The $11 trick that fixed my scratchy switches for good

I been building custom boards for about 4 years now and always fought with scratchy switches no matter how much I lubed them. Bought all the fancy krytox stuff and spent hours with a brush on each switch. Still sounded like sandpaper on some keys. Then a guy at a meetup in Portland told me to try warming the switches up before lubing. He said put them in a ziplock bag and dunk it in warm water for 5 minutes. I thought he was messing with me but I tried it last month with some Gateron yellows I had. The lube just spread way more even and thin on the warm plastic. Made a huge difference on the sound and feel. Has anyone else done this or got another weird trick that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

sagea8826d ago

40 bucks on a heat gun from harbor freight works even better.

lilyo3026d ago

The "40 bucks on a heat gun from harbor freight" part is interesting, but nobody's talking about how dangerous those cheap ones can be. I've seen people melt their own extension cords by accident (not fun at all). The real trick is getting a dual-temp gun with a ceramic element so it doesn't catch fire if you leave it on. Also, the cheap ones have a nasty habit of blowing hot air right back at your hand if you angle it wrong. Just something to think about before you grab the cheapest option off the shelf.