Well I fell down the custom keyboard world.

[TrojanWhore]

I have an ISO purple m1, good boards but I want to get mine cerakoted a deeper purple

Yeah I'd like it a bit darker/more vibrant! Spent a while considering caps and opted for something higher contrast (darker) with purple accents.... we'll see how that turns out!
I was also considering some grey gradient side-lit ones (which I may still buy), but didn't want to try and find a matched colour.

Tbh I had initially wanted the silver one, so was considering whether I could sand-blast it back to raw aluminium and then laquer it

 

[$anch3z]

Yeah I'd like it a bit darker/more vibrant! Spent a while considering caps and opted for something higher contrast (darker) with purple accents.... we'll see how that turns out!
I was also considering some grey gradient side-lit ones (which I may still buy), but didn't want to try and find a matched colour.

Tbh I had initially wanted the silver one, so was considering whether I could sand-blast it back to raw aluminium and then laquer it

It's anodised so not sure how successful sandblasting would be. The stock stabs are ok but get yourself some dielectric grease as they take some lubing, I found krytox 205 a little too thin, regardless its a great board to drop into the rabbit hole

 

[TrojanWhore]

Yeah was thiking that if it was anodised that wouldn't be an option lol. Thanks for the tips on the stabs/lube, was thinking earlier about getting some krytox or similar but it slipped my mind... is there anything else you could recommend for the stabs? (preferably something easy to get hold of... )

Edit: D'oh, I guess you're recommending dialectric grease... is that non-conductive?! (being paranoid)

 

[$anch3z]

Yeah was thiking that if it was anodised that wouldn't be an option lol. Thanks for the tips on the stabs/lube, was thinking earlier about getting some krytox or similar but it slipped my mind... is there anything else you could recommend for the stabs? (preferably something easy to get hold of... )

Edit: D'oh, I guess you're recommending dialectric grease... is that non-conductive?! (being paranoid)

Yes t the dielectric grease, superlube or something similar - loads available on the rainforest

 

[TrojanWhore]

I'm a bit confused .... Is dielectric grease electrically conductive (or not)? - Seems to be often used for battery terminals etc. (also is this the same thing as silicone grease?)

I would have assumed that for lubing stabs at least, electrical conductivity would have been undesirable (in case it gets on the PCB etc)!

 

[$anch3z]

I'm a bit confused .... Is dielectric grease electrically conductive (or not)? - Seems to be often used for battery terminals etc. (also is this the same thing as silicone grease?)

I would have assumed that for lubing stabs at least, electrical conductivity would have been undesirable (in case it gets on the PCB etc)!

Short answer no, long answer according to google:
'Does dielectric grease conduct electricity? No, it does not conduct electricity. Even if it is used at points of electrical connections, it is incapable of conducting any electric current. Instead, it acts as an insulator and protects your connections from various agents like moisture, dirt, etc. Additionally, dielectric grease can also provide protection against corrosion.'

 

[TrojanWhore]

Ah ok, tbf it makes sense that if not consuctive that it wouldn't make any difference for car batterys, when you'r etalking about 50-100A of current!
I'm looking at some 'Silverhook' branded stuff, I assume this wil be ok (as well as some cheap, small, paintbrushes for warhammer etc.)

I thought I'd bought all I needed... now I'm looking at £10-50 worth of lube/tools to assemble the thing properly (if I go as far as a 'lubing station' with a tray to hold the switches, stem holder and all the rest of it).

Keycaps arrived today and I got shipping confirmation for the board/switches, although the tracking info is in Chinese so I have no idea when they'll show up

I'll try to put some pics up in the next few days!

 

[CGrieves]

You don't need to lube switches. Yours will be lubed adequately from the factory. It's a lot of work for often marginal benefit, unless there's something wrong with a particular batch of switches.

Worry about lubing switches later, if at all.

 

[t2na]

Ah ok, tbf it makes sense that if not consuctive that it wouldn't make any difference for car batterys, when you'r etalking about 50-100A of current!
I'm looking at some 'Silverhook' branded stuff, I assume this wil be ok (as well as some cheap, small, paintbrushes for warhammer etc.)

I thought I'd bought all I needed... now I'm looking at £10-50 worth of lube/tools to assemble the thing properly (if I go as far as a 'lubing station' with a tray to hold the switches, stem holder and all the rest of it).

Keycaps arrived today and I got shipping confirmation for the board/switches, although the tracking info is in Chinese so I have no idea when they'll show up

I'll try to put some pics up in the next few days!

You don't need a lubing station either if you do decide to go down that route. All you need is 2 brushes, lube and you're good to go. I like using a switch opener but you can manage without as well.

Most current switches now come lubed but a few years ago it was really rare for this to be the case which is why you'll find most recommend going the lube route. In all fairness the quality you get from self lubing will definitely exceed factory lube, it just depends on how much you notice the difference. I still prefer to lube switches myself - but I also prefer soldered boards so I really make the hobby as much of a pain my arse as possible.

I used to use dielectric grease for stabilisers and still have one of my boards that's done that way - but regular lube is also fine.