deskthority

So as I was cleaning my Orange Alps switches for my Packard Bell build I came across a switch that has an extreme amount of lube, like 50 switches worth. It's thick enough as to where you could get it on your hands, and I actually transferred some onto a keycap on my Wang by accident. Its that thick

For a long time people have been wanting to figure out what lube Alps actually used, as far as we know it was some kind of industrial JIS standard lubricant or something like that. I see this as an opportunity to find this out. With this much lube at our disposal, we actually could get a legitimate sample. Hell, I could lube other switches with the lube from this one slider!

Excited to hear your thoughts/opinions

Pics:

Great work, try to store some of that lube please. Now we can possibly find out exactly what Alps Electric used.

seebart wrote: Great work, try to store some of that lube please. Now we can possibly find out exactly what Alps Electric used.

Yeah, I just put the switch back together and have it laying around for when it may be needed

Mattr567 wrote:

seebart wrote: Great work, try to store some of that lube please. Now we can possibly find out exactly what Alps Electric used.

Yeah, I just put the switch back together and have it laying around for when it may be needed

Thanks. I wonder what it would cost to have it sent to a lab for testing? Then again is that really worth it? The question of how much per switch they applied and to what part(s) is a much as what they used. I'm sure today's lubrication chemicals are supperior to 30+ years ago?!

The conclusion last time was that the dark stuff found on the slider is not lubricant, and presumably (since that's what Sandy seemed to have depicted) that the lubricant is transparent. The presence of lubricant is reported here, but it seems to be invisible:

http://sandy55.fc2web.com/keyboard/acer_kb101a.html

The dark patches seen on Alps sliders also show up on sliders from cheap brands.

Daniel Beardsmore wrote: The conclusion last time was that the dark stuff found on the slider is not lubricant, and presumably (since that's what Sandy seemed to have depicted) that the lubricant is transparent. The presence of lubricant is reported here, but it seems to be invisible:

http://sandy55.fc2web.com/keyboard/acer_kb101a.html

The dark patches seen on Alps sliders also show up on sliders from cheap brands.

Interesting. OK just toss it Mattr567.

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