Retrobrighting Omnikey keycaps (thin doubleshot ABS)

kelvinhall05 · 17 Mar 2020, 00:53

Hi guys, the caps on my Omnikey Ultra are quite yellowed and I would like to retrobright them. I've done this before on keyboard cases, but never on keycaps. I've heard that it's possible to do it in a pot on the stove, but I tried that with a set of silitek keycaps and (although I believe this was my thermometer's fault for giving me an inacurate reading) and they got completely deformed (luckily it was a spare set and they weren't in great shape otherwise...still makes me cringe thinking about it). Is 160f too hot for water? The research I did online tells me that shouldn't melt/soften the plastic to the point of deformation (the spacebar kinked in the middle...it's at like a 120 degree angle now).

I obviously don't want to fuck the keycaps on an Omnikey Ultra, especially since I spent almost twelve hours desoldering, cleaning, and resoldering switches. How can I do it safely? Thanks!

daguil68367 · 17 Mar 2020, 02:19

You don't need to heat them up, or use uv light or sunlight.
All you need is hydrogen peroxide and time.
leaving the caps in peroxide for a week in a dark spot at room temperature is the safest and most effective way to retrobrite.

kelvinhall05 · 17 Mar 2020, 02:55

daguil68367 wrote: ↑
17 Mar 2020, 02:19
You don't need to heat them up, or use uv light or sunlight.
All you need is hydrogen peroxide and time.
leaving the caps in peroxide for a week in a dark spot at room temperature is the safest and most effective way to retrobrite.

Alright, first I'll have to find some damn peroxide with the whole pandemic or whatever going on, but then I'l give it a shot. Zero chance of it ruining the caps, right? I really don't want to mess up these caps...

daguil68367 · 17 Mar 2020, 03:27

Doubleshot Omnikey caps, right? You should be fine. Don't go crazy with the concentration, I used 3% and it got rid of all the yellowing, so don't feel like you have to get a really high concentration.

fohat · 17 Mar 2020, 13:21

For stronger concentration peroxide you can go to a beauty supply store. It may be called "developer"

ppCircle · 17 Mar 2020, 14:37

For keycaps i'm using 35% liquid hydrogen peroxide. I think you can buy that easily online. Put keycaps to clear bag, fill up and shake every 30/60 minutes. Of course all on sun.

OldIsNew · 17 Mar 2020, 16:35

I've been using 3% peroxide with good results for a while now. I use a glass pan under two 90W halogen lamps, typically for 6 - 8 hours. The lights warm up the solution and I suspect that's really all they are doing, but since my setup works I've been sticking with it.

Here's a link to a post I put up: Another go at RetrObright (Since then I've dropped the OxyClean and the black lights, which I think were more Voodoo than anything else).

kelvinhall05 · 19 Mar 2020, 01:24

daguil68367 wrote: ↑
17 Mar 2020, 03:27
Doubleshot Omnikey caps, right? You should be fine. Don't go crazy with the concentration, I used 3% and it got rid of all the yellowing, so don't feel like you have to get a really high concentration.

Alright, I managed to find some 3% peroxide. Are you absolutely certain that just letting the caps soak in my closet (so dark and room temperature) won't damage them? Also, should I be using a sealed container or open one?

daguil68367 · 20 Mar 2020, 02:17

No, it won't damage them. Use a sealed container, so the peroxide doesn't evaporate. Keep away from light, since exposure to light will slowly decompose the hydrogen peroxide into water. Same goes for excessive heat. Keep it in the dark, but you can use a clear container if you want to check in on it once a day, and that way you can take out the caps when you think they look ready.