I'm in the process of restoring an old beamspring 3278 keyboard and wanted to ask what the best way to clean the case is ?
I will spray Ballistol on the metal bottom in order to prevent future rusting. Should I just clean the case with water and soap or would you recommend a more sophisticated treatment?
Thanks in advance!
Whats your tipps on cleaning a metal beam spring case?
- raoulduke-esq
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: Current in the rotation: Silver Badge
- Main mouse: Magic Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Capacitive Buckling Spring
There are several highly detailed beamspring restoration threads where folks have painstakingly documented each step and equipment/procedures used.
Have you searched for these already and still have questions? If not, they might give you some good ideas about what to do/not do.
Have you searched for these already and still have questions? If not, they might give you some good ideas about what to do/not do.
- Lalaland124
- Main keyboard: 3278
- Favorite switch: Beamspring
Yes I have, but most probably not good enough, because I didn't find the answers I wanted
Will do that again but this time more thoroughly
Will do that again but this time more thoroughly
- raoulduke-esq
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: Current in the rotation: Silver Badge
- Main mouse: Magic Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Capacitive Buckling Spring
Just checking- would hate for you to miss out on all the great resources when embarking on a project like this!
Not sure about the condition yours is in. I did bog standard IPA and a white kitchen towel to clean the outer case. Get a bit of the towel damp, then gently swirl to remove dirt in the nooks and crannies of the paint texture. Mine has a couple of paint chips and I didn't want to soak it in plain water. Haven't read too much in others threads about case cleaning as a lot of folks seem to be repainting theirs.
Not sure about the condition yours is in. I did bog standard IPA and a white kitchen towel to clean the outer case. Get a bit of the towel damp, then gently swirl to remove dirt in the nooks and crannies of the paint texture. Mine has a couple of paint chips and I didn't want to soak it in plain water. Haven't read too much in others threads about case cleaning as a lot of folks seem to be repainting theirs.
- darkcruix
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: Brand New Model F F77 Keyboard
- Main mouse: Logitech MX Master
- Favorite switch: Ellipse version of Buckling Spring / BeamSpring
- DT Pro Member: 0209
I had to sand down my 3278 case and get it powder coated again due to a lot of chipped spots. Prior doing that I have cleaned it with a cloth (Mikrofasertuch) and some soap and warm water.raoulduke-esq wrote: ↑13 Apr 2021, 15:54Just checking- would hate for you to miss out on all the great resources when embarking on a project like this!
Not sure about the condition yours is in. I did bog standard IPA and a white kitchen towel to clean the outer case. Get a bit of the towel damp, then gently swirl to remove dirt in the nooks and crannies of the paint texture. Mine has a couple of paint chips and I didn't want to soak it in plain water. Haven't read too much in others threads about case cleaning as a lot of folks seem to be repainting theirs.
btw: I saw that some of your keys have yellowed plastic. I had a few of those as well and used a modified retr0bright method. A fair warning here, if you plan to do the same. While the white on the key really did lighten up, the rest of the key did also. Below is a (bad) shot of the 8 - key. You can see how different the gray is compared to 7 and 9 .... (and while taking a picture ... I saw it is horrible dusty also ...)
- Lalaland124
- Main keyboard: 3278
- Favorite switch: Beamspring
Thanks for the replies! I think I won't have to sand down my case luckily, also for as of right now I'm staying away from retr0brighting until I have more experience with it I think I will just try to get rid of the dirt and dust with a mikrofasertuch and that should be enough
- raoulduke-esq
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: Current in the rotation: Silver Badge
- Main mouse: Magic Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Capacitive Buckling Spring
Mikrofasertuch für Tastatur putzen... Everything is more interesting in German.
- darkcruix
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: Brand New Model F F77 Keyboard
- Main mouse: Logitech MX Master
- Favorite switch: Ellipse version of Buckling Spring / BeamSpring
- DT Pro Member: 0209
No worries, I am not continuing with our Austro-Bavarian dialectraoulduke-esq wrote: ↑13 Apr 2021, 17:09Mikrofasertuch für Tastatur putzen... Everything is more interesting in German.
- adamcobabe
- Location: London
- Main keyboard: Norbatouch
- Main mouse: Razer
- Favorite switch: Beamspring
- DT Pro Member: -
Some mild soap and warm water goes a long way. I would avoid any oily products to protect metal. Maybe the tiniest bit on the springs. Just keep it dry in storage. Also a lot of the restoration guides use rust remover products liberally. They're fine on most parts, but I would avoid them on the zinc plated housing. Some of those products will remove the zinc as well.
- AJM
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: Vortex ViBE (with Silent Inks)
- Main mouse: steelseries Sensei RAW
- Favorite switch: Silent Ink
- DT Pro Member: 0231
As has been said, I wouldn't spray anything on the case. If you find rust on the case it is probably from other steel/iron parts and not from the case itself.
My cleaning for keycaps or cases is always a first step with dish soap/water and a sponge cloth. Then a second step with 70% alcohol and a microfibre cloth + a lot of scrubbing. If there are still some small dark spots after that, I try to scrape them off very carefully with a sharp knife.
My cleaning for keycaps or cases is always a first step with dish soap/water and a sponge cloth. Then a second step with 70% alcohol and a microfibre cloth + a lot of scrubbing. If there are still some small dark spots after that, I try to scrape them off very carefully with a sharp knife.