Apple Keyboard II ver. B Keycap Removal

[n__dles]

When I pull the caps from the board using a standard keycap removal tool, the spring over dome ALPS switch always comes up too. From what I understand it's not uncommon for some switches to come out like this. They snap into place and aren't damaged when removed with the cap. My problem is that all the switches came up with the caps. Once off of the plate, I tried to pull the switch away from the cap gently, but they were firmly in place.



After some googling I wasn't able to find any tips for removing the switches from the caps, so I decided to sacrifice a key to figure out how they come off.

I first tried to pull the switch off with tweezers. Then I tried prying between the switch and cap with a tiny flat-head screwdriver. Finally I went for needle nose pliers and still wasn't able to separate the switch and cap! 

There's gotta be something I'm missing, right? Maybe Apple adhered the cap and switch on certain batches It seems that way as absurd as it sounds!

[Homenubbie]

Look for glue and report back.

[chyros]

Grip the keycap and use wire pullers to pull the slider off the cap.

[n__dles]

Grip the keycap and use wire pullers to pull the slider off the cap.

Thanks for the idea,  I'm not sure what you mean exactly by wire pullers are. So I used forceps in their place.

 I spent 25 minutes trying with forceps gripping the switch and pulling it while holding the cap in my other hand and rocking it. I was able to get one off in that time, and start on a second. The one I was able to get off has to damage to the leftside clip that holds it in place in the frame, not sure if it will snap in correctly now.

At this point I'd be very surprised if anyone could get them off in any reasonable amount of time without damaging the switch or cap. I think something like high heat or changes in tolerance between the cap and switch manufacturer is to blame.

I just wanted to clean the caps, so this isn't 100% necessary. Just irks me that it has beaten me.