[vcf-midatlantic] Success in restoring old mechanical keyboards
John Heritage
john.heritage at gmail.com
Thu Apr 20 17:03:13 EDT 2017
Hey folks, You probably all know this but I wanted to report success in
restoring some old Focus 2001 mechanical keyboards... I've had these
around since the BBS era, and they were quite yellowed (and pretty
disgusting otherwise too.. :( )..
Anyway, after doing some research -- Salon Care 40 Volume Creme is
basically "retrobright" in a bottle. $5 for 32 oz, and I still have a lot
left over (next case to restore = Amiga 1200).
Attached pic shows basically a before and after (two different keyboards,
but both were equally as bad).
A few things I learned:
- 4 hours of sunlight (UV) is enough, 6 hours with clouds is just enough
with the solution
- Use cling wrap over top of any plastic you've applied the solution to to
keep it wet
-Soaking the keycaps in dish soap and hot water for a few hours does
wonders, then:
- You can be a little lazy with keys by putting them in a glass bowl,
pouring 3% hydrogen peroxide over everything, and putting aluminum foil
underneath to make sure UV bounces everywhere. With this method you'll
probably need a second bath or manual application of the creme to restore
all keys properly.
- I used a lot of q-tips and 90% rubbing alcohol to clean the keyboard and
electronics internals
- Of course wear gloves with this stuff
- Using a keyboard with an XT/AT switch on a modern PC is fun :)
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