deskthority

Hey guys, Ive got my filco MJ2 tkl for slightly over 2 weeks now and my keys are already beginning to shine which is extremely worrying for me because the Razer black widow Ive been using for over a year prior to filco never had that problem. I expected this to appear after 6-9 months of heavy use yet it's not even 3 weeks

Are there any cleaning ways that would help me get rid of this shinning effect?
Which keycaps set can I buy and where that would certainly slow down the porcess of becoming shinny?
Anything I should know about this case?

Btw I always wash my hands prior to use and wash them during use like every 30 mins since I am quite obssesed with having them 100% clean at all times so that makes me wonder even more how the hell are they starting to shine so fast

Filco keycaps are crap really. They're nice initially with their special "UV" coating but as you've noticed, it wears away very fast -- it's like Juicy Fruit chewing gum. I should post a pic of my coworkers Filco so you can look into the future a bit

ABS caps in general will get shiny, even PBT eventually, but PBT is probably the best option for you if you want them looking nice for a good amount of time. Also, don't use Isopropyl Alcohol to try and clean your Filco caps as it will ruin them completely.

Well that sounds like I really want to get some nice pbt caps then that JF gum comparison is perfect.
Where can I get some though? I searched ebay but I got kinda lost there. Any websites you could recommend me to visit?
I would like good quallity caps but not for an astronomous price. Thanks for help!

derp

Ducky's caps will of course work just nicely on a Filco. And they don't mess around when it comes to thick PBT:


https://teraset.net/ducky.php#9

Depends which language and legends you want exactly, though. Unless you like blanks. I'm typing on a yellow set of those right now.

Depending on where you are, QWERkeys do Ducky sets and if you're in the UK shipping will be super fast.

Muirium wrote:Ducky's caps will of course work just nicely on a Filco. And they don't mess around when it comes to thick PBT:

The website doesn't say how much they cost and which languages are available.

derp

Is the feel much of the key much different on a thick pbt key than on abs? I mean weight and in general.
I checked all those links you guys posted and I couldnt find keyset for US layout that is black
Could you recomend me other websites to buy from? I would rather not spend 100$ on key caps but if that necessary evil then I will foot the bill I guess.

Black PBT caps are probably going to be difficult to find with high visibility legends, unless you want lasered caps, but they will wear away much earlier than dye-sub.

Maybe your best bet is a grey set like these ones: http://imsto.cn/index.php?route=product ... duct_id=59

Would look pretty nice on a black Filco I reckon...a bit like a Realforce 104 Pro:

Heavier caps in general have a nice feel to them. There's a nice swing to the experience, a little like playing a piano vs. punching numbers on a calculator. PBT specifically has a different texture on the top surface, too. Less glossy, less shiny than ABS. Even ABS before wearing.

As you're in the USA, I was about to direct you to Elitekeyboards:

https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php ... errymxkeys

But there's not a single damn PBT set in their whole MX range! Oh well. I usually window shop there for Topres, which, as 002's picture shows above, are PBT as standard.

Something worth knowing about PBT: legends typically must be darker than the main plastic. So when you want dark caps, you'll get low contrast legends. Well, until those PBT doubleshots coming out of China actually show up.

How about this one? Any downsides to this set?
http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/ind ... tail&p=774

I really like those key caps 002 posted, those on that realforce but the ones I can buy seem kinda low quality and kinda iffy on those close up shots so Im kinda torn whethere I will like them.

Any other possibilities?
I really apprecieate all the help, thanks very much guys!
I live in EU btw.

Whoops, assumed you were American from your choice of layout plus always talking in dollars! Welcome to the European ANSI club. I prefer it too.

Interesting caps you linked:



Those are double shot PBT. Double shot is the ultimate way to make caps. Superb legend quality and ultimate durability: the letters go right through the entire key! Fancy caps GBs are usually double shot. But until very recently double shot has always been limited to ABS.

The bad news about those caps is they're made by Vortex. Those guys have a poor reputation for making crappy products. And you can see it in their choice of lettering on those keys. They seem to be mixing the Cherry font and CM's gamer styles, and getting everything a bit wrong. But double shot is double shot. These caps could well be solid, if you can live with the oddball lettering.

Another thing to look out for as you're here in Europe: import taxes. Everything costs more than the price tag when you import from outside the EU. Well, unless it's straight from China and has a dodgy declaration! American retailers will always declare it right, though.

really lame keycap set if you ask me

That's Vortex in a nutshell. But I am intrigued by double shot PBT in general. Someone ought to review these, especially after a few months of use. Do they shine? They shouldn't…

Meanwhile, for the same price, I see these thick PBT Ducky dye subs:


http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/ind ... tail&p=792

That's what you want. Ducky's a good step up from Vortex, and the colour scheme and material is similar to the Topre ones 002 showed. And Helvetica! I'd pester the store about getting notified when these are back in stock if I were you…

And ther is nothing wrong with dye sub PBT caps! The paint gets sucked in by the material and will not wear off!
And if you ask me, black on gray caps on a black filco will look gorgeous!!!

But if you are a really extraordinary guy, they you should go for blank caps
Blank caps makes you type faster, you will look more pro and you never ever have to bother about legends, fonts types, font size and positioning!

If you don't like shiny caps, there is no way around PBT caps that is for sure. And I'd go for the ducky products, they have a good reputation and quality.

FYI: http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8 ... lit=Whoops
There you can see a almost 10 Years old HHKB Pro compared with a Pro2, the caps developed a bit of shine but nothing compared to the ABS spacebar which developed a big dent over time.

Muirium wrote:
http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/ind ... tail&p=792

now this is a nice set.

cookie wrote:And ther is nothing wrong with dye sub PBT caps! The paint gets sucked in by the material and will not wear off!

Indeed. Dye sub is awesome too with just one catch: you can't make bright legends, only dark. It certainly doesn't wear off either.

looking closer to ducky set there are a couple of very annoying issues with font positioning and size.

. and , are both wrong in size and position, same goes for " and '... what about those : and ;

also ~ is too far on the top...

oh boy...

Master Matteo disapproves! But even Topre doesn't get everything right. The alphas are fabulous, but look at the mods:

IBM did it better…

Don't mind us, Scoobers. We're just perfectionists, working out the details for our own GBs.

For my taste, topre still has one of the best caps, if not the best caps!
@Mu What is wrong with the mods on the RF? The only thing I don't like is the bubble windows button but the rest is superior so far.

We talked about it here (over to the next page too):
http://deskthority.net/news-reviews-f4/ ... ml#p118731

The HHKB has the best legends of all. Compared to it, a Realforce is random and silly. But that's comparing two very fine boards of course!

derp

If I had to choose between ABS caps with perfect font and PBT caps with decent font, I'd go for the PBT caps anyway

Material and legends aren't the whole story, though. There's also shape to consider. I must pick up some tall spherical PBT caps someday. These SA profile ABS caps are ludicrously sweet, even if they are already shiny. But the only SA PBT GBs I've seen so far were janky colours. Don't tease me, people!

Your custom 60% has nice shaped caps, I never had the joy to try sperical caps though
Anyway, if I were in his shoes I'd go for the black on gray ducky keycaps!

Indeed. But they're out of stock. Typical Ducky!

matt3o wrote:looking closer to ducky set there are a couple of very annoying issues with font positioning and size.

. and , are both wrong in size and position, same goes for " and '... what about those : and ;

also ~ is too far on the top...

oh boy...

I totally dont understand what you mean but for sure on that Ducky kit that tumor on caps lock is driving me insane already
I would go for the Ducky one if not for that caps lock I think, right now I just kinda feel like the first one linked by 002 (http://imsto.cn/index.php?route=product ... duct_id=59) will look crappy quality wise which I judged by the pictures of it that I saw so I still have no idea which ones I should get :/

You're letting us keyboard snobs talk you up market! The Imsto set looks okay, like Ducky's. But if you want to wait a bit and pay more then Matteo has his own design: PBT Granite.

http://deskthority.net/post153638.html#p153638