So here's a dilemma I'm sure most seasoned users have experienced: Mitsumi MM switches aren't good. They're pretty scratchy and bind like hell. At that point, most people would discard it and call it a day, however there are some magic methods (shooting them up with WD-40 silicone lubricant) that helps the switches massively, as passed down from a few Mitsumi veterans.
However, in this instance I found myself at an impasse: I'd attempted the WD-40 trick on one of the switches in a Chicony kb-5160 but this did nothing to help the switch. So I believed it was a job for something more thicker and thorough ( ). I began lubing the switches with Krytox 205g0 using a fine brush, making sure to run through the points of contact in the gaps. In the end I came out with a board that felt a damn sight less scratchy, but still bound harder than an arthritic chewing polyfilla.
My question is: Can these switches be saved? Should I have used more WD-40? Or do they need to be thrown in an ultrasonic cleaner? I refuse to simply throw out this keyboard and have way too much time on my hands to not try and solve this.
Mitsumi Miniature Mechanical: Redemption(?)
- Thorogrimm
- Location: England, UK
- Main keyboard: Niz C103
- Main mouse: Razer Viper Mini
- Favorite switch: Topre Electro-Capacitive
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
This also came up on the Secret Santa thread:
I did hear about the WD40 trick for Mitsumi Miniature, but I'd already given away mine to Chyros so never tried it. To be honest, I’m not surprised to hear about mixed results. They're tricky little fuckers!guidemetothelight wrote: ↑31 Dec 2022, 14:49Hey, could you maybe elaborate on why switches go bad with that kind of lube ? I recently built a Board and lubed the switches (outemu silent white`s) with that exact kind of lube & would hate to see it go bad.TNT wrote: ↑25 Dec 2022, 12:53That's Mitsumi Miniature Mechanical (the white, tactile version). Usually not held in high regards by basically everyone in the community, but this one is brand new, so no use and also no dirt and dust. No binding, no scratching, just a very satisfying tactile bump before you bottom out. My secret Santa also lubed parts of the board which makes a noticable difference in both sound and feel. A bit of a shame you can't really use it because the switches will go bad with that
Can't wait to bring this one to the keyboard meetup in January
- guidemetothelight
- Location: Germany
- Main mouse: Fantech XD5
- Favorite switch: SKCM Brown
I can recommend the Synco Lube method where u use a wooden dental stick to press down on the stem while you put a drop in 2 of the 4 corners of the switch, but sadly i know heard multiple times that this kind of switches will destroy switches so i dont really know.guidemetothelight wrote: ↑31 Dec 2022, 14:49Hey, could you maybe elaborate on why switches go bad with that kind of lube ? I recently built a Board and lubed the switches (outemu silent white`s) with that exact kind of lube & would hate to see it go bad.TNT wrote: ↑25 Dec 2022, 12:53That's Mitsumi Miniature Mechanical (the white, tactile version). Usually not held in high regards by basically everyone in the community, but this one is brand new, so no use and also no dirt and dust. No binding, no scratching, just a very satisfying tactile bump before you bottom out. My secret Santa also lubed parts of the board which makes a noticable difference in both sound and feel. A bit of a shame you can't really use it because the switches will go bad with that
Can't wait to bring this one to the keyboard meetup in January
Maybe someone else has more experience with that kind of lube. Sadly i already used it on one of my boards before.
And while it is working perfectly right now and the lube did help out those cheap outemu switches, i dont know if it will continue to work in the future.
Edit: apparently the lube isnt damaging to the switches at all just misread a post about it
Last edited by guidemetothelight on 03 Jan 2023, 14:53, edited 2 times in total.
-
- Location: The Netherlands
- Main keyboard: Tulip ATK 02.01.01 Tactile
- Main mouse: Logitech G603
- Favorite switch: Alps
I have one MMM board but it's mostly dead so I've never been able to give them a proper shot sadly.