Wow, that came out nice. The last sandpapered keycap I saw looked real funky yet these look perfect. Must be that varnish trick...
Yeah, the sandpaper job has to be even, fine, and not too deep (maybe something like sanding via airbrush pistol would be even better).
And the silk-matte varnish was to bring back the "textured" surface this caps usually have!
What kind/brand of varnish you use? Spraycan I assume?
Good question! It was a spraycan from the local DIY store, it was acryl based what I remember, and it was meant to be super resistant (following the info on the can).
I used the can up and threw it away 2 weeks ago or so, cant remember the name/brand.
Regarding the paintjob:
1. After grinding I cleaned the caps in warm soap water to remove dust and grease
2. I build a small "paint box" (cardboard box + plastic bags) so no dust can get on the varnish while drying
3. After the first layer fully dried I grind it again with even finer sandpaper to remove the last unevenness
4. Finally I added two thin layers (the second after the first fully dried, ~24h later)
It looks like you'll be using it for general purpose tasks but would be perfect as well for Photoshop, CAD/CAM or others.
Well, I use it for:
- Photoshop (undo, redo, copy, paste, zoom...)
- Firefox (reload, close tab, prev, next, zoom...)
- Windows (volume, calculator, notepad, copy paste...)
- Video editing (prev/next keyframe, copy, paste, cut, undo, redo...)
So yes, to put it simple: General purpose tasks
This, on the other hand, is nice Did you program the pad itself or are you just using AutoHotkey?
I used the Cherry software to program it... Works well!