In case of cherry switches you have to remove the silicone grease from the contact leaf and the slider with alcohol prior using the Krytox or RO. Either way it is not convinient, however if you are about to restore the feel of old switches, or just simply want a more durable inert grease there, then I would use Finish Line Extreme Fluoro Grease. It is basically a rebranded Krytox grease, but much more affordable. As far as I know a few Koreans prefer the higher viscosity GPL-106 there, it makes sense to me as well, but it is a lot of hassle and unnecessary in most cases.
Personally I think it won't make much difference there as that part of the switch is already well lubed and smooth, and most of the friction occurs between the vertical side-grooves of the stem and the frames of the lower switch housing. However I don't think putting oil at those points would be a wise idea. Applying a more durable dry lubricant like the RO would be more sensible choice as it does not promote the accumulation of dust and dirt.
Yes, that part of the switch is exposed.
My new Poker has new factory lubed Cherry red switch, so I didn't feel a need to lube the switches. Maybe if I use the switch long enough, I might feel a need for lubrication, but not yet. I know HHKB will eventually need lubrication, so I would lubricate my like-new HHKB as preventive measure.
When I purchased a new Dell AT101W with black Alps(manufactured well over 10 years ago I suppose), the switches were all gritty and not smooth. I lubed the metal leaf and the springs with silicone oil(it was
Victorinox Multi-tool oil), pretty much every gritty feeling has gone away. At the time, I didn't lubricate where the sliders meet the switch housing. So, I think the major place where friction matters in a mechanical switch is where plastic slider meets metal leaf. For Alps switch, the surface area of metal leaf touches the plastic slider is considerably larger than that of Cherries.(There are two metal pieces touching plastic slider in Alps one of which has considerable surface that touches plastic slider. There is only one in Cherry) For this reason, I think lubrication is much more effective in Alps than in Cherry switches.
It has been two full years since I lubricated Alps, but dust gumming up lube didn't happen. My dell is more or less same as it was lubricated. I didn't use the board a lot, but it was not stored in a box either. It was laying around in my office for two years. So dust gumming up lube argument doesn't seem persuasive to me.
For some who doubt effectiveness of lubrication of Alps switches, I have recorded typing before and after lube. I cannot really convey the feel of the switches, but hope sounds will some part of story. I would upload the MP3 files here, but I don't know how, so I will put a link. Be warned that the website is pretty slow outside of Korea.
Link(look for Dell NO Lube.MP3 and Dell Lube.MP3)In conclusion,
1. friction in mechanical switches is greatest in metal to plastic contacts
2. wet lube attracting dust doesn't seem to be supported by evidence
The above conclusion is drawn from my experience with new Dell AT101W which was manufactured long time ago. So, it could be possible that the friction between switch housing and the sliders builds up after some use. The switch housing of Alps seems to be ABS plastic(acetone melts them) which is terrible material where friction is concerned, so it is possible that friction builds up as the plastic get degraded. In Cherry switches however, housing is known to be PBT and the sliders Derlin, both of which are pretty slick compared to ABS plastic. See the chart in my
post in KBDMania.
Also, dry lube is in a sense not so durable because it cannot fix itself. Wet lube can be dispersed if it partly wears off, but the same self healing process is less likely to happen in dry lube. If glued and dried surface of RO is scratched, then the scratched surface is going to suffer friction, whereas wet lube is going to be lubricated as long as it is wet(enough lube is left). RO and wet lube have their own strong and weak points, so I think it would be hard to say one is superior to another.
Sorry for the super long post....
Edit:
I tried Krytox on my Cherry red switch. It really feels and sound different. It feels very smooth. I also tried sticker mod (I used filament tape instead of the stickers specifically designed for the mod) and I find that noise from rattling housing is eliminated. The lubing of the sliders dampens scratching noise. After the lube + sticker mod + o-rings, my Cherry reds are very very quiet.
I believe ripster will come along and say it is some sort of psychological effect or something, but it really does feel different after the lube. (I conducted blind test myself with loud music on.) It definitely sound different as well. Rattling noise of switch housing is gone(due to sticker mod), scratching and ping sound from spring is gone(due to silicone lube to the springs), and subtle plastic to plastic sliding sound is gone(due to Krytox lube on the sliders). I dropped a drop of silicone oil on the stem of slider that holds spring in place, and painted Krytox on sliders and the places the sliders touch.
I am going to see how the lube is going to hold up. So far Krytox GPL100 and GPL105 seems to have same feel (I couldn't tell the difference between the two lubricants when applied)
Do I think it is worth it? Probably not worth my time, but it is certainly not useless. Now that I see the effect, I begin to understand why many people spend their time moding Cherry switches. I would probably try the lube and mod when I have loads of free time.
In case anyone is interested in sticker mod, I have written a post in Korean comparing sound difference.
here (look for Cherry_Blues_sticker_mod.zip for sound sample in the link) I posted some photos of the mod and graphs representing sound waves(? I don't know what they call them. Is it oscillograph?)
