How to unlube switches?

[Geroximo]

Hi,

I don't like the lubed switches anymore and want to unlube them.

The stems are easy to clean, but the inside of the switch housings are a bit tricky.
The only way I can think of are Q-Tips with some sort of cleaner on it.

Are there better ways?

[bocahgundul]

dip in in alcohol it might help 

[iLLucionist]

dip in in alcohol it might help 

Aren't the switch housings ABS? In other words, wouldn't you slowly dissolve and kill the plastic if you would apply alcohol to it?

[bocahgundul]

dip in in alcohol it might help 

Aren't the switch housings ABS? In other words, wouldn't you slowly dissolve and kill the plastic if you would apply alcohol to it?

No just clean it with alcohol not dip it I'm wrong 

[chyros]

Depending on how desperately you want absolutely all the lube off you might want to use LPE instead.

[Lepidus]

dip in in alcohol it might help 

Aren't the switch housings ABS? In other words, wouldn't you slowly dissolve and kill the plastic if you would apply alcohol to it?

I think the housing is made of Nylon and the stem of POM.

Probably PA 66, http://qepp.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatGUID=f697bc3bd284443690e18a44a1b66b05

[Bucake]

Ctrl Z

[jerue]

Ctrl Z

I hear Alt+F4 is what all the pros use these days.

[alienman82]

removed.

[iLLucionist]

Ctrl Z

I hear Alt+F4 is what all the pros use these days.

nah nah it's Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Nah... $ killall <proc_name>

[alienman82]

removed.

[tronbeaver]

A match should do it.

[jbondeson]

A serious answer would be a degreaser and warm water -- just make sure it's safe for plastics.

Just remember that most switches are factory lubed in certain locations (I believe on MX the slider is lubed), so if you get it all off you should reapply a light coat. Otherwise you could drastically shorten the life of the switch.

[iLLucionist]

A serious answer would be a degreaser and warm water -- just make sure it's safe for plastics.

Just remember that most switches are factory lubed in certain locations (I believe on MX the slider is lubed), so if you get it all off you should reapply a light coat. Otherwise you could drastically shorten the life of the switch.

How would completely unlubed swithces drastically shorten the lifetime of a switch?

[jbondeson]

A serious answer would be a degreaser and warm water -- just make sure it's safe for plastics.

Just remember that most switches are factory lubed in certain locations (I believe on MX the slider is lubed), so if you get it all off you should reapply a light coat. Otherwise you could drastically shorten the life of the switch.

How would completely unlubed swithces drastically shorten the lifetime of a switch?

Higher friction on the touch points would increase wear.

[iLLucionist]

A serious answer would be a degreaser and warm water -- just make sure it's safe for plastics.

Just remember that most switches are factory lubed in certain locations (I believe on MX the slider is lubed), so if you get it all off you should reapply a light coat. Otherwise you could drastically shorten the life of the switch.

How would completely unlubed swithces drastically shorten the lifetime of a switch?

Higher friction on the touch points would increase wear.

Ah good to know. Interesting, because some people also argue that to get a smoother travel you should completely unlube and then the wear will do away with any rough edges on the slider or housing, which will make for a smoother experience.

[jbondeson]

Ah good to know. Interesting, because some people also argue that to get a smoother travel you should completely unlube and then the wear will do away with any rough edges on the slider or housing, which will make for a smoother experience.

I can see running them bare for a while to smooth them out, but only if you follow it up by reapplying the lubricant after a break in period, otherwise you'll continue to wear and change the feel.

The hard part would be ensuring an even wear when doing this method.

Time for a switch pressing robot!

Oooorrr, you could buy Gaterons. (But building a robot sounds like more fun)

[iLLucionist]

Ah good to know. Interesting, because some people also argue that to get a smoother travel you should completely unlube and then the wear will do away with any rough edges on the slider or housing, which will make for a smoother experience.

I can see running them bare for a while to smooth them out, but only if you follow it up by reapplying the lubricant after a break in period, otherwise you'll continue to wear and change the feel.

The hard part would be ensuring an even wear when doing this method.

Time for a switch pressing robot!

Oooorrr, you could buy Gaterons. (But building a robot sounds like more fun)

Is Gateron sooo much smoother than stock mx's? Makes me curious to try them out..

[jbondeson]

Ah good to know. Interesting, because some people also argue that to get a smoother travel you should completely unlube and then the wear will do away with any rough edges on the slider or housing, which will make for a smoother experience.

I can see running them bare for a while to smooth them out, but only if you follow it up by reapplying the lubricant after a break in period, otherwise you'll continue to wear and change the feel.

The hard part would be ensuring an even wear when doing this method.

Time for a switch pressing robot!

Oooorrr, you could buy Gaterons. (But building a robot sounds like more fun)

Is Gateron sooo much smoother than stock mx's? Makes me curious to try them out..

Zeal did some great macro shots: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74836.msg1847809#msg1847809

[iLLucionist]

Ah good to know. Interesting, because some people also argue that to get a smoother travel you should completely unlube and then the wear will do away with any rough edges on the slider or housing, which will make for a smoother experience.

I can see running them bare for a while to smooth them out, but only if you follow it up by reapplying the lubricant after a break in period, otherwise you'll continue to wear and change the feel.

The hard part would be ensuring an even wear when doing this method.

Time for a switch pressing robot!

Oooorrr, you could buy Gaterons. (But building a robot sounds like more fun)

Is Gateron sooo much smoother than stock mx's? Makes me curious to try them out..

Zeal did some great macro shots: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74836.msg1847809#msg1847809

Those look damn smooth to me, wow. What to get.. zealio's or gateron's for another experience?

[jacobolus]

I don't like the lubed switches anymore and want to unlube them.

What kind of lube?

If it’s Krytox, you’ll have a tough time getting it off with any common kind of solvent, cf. https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58312 (“NO organic solvent dissolves PFPE. it has no flash point (does not burn), it's ridiculously hydrophobic, etc. so there's basically no way to get it off a surface except for mechanical debridement.”) There are solvents for Krytox but they are very expensive and I’m not sure you can easily buy a small quantity.

You could try an ultrasonic cleaner if you can find someone nearby who has one.

Alternately, you could just try to scrape the lube off with a q-tip, or better, a microfiber cloth. I don’t think adding “cleaner” is going to help. If it’s Krytox, neither an alcohol dip nor a “degreaser” is going to do anything.

Other types of lubricant will be easier to remove.

[Prelim]

just use a swab to remove 90% of it (sliders included) and you are good to go btw, minimal lubing will be always better than stock switches anyway

[Bucake]

didn't realize something like krytox was that.. sticky.
good to know, i guess

[jaffers]

You can unlube krytox really quickly by making a solution of ammonia and bleach, it doesn't hurt the colour of the switches at all. Just chuck them in there without disassembly, then let them dry in the sun

[platypus]

You can unlube krytox really quickly by making a solution of ammonia and bleach, it doesn't hurt the colour of the switches at all. Just chuck them in there without dis assembly, then let them dry in the sun