I have a pile of vintage blacks that I pulled out of a Wyse PCE (for restoration!), and they're filthy. Covered in corrosion from the PCB, gunk, etc.
I have an ultrasonic cleaner that I picked up from Amazon, and I'd like to clean the switches properly. However, I really don't want to spend a bunch of time cleaning each one for x minutes, one at a time (especially not for 100 of them!).
My question is: Should I keep the parts of a switch together when doing this, cleaning one at a time, or should I just do like 3 runs (one for all of the stems, tops, and bottoms)?
Vintage Blacks cleaning, matching parts
- Bjerrk
- Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Main keyboard: Cherry G80-1800 & Models F & M
- Main mouse: Mouse Keys, Trackpoint, Trackball
- Favorite switch: IBM Buckling Springs+Beamspring, Alps Plate Spring
No particular reason to keep them together. Good luck with the sonic'ing - the quality of ultrasound cleaners seems highly variable!
- drevyek
- Location: US-CA
- Main keyboard: Leopold FC980C
- Main mouse: Kensington Slimblade
- Favorite switch: Alps Orange
- DT Pro Member: -
Yeah, I'm not entirely sure how good this one is. I'm getting some scale off, but I may need to run it for longer on the particularly grimy ones. I'm currently going for 10 minutes per run.Bjerrk wrote: 02 Dec 2021, 10:44 No particular reason to keep them together. Good luck with the sonic'ing - the quality of ultrasound cleaners seems highly variable!
And good to know, thanks! I'll just dump them all in. Makes it a lot easier to have a bag for each.
- Lynx_Carpathica
- Location: Hungary
- Main keyboard: Apple Keyboard M0118
- Main mouse: ROG Sica
- Favorite switch: SKCM Salmon
- DT Pro Member: -
By keeping the parts together, you can elliminate the need for annoying mods like that damn annoying paper mod.
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- Main keyboard: 15x4 Ortho
- Main mouse: MX518
- Favorite switch: Blue
my method:drevyek wrote: 02 Dec 2021, 04:30 I have a pile of vintage blacks that I pulled out of a Wyse PCE (for restoration!), and they're filthy. Covered in corrosion from the PCB, gunk, etc.
I have an ultrasonic cleaner that I picked up from Amazon, and I'd like to clean the switches properly. However, I really don't want to spend a bunch of time cleaning each one for x minutes, one at a time (especially not for 100 of them!).
My question is: Should I keep the parts of a switch together when doing this, cleaning one at a time, or should I just do like 3 runs (one for all of the stems, tops, and bottoms)?
1. disassemble all switches (must)
2. soak/shake in soapy water
3. rinse it all under tap water for a good amount of time. I use a shower head.
4. soak / shake them in ethanol or isopropanol (optional)
4. put them in ultra sonic cleaner (use distilled water) or just rinse them twice with distilled water
5. let them dry
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- Location: Italy
- DT Pro Member: -
I'd use ipropropanol last, why is the last step water?Easy_Spinach wrote: 19 Dec 2021, 00:49my method:drevyek wrote: 02 Dec 2021, 04:30 I have a pile of vintage blacks that I pulled out of a Wyse PCE (for restoration!), and they're filthy. Covered in corrosion from the PCB, gunk, etc.
I have an ultrasonic cleaner that I picked up from Amazon, and I'd like to clean the switches properly. However, I really don't want to spend a bunch of time cleaning each one for x minutes, one at a time (especially not for 100 of them!).
My question is: Should I keep the parts of a switch together when doing this, cleaning one at a time, or should I just do like 3 runs (one for all of the stems, tops, and bottoms)?
1. disassemble all switches (must)
2. soak/shake in soapy water
3. rinse it all under tap water for a good amount of time. I use a shower head.
4. soak / shake them in ethanol or isopropanol (optional)
4. put them in ultra sonic cleaner (use distilled water) or just rinse them twice with distilled water
5. let them dry
-
- Main keyboard: 15x4 Ortho
- Main mouse: MX518
- Favorite switch: Blue
Was my initial idea too, but I noticed that it leaves a whiteish residue on the switches. I believe that the alcohol dissolves some of the flux in the solder. Could be other reasons, but thats why the last step is distilled water.gianni wrote: 19 Dec 2021, 06:40I'd use ipropropanol last, why is the last step water?Easy_Spinach wrote: 19 Dec 2021, 00:49my method:drevyek wrote: 02 Dec 2021, 04:30 I have a pile of vintage blacks that I pulled out of a Wyse PCE (for restoration!), and they're filthy. Covered in corrosion from the PCB, gunk, etc.
I have an ultrasonic cleaner that I picked up from Amazon, and I'd like to clean the switches properly. However, I really don't want to spend a bunch of time cleaning each one for x minutes, one at a time (especially not for 100 of them!).
My question is: Should I keep the parts of a switch together when doing this, cleaning one at a time, or should I just do like 3 runs (one for all of the stems, tops, and bottoms)?
1. disassemble all switches (must)
2. soak/shake in soapy water
3. rinse it all under tap water for a good amount of time. I use a shower head.
4. soak / shake them in ethanol or isopropanol (optional)
4. put them in ultra sonic cleaner (use distilled water) or just rinse them twice with distilled water
5. let them dry