Author Topic: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance  (Read 3882 times)

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Offline durainello

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Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« on: Sun, 06 November 2016, 19:35:04 »
Good Day,

I've been using my RF87U white for a year and half and using wet wipes for weekly cleaning. I notices that the top cover and caps are getting yellowish (Yes, I'm a smoker) despite weekly maintenance. I read that the keycaps can be clean by soaking into denture tabs and i'm wondering can i also do it with the top cover as well. Apologies for the poor english.

Thanks.

Offline 1391406

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Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 06 November 2016, 20:38:56 »
I've been using my RF87U white for a year and half and using wet wipes for weekly cleaning. I notices that the top cover and caps are getting yellowish (Yes, I'm a smoker) despite weekly maintenance. I read that the keycaps can be clean by soaking into denture tabs and i'm wondering can i also do it with the top cover as well. Apologies for the poor english.

I've never done it, but I don't see why you can't.


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Offline Macsmasher

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Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 07 November 2016, 14:19:58 »
I use an ultrasonic cleaner for PBT keycaps with hot soapy water. I already have one for reloading ammo, but you can pick one up for $30 or so on Amazon or try Harbor Freight. They're handy to have for lots of things. It's the best thing I've found to dislodge oils in the textured surface of the keycap.

Offline Puddsy

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Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 07 November 2016, 17:22:42 »
Realforces naturally yellow a bit with time. Mine is pretty clean still, as I'm a non-smoker and it spends a lot of time in the box.

There are plenty of guides to whiten it again.
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Offline czarek

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Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 08 November 2016, 10:45:33 »
When my keycaps get dirty I just clean them in a dishwasher on the "eco" setting that is slightly lower temperature than usual. I put them in those bags you use to wash your sneakers. After an hour, they're clean like new.
Only time I had problem was when I cleaned stock Filco keycaps this way. They didn't melt but got discolored in a nasty way, but they were crap quality anyways. Not sure why I even bothered washing them :)
I do that regularly on black Topre keys (HHKB and Realforce), white Topre keys (HHKB), IBM Model M/F keycaps and charcoal EnjoyPBT blanks from Gateron as those are the things I use mostly.
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Offline romevi

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Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 08 November 2016, 13:00:23 »
Just stop smoking.

Offline 1391406

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Re: Realforce 87UW cleaning/maintenance
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 08 November 2016, 13:40:17 »
The Realforce case is made of ABS so it may eventually start to yellow whether you smoke it or not.
Unicomp Classic | Chicony KB-5181 (Monterey Blues) | IBM Model M (1391401) | IBM XT Model F | IBM AT Model F | Dell AT101W | 122-key IBM Model F
IBM Model M13 | Apple Extended Keyboard | Apple Extended Keyboard II | MTEK K104 | NTC KB-6251/2 | Realforce 87U | Realforce 104U | Type Heaven