Retro-ize a modern board?

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robo

22 Nov 2014, 23:51

I've never had a Cherry board, but jumped on the Massdrop for the CM Storm Stealth TKL that should ship in January.

It's a bit early but I've already started thinking about what I can do with it. Fact is, I like old boards, and really dislike the 'black with tons of LEDs' look that is popular these days.

I'm wondering about two mods... painting the case beige or platinum grey (people have done this, at least painting, not sure about beige), and making the keyboard winkeyless. Is the spacing of the modifier keys conducive to losing the middle modifier without having it look weird? I'm wondering if I can somehow add on some plastic to the board before painting it, as well, to make it look like it was designed to be winkeyless.

Thoughts?

IvanIvanovich

23 Nov 2014, 18:04

Taking care of the case color is no problem. I would recommend vinyl dye or plastidip over painting though. It's much easier and far more durable to wear over time. Getting aftermarket keycap to make a more retro look is also no problem.
Making it winkeyless would involve drilling the PCB and handwiring it, as well as cutting the plate. It's not a mod I would recommend to begin with. If you're really set on having winkeyless, getting a pcb that may work with the CM case like a Phantom may be a way to go. You would be able to reuse the switches, case, and some other bits.

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robo

23 Nov 2014, 20:58

Thanks. The case is black, so AFAIK vinyl dye is a no-go. Plastidip is effectively a form of paint, no? Just one that dries to a rubbery finish?

I don't mind drilling and resoldering, but cutting the plate precisely is probably a bit difficult. I suppose I could just remove the middle switch, and have a gap. It would be a wider than normal gap though.

Findecanor

23 Nov 2014, 21:39

I don't think a 1.25 wide gap would look very good. Because I map Caps Lock to Ctrl, I'd rather remove the Ctrl keys at the ends to get a vibe of other retro keyboards than the IBM Model M.

AFAIK, Plasti-dip does not adhere too well. The number of available colours is also limited.
Please let me know if you find a good beige or pebble colour to use. I have not been able to. I am using beige primer on my keyboard, but it has a green tint which becomes apparent up in a certain light.

User avatar
robo

23 Nov 2014, 22:50

Thanks. Losing the keys on the edges is an idea. I also bind Caps to Control, but have used a Model M for a long time so I find the gap comfortable. I'm wondering if I would be smarter to just leave the keys be though :P

Do you have photos of the beige painted cases you mentioned?

IvanIvanovich

24 Nov 2014, 18:20

Vinyl dye works fine on dark plastics. I have used it in the past on PC case bezels, optical and floppy drive bezels, mice and keyboards. It also comes in a limited amount of colors, but they do have some decent beige/almond/light tan colors that you may find ideal. I know it hold up very well to wear as I used it on MX Revolution to make it white and it lasted several years before I switched mice. The best thing about it is you don't have to do a bunch of prep, no need for sanding, primer, multiple coats, clear sealant and etc that you have to do with paint for a good lasting finish.

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Hypersphere

24 Nov 2014, 21:34

Filco makes a white carbon fiber version of one of their keyboards.

I have also seen reports of people doing a vinyl wrap of their keyboards.

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robo

25 Nov 2014, 04:44

IvanIvanovich wrote: Vinyl dye works fine on dark plastics. I have used it in the past on PC case bezels, optical and floppy drive bezels, mice and keyboards. It also comes in a limited amount of colors, but they do have some decent beige/almond/light tan colors that you may find ideal. I know it hold up very well to wear as I used it on MX Revolution to make it white and it lasted several years before I switched mice. The best thing about it is you don't have to do a bunch of prep, no need for sanding, primer, multiple coats, clear sealant and etc that you have to do with paint for a good lasting finish.
Interesting! I had no idea that vinyl dye would work like that. I still don't quite understand... is it not really dye, but a kind of paint?

I do think that I'll have to sand the case before doing anything, because it has (i believe) one of those nasty rubberized surface treatments, so dye or paint, some sanding will be required.

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