PC Peripherals MS Keyboard keys are getting hard to press - any solution?

6

6pack

ex-Mod
I'm using a MS basic keyboard. All its keys are getting hard to press now. The keys sort of get stuck on the plastic well and I have to press hard for the key to press. I've washed the keyboard with water and also tried colin alcohol spray. Tried using talcum powder to make it smooth. The powder works on some keys, but not on all. So seems like some design flaw in the keyboard to me. The numpad has become horrible.

Is there any way to make the keys feather touch (or nearby) or should I just throw away this and get a new keyboard?
 
if you can find white lithium grease in india then it's the best for your keyboard. next best option is graphite grease. and the next one is silicon grease/spray which specifically says "PLASTIC SAFE". Any kind of solvents in sprays, such as acetone, will eat away at plastic.

alcohol will just make keys super clean... which means more friction. pure talc can be used but checkout the ingredients on your pack for talc percentage (it's not much). you can use boric acid in place of talc. it's super slick and easily available with chemists.

but any powder based stuff can't stay put for long and you need something sticky to provide constant lubrication. hence, lithium or graphite based greases are better investment. Oils (silicon) are runny and alcohols (acetone, IPA etc) are volatile.
 
I have white grease which we put on ceiling fan gears. Will it work? Not particular fond of greasing the keyboard though. Grease tends to attract dust and is tough to clean. Powders OTOH can just be brushed off.
 
If this white grease can be used in low-volt electronics then it should be fine for your keyboard. I am referring to the white grease that you might have seen in cassette players. Greases meant for gears are high-heat bearing, so that they don't run off.

I've used a golden yellow automotive grease on my keyboard, even though it's not the right kind. Key presses got softened and bounciness decreased, i.e., keys won't get back to their original position quickly. But after a month, everything got smooth.

If you really want to use a powder then use boric acid instead.

BTW, I remove all the keys and coat plastic-to-plastic contact areas nicely.
 
The first time i washed my keyboard, it ended up spotlessly clean, but the keys were hard as fu*k. Figured out i also washed away the lube between the keys and the upper casing.

Original lube is a very thin grease, so thin it's almost like oil, but it doesn't run. I have automotive lithium grease, too thick. I also have silicon grease which is used for microscopes etc. also too thick. WD40 just ends up sticky and gunky after a while - I think it attracts and absorbs dust etc. Bottom line, yet to find the same grease they used originally.
 
In the days when I used to have a desktop I used to rip off the keys one by one and soak them in soap water. Blow the keyboard with a vacuum (reversed) to remove the dust particles and then wipe them off with soap water. Assemble the cleaned keys back to the keyboard. This used to work great. I used my first Microsoft keyboard for many years. Prior to using the MS keyboards I just use to replace them keyboards as they were cheap.
 
Since you only washed the keys and not the keyboard casing, there was probably some lube left on the inside of each shaft. This was probably enough to keep it smooth. My super smart idea of disassembling the keyboard, removing the upper body and washing that too, backfired !

pretty sure i have a wash-everything-with-soap-and-water OCD...
 
I removed all keys, the plastic film with printed circuit & rubber membrane and then washed all the plastic parts in soap water. I used rubbing alcohol for the rubber membrane and the printed circuit. Kept everything to dry for 2-3 days.

Problem is there is a lip on the plastic well which keeps keys from popping out. Some where the plastic on the keys must have expanded a bit and due to this the keys get stuck when pressing down on them.
 
I repeat, it's most probably the washing removed the lube, hence the tight feeling. Doubt the plastic would expand just because you popped them off and washed em. If anything removing them would have actually worn off a little bit of material, not expanded them.
 
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