Alps ultrasonic cleaning

ollir

29 Mar 2019, 19:27

Hi,

I thought I'd share my experience on cleaning some Alps switches with ultrasonic cleaner.
This isn't going to be filled with exact timings or scientific measurements, just overall feelings about the whole process.

Couple of months back I bumped on Apple M0118, for which I built a converter and got the board working.
Here's some pictures of the board coming home and getting converted and rubbed (oh yes):
https://imgur.com/a/0bmOnBU

I immediately liked the salmon Alps, but the switches felt unconsistent and not too smooth overall. So I brought the matter up to the lady of the house and said: "Listen, this Apple keyboard needs to be cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner. I'm gonna get one. I've seen the keyboard people use those in the internet to clean their Alps switches." To which she responded: "Ok, I'll take it off from you once you're done with it."

So couple of months later I finally got around to getting the damn machine and doing the whole thing. It took me couple of evenings (I don't have all the time I'd like currently, so I had to do it slowly, one of the pictures below will shed some light on that)

Here's some pictures I took while I was cleaning the board:
https://imgur.com/a/7QRkDZh

The cleaning procedure:
I set the cleaner's temperature control to about 40 degrees and used basic drinkable tap water with just a tiny drop of
normal dishwashing liquid. In other words, nothing special. I cleaned the switch housings and sliders - did nothing to the tactile leafs.
The parts went in in two batches so as to not make the cleaner too full. Each set was in around 10 minutes.
After taking the cleaned parts out, I just made sure to rinse them properly with water so there wouldn't be any leftovers
from the dishwashing liquid making the parts sticky.
Then left the parts drying on a towel overnight and when I got back from work the next day, I put the board back together.

So was it worth it? Damn right it was, the keyboard feels so much better now!
I also took the opportunity to replace the original springs with new ones, and now the board pings noticeably, I don't recall the board singing such songs previously. I also removed the worn out dampeners beneath the spacebar - they were just gluey sticky messes. The spacebar now has a nice deep clop sound which I really like.

One thing that caused me a bit of head scratching was re-installing the spacebar. It seemed impossible to get the stabiliser to hang in place while somehow maneuvering the keycap on the switch and the mounting pole, or whatever it's called. But I then realized I can actually remove the case and buy myself some working space and line of sight to the working area.

So, to summarize:

1. Should you do it? Yes, absolutely, it's worth a try. The cleaners are not too expensive and it's always therapeutic to maintain a keyboard.

2. When taking the switches apart, put the springs and tactile leafs in separate boxes or whatever containers you are going to use.
It's not fun to pick them back up when they are all together.

3. Everyone here probably knows this already, but just in case: round wooden toothpicks are the best tool to have around. They

- open the switch housings
- can be used to gently help the tactile leafs and springs from the switches
- can be used to place springs back on the spring nipple
- can be used to guide the slider out from the slider hole when putting the switches back together, in case the slider
doesn't come right through

4. When putting the switches back together, make sure the tactile/click leaf is inside the housing so it doesn't get bent when
pressing down the housing. You can straighten a bent leaf, but it's not fun.

My Ortek MCK101's white Alps feel bit dirty too, so I'll do those next once I get the time. I have smooth white Alps in my Acer 6012 to compare them to afterwards, so that's gonna be exciting :)
Last edited by ollir on 29 Mar 2019, 20:20, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Tias

29 Mar 2019, 20:15

Nicely written summery and guide on the cleaning process of that awesome board :)
I bet Salmon Alps are really pleasant to use and even better when one goes that extra step of putting them thru a ultrasonic cleaning.

I've also run into the same "finding enough time problem" as you. A few months back it took me nearly 3 weeks to disassemble, clean and then reassemble a the switches on a Cream dampened Alps board (my son also kept "borrowing" switch parts so that didn't speed up the process either) :D

On aina kivaa nähdä Alps-näppäimistöä Suomalaisella layoutilla, sitä ei näy aivan joka päivä :)
Edit: [Its always nice to see a Alps board in Finnish/Swedish layout. You don't see that every day]

bujorc

30 Mar 2019, 14:27

Nice! Which springs have you used?

User avatar
XMIT
[ XMIT ]

30 Mar 2019, 14:46

Yeah, I've done this a bunch of times.

You can clean the switch top housings and the tactile leaves as well. But be really careful to not lose them. I wouldn't bother with the contact plates, or trying to separate them from the bottom housings. If you want to clean those last two components, I'd use compressed air to dislodge any crud, then a squirt bottle with 99% isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free swab to further clean and dry them. Focus on the part of the housings where the sliders may contact.

I recommend using distilled or deionized water for at least the final rinse. The last thing you want is lime or calcium scale deep inside the switches.

Assuming the plastics aren't scratched, Alps switches seem to feel best without any lubrication at all. You can try a dry Teflon lube on the sliders if you want.

ollir

30 Mar 2019, 14:52

bujorc wrote:
30 Mar 2019, 14:27
Nice! Which springs have you used?
Sprit 50cN

cli

30 Mar 2019, 16:27

Nice post. You should try using two guitar picks to open the housing, it's much easier than toothpicks.

User avatar
ZedTheMan

30 Mar 2019, 16:44

Personally I have found that if you get a set of ESD-safe tweezers, there is a wide one. The wide one is PERFECT for opening Alps switches. Nothing easier or faster.

ollir

30 Mar 2019, 16:50

cli wrote:
30 Mar 2019, 16:27
Nice post. You should try using two guitar picks to open the housing, it's much easier than toothpicks.
Plenty of guitar picks in the house, I will try with them the next time!

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