Dye G80-11800 key caps

User avatar
Taeyoung

08 Mar 2011, 10:58

A few days ago, I dyed a set of key caps which were extracted from G80-11800 keyboard with microwave oven at home. :-)

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
keyboardlover

08 Mar 2011, 13:03

They actually look pretty cool. Are they lasered or dye sublimated?

Parabellum

08 Mar 2011, 14:49

How will these look after a few months of use?

User avatar
Taeyoung

08 Mar 2011, 15:11

keyboardlover wrote:They actually look pretty cool. Are they lasered or dye sublimated?
:D They are laser-engraved key caps.

User avatar
Taeyoung

08 Mar 2011, 15:14

Parabellum wrote:How will these look after a few months of use?
Well...
I can't expect the results yet but I'll try to post the results again a few months later.

User avatar
Taeyoung

08 Mar 2011, 15:17

Ok, I've just mounted those key caps on my G80-11900. :)
Image

Nikki_Case

08 Mar 2011, 15:28

Those blue keys would look really good on a white/beige keyboard.

NewGuy

08 Mar 2011, 15:53

That looks great. How do you dye them without also doing the lettering? They don't look like double-shot keys. (where I assume it would be possible to remove the outer cap and only dye it)

User avatar
sixty
Gasbag Guru

08 Mar 2011, 18:06

NewGuy wrote:That looks great. How do you dye them without also doing the lettering? They don't look like double-shot keys. (where I assume it would be possible to remove the outer cap and only dye it)
Nope, thats physically impossible since double shot keys are made under heat. The plastic forms a permanent connection.

NewGuy

08 Mar 2011, 18:15

I see. So how do you go about dying the keys then? Is it just that the lasered area doesn't pick up the dye?

User avatar
sixty
Gasbag Guru

08 Mar 2011, 18:28

NewGuy wrote:I see. So how do you go about dying the keys then? Is it just that the lasered area doesn't pick up the dye?
Right, laser burns out some of the plastic, which then creates the contrast.

User avatar
Peter

08 Mar 2011, 18:47

keyboardlover wrote:They actually look pretty cool. Are they lasered or dye sublimated?
Somebody recently collected 200 US Credits for a set of USED dye-sublimation Cherry key-caps on eBay !
It would be like tagging on the Declaration of Independence ...

User avatar
keyboardlover

08 Mar 2011, 18:59

Lol...I bet Moogle won them, using his top secret USA eBay agent (MissleMike).

User avatar
sixty
Gasbag Guru

08 Mar 2011, 19:34

It was Moogle selling them as far as I know.

User avatar
Taeyoung

09 Mar 2011, 05:51

sixty wrote:
NewGuy wrote:I see. So how do you go about dying the keys then? Is it just that the lasered area doesn't pick up the dye?
Right, laser burns out some of the plastic, which then creates the contrast.
Yeah, this is the right answer!
All those are laser-etched keys of G80-11800 and I've dyed them three colors, olive green, jungle green and kingfisher.

User avatar
sixty
Gasbag Guru

09 Mar 2011, 05:59

I just noticed that some of the keycaps are thin PBT. I didn't know 11800 existed still with thin keycaps. All I had ever seen was the thick version.

User avatar
Taeyoung

09 Mar 2011, 06:23

sixty wrote:I just noticed that some of the keycaps are thin PBT. I didn't know 11800 existed still with thin keycaps. All I had ever seen was the thick version.
Right, most of them are thin PBT keycaps.

Post Reply

Return to “Gallery”