Best lube for SMK Second Gen switches?

[Jay_Faraday]

I've got a Monterey K104 with blue SMKs, and while they're wonderful and by far my favorite switches, they feel a bit scratchy. It's not terribly noticeable typing at speed, but I think they could definitely stand to be smoother. What's the best lube for these guys? Do they take well to Krytox or are they better wax-modded, like Alps?

[Bjerrk]

Would be interested in knowing this as well - I'm in the process of lubing some tactile SMKs with Tribosys 3203, but I have yet to put any of them back in the keyboard, so I can't really say if it's a good solution yet.

[gianni]

Wax modded... not the same thing, but brings to mind a wax lube by krytox

FINISH LINE Wax Lubricant Krytech 120ml

https://www.bike24.com/p210431.html

[Lynx_Carpathica]

If you dare take them apart, I'd give wax mod a shot with only a few keys at start.

[Bjerrk]

Wax modded... not the same thing, but brings to mind a wax lube by krytox

FINISH LINE Wax Lubricant Krytech 120ml

https://www.bike24.com/p210431.html

Interesting idea - what the heck, I'll try it out (even though I couldn't find anything on its exact composition).

[Jan Pospisil]

Please, do post the results, I am also in possession of some bindy SMKs.

[Bjerrk]

Please, do post the results, I am also in possession of some bindy SMKs.

Will do!

[gianni]

Quite off-topic, but I've also found another krytox, the 105 (or maybe 103?) sold as bike lube, it's the sb-10, which I used for linears and springs. My keyboard, after a couple of years, it's still good.

available in many places, including ebay

https://www.starblubike.com/oils/olio-l ... icicletta/

https://www.sardicicli.com/product/110/ ... rytox-15gr

[gianni]

> I use the Muc-Off equivalent of this on Alps sliders and it works great. On MX style switches I’ve only ever used ‘wet’ lube, but I don’t see why this wouldn’t work fine.

> I've heard of other people using this before without problems. I've used a similar type of lube on my switches.


https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyb ... on_cherry/

[Bjerrk]

The finish line wax has already arrived at my door, but I won't be able to test in the next few days (very inconsiderate of Odin/baby Jesus to demand a celebration right now)

[gianni]

The finish line wax has already arrived at my door, but I won't be able to test in the next few days (very inconsiderate of Odin/baby Jesus to demand a celebration right now)

thanks for the update, I purchased it too.... I will test it ten days from now

I wonder if the best way to apply it, is to lube the switches on the lube station, let them dry (one day???), and then close the switches.

for example the glorious lube station

[jsheradin]

I lubed a set of SMKs a while back with Finish Line dry PTFE spray. I just sprayed a bit in a baggie, mixed the stems around, and let them fully dry for a few days on a paper towel. Overall they're nice and smooth and handle off center presses great but they became extremely tactile for some reason.

I'm not sure I'd recommend the spray since they're tactile to the point it almost feel like binding. I'd be interested to see how the liquid wax feels.

[Jay_Faraday]

I lubed a set of SMKs a while back with Finish Line dry PTFE spray. I just sprayed a bit in a baggie, mixed the stems around, and let them fully dry for a few days on a paper towel. Overall they're nice and smooth and handle off center presses great but they became extremely tactile for some reason.

I'm not sure I'd recommend the spray since they're tactile to the point it almost feel like binding. I'd be interested to see how the liquid wax feels.

Well, with tactile switches it's generally inadvisable to lube this way. The contact point, where the tactility actually comes from, is best left completely unlubed because with MX-style switches, it can disrupt the tactility and make it weaker, and with Alps/SMK-style switches, don't quote me on this, but I think it can cause a weird friction/bonding thing with the leaf spring. You just want to lube the friction points, where the slider rubs against the housing. Can't really take shortcuts lubing Alps-style switches, I'm afraid.

[Bjerrk]

You just want to lube the friction points, where the slider rubs against the housing. Can't really take shortcuts lubing Alps-style switches, I'm afraid.

I'd say that the (paraffin) "wax mod" is one such shortcut that actually works.

[-Space-NATO-]

Any updates on this?

[Bjerrk]

Any updates on this?

Yes! I did some preliminary tests.

Lubed a few bindy SKCM whites and some bindy damped whites (the latter from an AEK II) with the Finish Line krytech wax lube.
All I did was douse the upper housings and sliders with the krytech wax lube and let the solvent evaporate (a word of caution, by the way: the solvent will attack polyethylen! I ended up using a metal container, after a little polyethylen-based event ... ).

It really did wonders for the binding! I'm quite impressed with it, to be honest!

However, there are some caveats: I have not done a proper controlled test, and I can't yet say how it will hold up over time.

[Jay_Faraday]

How well do you think it'd do for the SMKs, though? I'm not sure how different the plastics are, there's not much documentation about these switches.

[Bjerrk]

How well do you think it'd do for the SMKs, though? I'm not sure how different the plastics are, there's not much documentation about these switches.

I just tried it with a tactile SMK switch, but unfortunately it's a bit undecided. The switches are in nearly mint condition, and they're the only ones I have at the moment. So the best I can say is that it didn't make it any worse.

[-Space-NATO-]

I've got some clicky ones, probably 6.5/10 condition. Will try wax lubing one and update later!

[hellothere]

Please forgive the slightly off-topic question, but is there a good guide on how to disassemble SMK switches for lubing? I've got three or so KBs that I'd like to lube.

[Jay_Faraday]

This is pretty comprehensive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4pzSZbGMfo

[hellothere]

Thanks! That looks pretty doable.