge piece.
The good thing is, I was able to restore the keys to their original condition. And I am chalking this project up as a failure.
-
Post a photo of the can you used
-
Hello guys, been a while, i was also considering painting my model m5-2 keyboard, which type shoud i use? im actually buying transparent keycaps from time to time till i have all, but until then i need to see which is the best paint possible.
-
Post a photo of the can you used
(http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/vinyl-color.jpg) (http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/vinyl-color-big.jpg)
[ click on pic for larger version ]
-
Has anyone tried Testers model paint or anything? There has to something that works. iMav, at least you didn't mess up any keys fatally.
-
That plastikote stuff actually works pretty well, if the surface is clean and smooth to start with. I've used it on a motorcycle seat, and it's very durable- after more than a year, only a few small cracks were visible, and that's on a flexible surface that was exposed to heat, weather, etc- a much harsher environment than your k/b's going to face.
As far as actually dyeing the plastic, you really can't- it has to be done when it's cast. You might be able to get some in the surface, by using something like methyl ethyl ketone to melt the plastic, but then the surface would be uneven, and I doubt you could get an even coloring, anyway.
If you really thoroughly clean the keys and apply the coats evenly, it should come out looking pretty good. Letting each coat dry and then lightly buffing them with very fine steel wool before applying the next coat will make them smoother and shinier- but it'd also be an awfully big time-sink. As long as you avoid industrial solvents, I'd expect the plastikote to last for several years, at least.
(Off topic, wtf is up with non-acetone nail polish remover? It's made with methyl acetate or ethyl acetate, both of which are nastier than acetone. I guess because they smell better than acetone, people figure it must be safer. Gah.)
-
(Off topic, wtf is up with non-acetone nail polish remover? It's made with methyl acetate or ethyl acetate, both of which are nastier than acetone. I guess because they smell better than acetone, people figure it must be safer. Gah.)
No clue. That's what the wife just happened to have lying around. :)
I'd give it another go...but if I've learned anything from the first attempt, it is that I have zero patience and skill for such projects.
-
No clue. That's what the wife just happened to have lying around. :)
I'd give it another go...but if I've learned anything from the first attempt, it is that I have zero patience and skill for such projects.
Sorry, that wasn't really aimed at you- more at the concept of it in general. I'm a chemist, so sometimes stuff like that makes my head spin and split pea soup gush from my mouth.
-
Post a photo of the can you used
How's that one you painted?, im not really very concerned about the keys though, im going to use transparent keycaps so there wont be too much trouble in that part....
-
I'm a chemist, so sometimes stuff like that makes my head spin and split pea soup gush from my mouth.
Ohhh, pea soup.
-
iMav,
That's the same stuff I used. I can't see how it rubs off, maybe yours hadn't cured all the way. If there's one thing I learned with the process it's that you really need to apply LOTS of VERY LIGHT coats. I got a little ambitious with one of mine and ended up with a small bubble (not very noticeable unless you know where to look). Also the whole process takes many hours, and for best results, probably should be spread over a day or two. Certainly it's not something that can be hurried.
How's that one you painted?, im not really very concerned about the keys though, im going to use transparent keycaps so there wont be too much trouble in that part....
Bluemercury, the board I painted with the Plastikote dye is great (the one in my avatar photo). So far it's held up to hours of daily use over a couple months with no signs of wear. I didn't paint the keys though (they came from a broken M-13 trackpoint), just the frame. Even the underside of the frame, after sliding around on the desk, shows no signs of wear though.
-
iMav,
That's the same stuff I used. I can't see how it rubs off, maybe yours hadn't cured all the way. If there's one thing I learned with the process it's that you really need to apply LOTS of VERY LIGHT coats. I got a little ambitious with one of mine and ended up with a small bubble (not very noticeable unless you know where to look). Also the whole process takes many hours, and for best results, probably should be spread over a day or two. Certainly it's not something that can be hurried.
Bluemercury, the board I painted with the Plastikote dye is great (the one in my avatar photo). So far it's held up to hours of daily use over a couple months with no signs of wear. I didn't paint the keys though (they came from a broken M-13 trackpoint), just the frame. Even the underside of the frame, after sliding around on the desk, shows no signs of wear though.
Thanks, i wonder if i can find that particular brand here in portugal....
-
Sorry to bump this again, but im really in the mood for paiting one of my model M keyboards, and im still guessing the best type of paint.
-
I'm reading on this board now for a rather long time and I'm mostly interested in dying keyboards because it seems to be a pretty nice way to change the color of nice vintage boards. Many people here mentioned the plastikote products so I did a search for this kind of sprays (vinyl sprays) and found that: MOTIP vinyl (http://www.farbladen.ch/product_info.php?info=p346_MOTIP-Vinyl-Lack.html) The description says that it's a MOTIP product, but if I click on the picture I can clearly read plastikote written on the spray bottle.
Now my question is about whether this spray is a good solution for my needs to simply dye a gray keyboard to black or if somebody has had bad experiences with this motip products.
-
I think this (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:4962) is better.