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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: durainello on Sun, 06 November 2016, 19:35:04

Title: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: durainello on Sun, 06 November 2016, 19:35:04: Good Day,

I've been using my RF87U white for a year and half and using wet wipes for weekly cleaning. I notices that the top cover and caps are getting yellowish (Yes, I'm a smoker) despite weekly maintenance. I read that the keycaps can be clean by soaking into denture tabs and i'm wondering can i also do it with the top cover as well. Apologies for the poor english.

Thanks.
Title: Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: 1391406 on Sun, 06 November 2016, 20:38:56: Quote from: durainello on Sun, 06 November 2016, 19:35:04
I've been using my RF87U white for a year and half and using wet wipes for weekly cleaning. I notices that the top cover and caps are getting yellowish (Yes, I'm a smoker) despite weekly maintenance. I read that the keycaps can be clean by soaking into denture tabs and i'm wondering can i also do it with the top cover as well. Apologies for the poor english.

I've never done it, but I don't see why you can't.
Title: Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: Macsmasher on Mon, 07 November 2016, 14:19:58: I use an ultrasonic cleaner for PBT keycaps with hot soapy water. I already have one for reloading ammo, but you can pick one up for $30 or so on Amazon or try Harbor Freight. They're handy to have for lots of things. It's the best thing I've found to dislodge oils in the textured surface of the keycap.
Title: Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: Puddsy on Mon, 07 November 2016, 17:22:42: Realforces naturally yellow a bit with time. Mine is pretty clean still, as I'm a non-smoker and it spends a lot of time in the box.

There are plenty of guides to whiten it again.
Title: Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: czarek on Tue, 08 November 2016, 10:45:33: When my keycaps get dirty I just clean them in a dishwasher on the "eco" setting that is slightly lower temperature than usual. I put them in those bags you use to wash your sneakers. After an hour, they're clean like new.
Only time I had problem was when I cleaned stock Filco keycaps this way. They didn't melt but got discolored in a nasty way, but they were crap quality anyways. Not sure why I even bothered washing them :)
I do that regularly on black Topre keys (HHKB and Realforce), white Topre keys (HHKB), IBM Model M/F keycaps and charcoal EnjoyPBT blanks from Gateron as those are the things I use mostly.
Title: Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: romevi on Tue, 08 November 2016, 13:00:23: Just stop smoking.
Title: Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
Post by: 1391406 on Tue, 08 November 2016, 13:40:17: The Realforce case is made of ABS so it may eventually start to yellow whether you smoke it or not.