Difference in lube?

[awhitedev]

I read on one of ripster's pages the difference between keyboard lubes and I'm still a little confused.

I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would ever use expensive lubes like Krytox? Is that just a status thing? lol

i've been using silicone grease for switches and some dielectric grease for the stabilizers and it's been working out fine for me.

[whentheclouds]

http://deskthority.net/w-a-n-t-t-o-b-u-y-f59/ro-59-lubricant-t3581-60.html#p69892

[fohat.digs]

I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would ever use expensive lubes like Krytox?

If you change keyboards every couple of years it may not matter.

Long-term, the different plastics and different lubricants age in unpredictable ways, and may or may not interact with each other. A lubricant that seems to do very little to a plastic in 10 weeks may have done serious damage after 10 years.

If you are lubricating large accessible pieces like stabilizer wires, old lubricant can be wiped off and replaced.
If you are lubricating the inside of a tiny switch, it is nearly irreversible.

Also, the amount of lubricant required is miniscule. I am not big on lubricants except for stabilizers, but I have 2 syringes that hold maybe 5cc each that I have used for a couple of years. The thick one one, for stabilizers, is almost empty and the other one, for switches, is still over half full.

[awhitedev]

I would agree that the effect is pretty underwhelming when lubing the switches. The only time it's been useful for me is when the spring itself is kinda creaking. Even then, the dielectric grease (since it is thicker) seems to do a better job.

Thanks for the info guys.

[jacobolus]

I would agree that the effect is pretty underwhelming when lubing the switches.

What type of switches are you lubing? In general, lubricant can make a very substantial difference, especially to Cherry MX switches which otherwise have a fairly “scratchy” frictiony feeling.

I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would ever use expensive lubes like Krytox? Is that just a status thing? lol

People use krytox because it is a very effective lubricant, which should last a long time without need for repeat application.

The quantities required are tiny, and the main cost in lubricating keyboards is the time it takes, not the material cost of the lubricant itself.

(It’s the same reason we build DIY keyboards using microcontrollers that are dramatically overpowered for the job: spending an extra $5 on a chip is no big deal when you’re going to spend a few hours making something.)

[RickyJ]

I've only used one thin grease (Labelle 106, has teflon) from my local r/c hobby shop, but I have a selection of their other greases and oils that I haven't used yet.  Using a fine brush and applying a very thin slick on the slider tracks and spring ends had a very nice improvement on my reds (still not as buttery smooth as my stock Alps greens, but very close).

Note that I have no experience with RO-59 or Krytox stuff, so I can't compare.

[awhitedev]

I've tried lubing the different kinds of tactile bump switches...

Browns were ok... but it made the switch sort of like a red... and well... if I wanted a red I would've just gotten a red.   

I tried clears... and panda clears... and I liked this one the best... but it really didn't feel too much different from a non lubed switch. The only thing I did notice is that it SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the ping sounds that I found most of my stock clear switches made. This result was found mostly from lubricating the spring itself.. and not the sliders.

Then there's tactile gray... and with this one it was very similar to clear. Lubricating the sliders didn't really feel any different... but lubricating the spring made it sound A LOT less squeaky and pingy (is that a word?)
 Stock tactile grays.. at least the batch I got were very noisy prior to lubing.

So anyways... it was worth lubing... especially more so with some switches... but I saw the biggest gain from lubing the actual spring.

[DrHubblePhD]

Does anyone know a place where I can find the medium thickness stuff, it seems to be out of stock everywhere.