Grittiness when depressing red switches?

[Dimentio]

Hey guys,

I just have a quick question about the red switches of my new Ducky Shine 3.

I ordered this board with red switches after trying it with browns; I definitely prefer reds, but there's a little bit of a problem with them that is prevalent enough to bother me.

Essentially, it feels like when I press down a switch and when the switch returns back up, there's a "gritty" feeling, which is particularly prevalent when the key is pressed at an angle as opposed to from the center.

I had been reading that this is a fairly common thing with newer switches, but will this feeling ever go away? I've hear lubemodding mentioned many times on this site; is that a way to get rid of this gritty feeling?

Thanks!
Dim

[1pq]

Wearing them down with lots of use will make them a bit smoother, although lubing is probably your best bet.
Or you could just convert to topre and get rid of the scratchiness once and for all... )

[Tony]

I have red and I also used to have that gritty feel, but not now. You may wait for a few weeks for wear-in effects to fade

[lilky]

They should feel better once you've broken the keyboard in...if you don't want the wait, just go ahead and lube it.

[Photoelectric]

Some batches of switches start out quite gritty.  The best solution for that is just using your board for a while, and mechanical friction will smooth out the moving parts inside the switches.  Lubrication will help as well, but you would need to desolder every switch to be able to open them up and lubricate.

[1pq]

Some batches of switches start out quite gritty.  The best solution for that is just using your board for a while, and mechanical friction will smooth out the moving parts inside the switches.  Lubrication will help as well, but you would need to desolder every switch to be able to open them up and lubricate.

If you do decide to lube them you might want to get a custom plate so you don't want to desolder every time you modify the switches. Opens up lots of opportunities for easier future mods as well.

[Photoelectric]

There is no custom plate for Ducky Shine in full size.  There are some TKL plates made for Filco TKLs and CM QFRs that allow opening switches, but I'm not certain they work with Ducky cases.

[1pq]

There is no custom plate for Ducky Shine in full size.  There are some TKL plates made for Filco TKLs and CM QFRs that allow opening switches, but I'm not certain they work with Ducky cases.

Oops forgot it was a ducky.
Yeah have fun desoldering all those LEDs...

[tp4tissue]

If you lube it "now"... it will only take longer to break in...

What you should do is put about 50,000 keypresses per key into it.. THEN lube for ultra smoothness

for 26 letter keys @ a constant rate of 60 wpm that would be 72.222 hours of straight typing..

Realistically... this is around 6 months to 1 year worth of use by someone who plays typing games "everyday"..

there is also no way to speed this up, because the leaf springs are too delicate to polish easily.

[1pq]

for 26 letter keys @ a constant rate of 60 wpm that would be 72.222 hours of straight typing..

hahaha

How long do you think it would take to break it in if you lubed it straight away?

[tp4tissue]

for 26 letter keys @ a constant rate of 60 wpm that would be 72.222 hours of straight typing..

hahaha

How long do you think it would take to break it in if you lubed it straight away?

Forever..

although I thought perhaps, it'd be possible to use an oil suspended ultra fine diamond dust..

This way it may be possible to essentially polish while using..

[rowdy]

My QFR with MX blacks felt kinda gritty to begin with.  It feels much smoother now, after nearly a year of use (on and off).

[PointyFox]

They get smoother, but not completely smooth with use.  If you want completely smooth, find some good vintage MX Blacks or Topre.  I guess lubing could work, though I'd imagine it would wear off, considering that it wouldn't be bonded to the plastic in any way.

[Suichoy]

I've been thinking of lubing my reds, maybe adding clear switches. The desoldering is a tall order though.

[1pq]

They get smoother, but not completely smooth with use.  If you want completely smooth, find some good vintage MX Blacks or Topre.  I guess lubing could work, though I'd imagine it would wear off, considering that it wouldn't be bonded to the plastic in any way.

I don't think lubing switches wears off for a while