Using paint on keycaps

[letsjigsrocks]

My abs keycaps turned shiny and its very irritating . so, I plan to paint it but I dont know what paint should I use. and also I wanted to make it as rough as PBT's surface

[rowdy]

Why not just get PBT keycaps?

[xtrafrood]

The problem with paint is that the friction caused by typing will heat the paint up and cause bubbling/warping over time. Unless you have a way to pad print, but pad printing is only a few steps better than literally painting a keycap.

Some people have used nail polish but I don't think that will make it rough like some pbt keycaps. It might be possible to use some kind of paint professionals use to mark asphalt with. Those kinds of paints are more resistant to oil and heat. When I was a teenager I used some of that paint to do some graffiti at my local high school (don't do it, it's not worth the trouble) and the school had to paint over it because they couldn't scrub it off.

What rowdy said sounds like a much better alternative. If you're painting a keycap because you want to have LED shine through just keep in mind that vortex makes a doubleshot pbt set with a translucent pom infill that will work with your LEDs. If you're going for a custom look you should check out Taihao keycaps. They have some pretty cool color schemes to choose from.

[JaccoW]

I have a set of painted NIQmod modifiers but I believe those were painted using automotive paint.
You'll always have durability issues over time or chipping if you remove them often.

[letsjigsrocks]

Why not just get PBT keycaps?

out of money  . But I'll consider. Also, I'd like to ask this question, how long would PBT destined to shine?

The problem with paint is that the friction caused by typing will heat the paint up and cause bubbling/warping over time. Unless you have a way to pad print, but pad printing is only a few steps better than literally painting a keycap.

Some people have used nail polish but I don't think that will make it rough like some pbt keycaps. It might be possible to use some kind of paint professionals use to mark asphalt with. Those kinds of paints are more resistant to oil and heat. When I was a teenager I used some of that paint to do some graffiti at my local high school (don't do it, it's not worth the trouble) and the school had to paint over it because they couldn't scrub it off.

What rowdy said sounds like a much better alternative. If you're painting a keycap because you want to have LED shine through just keep in mind that vortex makes a doubleshot pbt set with a translucent pom infill that will work with your LEDs. If you're going for a custom look you should check out Taihao keycaps. They have some pretty cool color schemes to choose from.

I guess we don't have asphalt paint available in our area. Do you have any idea what "chemical" should I look for and what should be avoided?

I do have LEDS, but I don't turn it on. purely underglow effect    .

I don't like the color schemes from PBT category, but I do like the "DOLCH" but still ABS.

If this going to work, I'll settle making dolch look-a-like.

I have a set of painted NIQmod modifiers but I believe those were painted using automotive paint.
You'll always have durability issues over time or chipping if you remove them often.

I believe there are different paint used in automotive. What could it be?

[xtrafrood]

Why not just get PBT keycaps?

out of money  . But I'll consider. Also, I'd like to ask this question, how long would PBT destined to shine?

The problem with paint is that the friction caused by typing will heat the paint up and cause bubbling/warping over time. Unless you have a way to pad print, but pad printing is only a few steps better than literally painting a keycap.

Some people have used nail polish but I don't think that will make it rough like some pbt keycaps. It might be possible to use some kind of paint professionals use to mark asphalt with. Those kinds of paints are more resistant to oil and heat. When I was a teenager I used some of that paint to do some graffiti at my local high school (don't do it, it's not worth the trouble) and the school had to paint over it because they couldn't scrub it off.

What rowdy said sounds like a much better alternative. If you're painting a keycap because you want to have LED shine through just keep in mind that vortex makes a doubleshot pbt set with a translucent pom infill that will work with your LEDs. If you're going for a custom look you should check out Taihao keycaps. They have some pretty cool color schemes to choose from.

I guess we don't have asphalt paint available in our area. Do you have any idea what "chemical" should I look for and what should be avoided?

I do have LEDS, but I don't turn it on. purely underglow effect    .

I don't like the color schemes from PBT category, but I do like the "DOLCH" but still ABS.

If this going to work, I'll settle making dolch look-a-like.

I have a set of painted NIQmod modifiers but I believe those were painted using automotive paint.
You'll always have durability issues over time or chipping if you remove them often.

I believe there are different paint used in automotive. What could it be?

Ah right, plastic is less durable when compared to concrete I see your point regarding possibly corrosive paint chemicals. Originative Co. has a set of doubleshot abs dolch for sale atm I believe. Dolch is a little pricey when compared to its pbt counterparts imo but it does look pretty damn awesome, and the set Originative Co. is selling countains a few non-standard keys for 75% keyboards or other non-standard type layouts.

Graffiti proof paints are the kinds of paints that will last, that's pretty much what I used back when I was younger

[absyrd]

I did my mouse and a few keycaps with matte finish Montana back in the day. It is flat, so it does have a better feel than any glossy keys or paint. It does wear off over time, though.

[xtrafrood]

I did my mouse and a few keycaps with matte finish Montana back in the day. It is flat, so it does have a better feel than any glossy keys or paint. It does wear off over time, though.

Montana has some of the best colors I've ever witnessed in a spray paint. Nice fats caps too

[rowdy]

Why not just get PBT keycaps?

out of money  . But I'll consider. Also, I'd like to ask this question, how long would PBT destined to shine?

Massdrop had NPKC top-printed PBT sets for $30.

PBT will take years to shine (unless your hands naturally produce chemicals unfriendly to plastics).

[Darkshado]

Has anyone reported on using Plasti-Dip on keycaps?

[xtrafrood]

Has anyone reported on using Plasti-Dip on keycaps?

There is a picture in this forum of someone's hhkb with plasti-dip modifiers /shrug

Seems like a bunch of reddit users have used plasti-dip for this purpose https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/2w1903/do_not_plastidip_your_keycaps_because_they_will/

If you're ok with the consistency of the keycap grit you could dye the keycaps. From what I understand, the process is messy but a good dye job will last longer than any kind of paint.

[letsjigsrocks]

Has anyone reported on using Plasti-Dip on keycaps?

There is a picture in this forum of someone's hhkb with plasti-dip modifiers /shrug

Seems like a bunch of reddit users have used plasti-dip for this purpose https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/2w1903/do_not_plastidip_your_keycaps_because_they_will/

If you're ok with the consistency of the keycap grit you could dye the keycaps. From what I understand, the process is messy but a good dye job will last longer than any kind of paint.

are NPKC keysets thin PBTs? I'm thinking now if I'll continue this project

I did my mouse and a few keycaps with matte finish Montana back in the day. It is flat, so it does have a better feel than any glossy keys or paint. It does wear off over time, though.

Noted ! Thanks a lot. I'm really confuse if I'm going to paint my keycaps or just buy another set of keys

[Melvang]

Couple things, paints, especially done at home are always going to chip off and wear badly.  The only way around this is to use automotive paints, and follow VERY strict prep, application, and post application regimen.  The reason is because 90% of a quality look of a paint job comes from the prep work.  With painting plastics, you do not have the option to cure in an oven which automotive paints are designed for.  After spraying, it may feel dry and cured, but if it still smells like paint, then it isn't done curing yet.  The smell means there are still solvents in the paint evaporating.

Couple things on plastics.  ABS shines much faster than PBT.  Most of this has to do with chemical makeup of the oils in your fingers and the make up of ABS plastics used in caps, and how those two interact.  Also, there hasn't been any way to favorably alter the texture of caps to my knowledge post shine. 

By all means experiment away, just try not to get discouraged and please experiment on spare caps.

[sinusoid]

I remember seeing someone sandblast caps on Deskthority to give them a rougher surface, the result was pretty nice.

If they're ABS, you can try making your own paint by dissolving some ABS in acetone, then adding a filler and/or pigment to it, then spraying that on. If the filler would have a proper particle structure (shape, diameter), the particles would get exposed with use, effectively becoming the surface of the keycap.

edit:P @Melvang,
ABS is shape stable well above 100 degrees celsius.
If you're talking about two-part resin-based paints, the heating temps for a lot of these seem to oscillate below 120 °C.
If you're talking about powder coating, that needs a lot higher temps since you're essentially sintering the particles of the paint together.

[SKD]

I'm going to paint some spare caps (ABS) tomorrow or day after and show you guys the results. I paint (airbrush) a few model kits made from ABS plastic and they don't chip/melt. The paints I use are a lacquer based acrylic, I might even spray a 2K urethane over for super glossy caps.

I'm fairly certain there won't be any problems and the painted cap will easily handle finger tip presses.

[Findecanor]

The first year I was here, I saw Ripster sandblast his keys. (That was before he went mad)

[SKD]

Got round to spraying some caps. I used the caps that came with my Shine 5. A quick layer of white primer then flourescent pink. They are brighter in real life, my desk isn't very well lit. You can see in the second photo that the legends still come through a bit with the backlight on. They are a bit smoother that PBT caps but the primer I used were very fine and filled the matt finish a bit. I might do the F9-F12 caps and the 4 multimedia caps too, quite like the pink/white/pink.