Finally got around doing the Ergo Clear mod! My testing was so encompassing that it took a loooooong time (days) for the whole process. Working with soldering/de-soldering for the first time, and having to desolder LEDs on my WASD Code also contributed to the time length of the mod. Anyhow, I'm very pleased with the mod (plus lube), and it was totally worth the effort.
Springs/Switches Tested:
non-lubed 62g Ergo Clears, lubed 62g Ergo Clears, non-lubed 65g Ergo Clears, lubed 65g Ergo Clears, non-lubed 68g Ergo Clears, non-lubed 65g Zealios, non-lubed 67g Zealios.
Different Lubing Methods Tried:
1) White Fire Dragon's way (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EaKBfLB28U)
2) Stem pole, housing hole, and spring
3) Spring only
4) Stem sliders and spring only.
Note: #2 to 4 uses the same lube and same amount of lube as #1, just different areas.
Opinions:- Liked 65g Ergo Clear the most, but 62g is so popular, so I lubed these two to test. 68g was too heavy, similar to stock MX Clears - didn't lube to test.
- Tried lubing everything (the WFD way), and disliked very much. I am the oddball here, but I prefer completely non-lubed over this method, if I had to choose one (there is a better compromise, later discussed). Lubing everything reduced tactility significantly, and dampened bottom out sound significantly - two things I love. The ultra smoothness replacing the scratchiness is a big plus, but not worth sacrificing tactility and bottom-out sound. Just my opinion.
Observations:
- Counter-intuitively, I found that lubing the stem pole and housing hole reduced tactility by a little. I did not bother lubing the stem legs only to see if that has the biggest reduction in tactility, but I strongly believe it does.
- Lubing the spring (w/ Victorinox Oil) reduces the ping significantly. Using WFD's way of lubing the springs was sufficient to reduce ping down to 0-15%. Some switches still ping very softly within said range when held right next to ear - not due to different amounts of lube, but simply because not all springs/switches are identical. However, this is nothing to worry about, as 0-10% will be inaudible in regular typing distance, and with key caps bottoming out to cover this little ping. Applying more lube can lower the ping even more down to 0-5%, but I feel that the added amount of spring lube also dampened tactility a little, hence not recommended.
- De-lubing a switch/spring with Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, as suggested by many, is not as effective as using soap, and is very time-consuming. I comprehensively and repeated wiped all the parts (hole, guides, pole) to de-lube the switch, but realized that the tactility and bottoming out volume did not return much. Using soap would require too much effort to clean without soaking them in a bucket, which I think destroys the switches. You would be better off just replacing them to save you the time.
- Unrelated: LED heightens the bottoming-out! Key caps (cherry profile) actually hit LEDs (the usual type) on my WASD Code, which causes the bottom out. That means key travel is also reduced! Without the LED, the bottoming out is caused by the insides of the key cap hitting the top of the switch housing. (See the other thread for more details).
Conclusion:
- I lubed the springs and the top halves of the stem sliders only (using WFD's amount and lubrication (Krytox mix and Victorinox oil), afraid I'd lose tactility and bottoming-out volume again. Tactility and bottom-out volume was not sacrificed with this method, however. Lubed springs eliminates ping completely at normal distance and with key caps. Bottom-out sounds much more homogeneous in terms of sound frequencies - high pitches gone and lower pitches remaining, due to elimination of ping (not sure if lubing sliders have anything to do with it), which sounds much more solid and just overall much more pleasant. Scratchiness pretty much eliminated, but not as smooth as lubing the whole switch, of course. However, as stated, the super smoothness is not worth sacrificing tactility and bottom-out volume, IMO. I suppose smoothness is not as important to me than to others, or tactility/bottom-out volume is more important to me, or both.
Hope that helps the next modder. Good luck!