Reddit reviews Permatex 81150 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease, 0.33 oz. Tube

If you find the space bar rattles too much, buy a tube of this and use a tooth pick to put a bit around the stabilizers. Just did on my wife’s keyboard that looks like a similar keyboard sold by monoprice and it’s almost completely silent.

You've got pretty much everything you need for a solderless build on that list


If you want to save ~$50, you could get your stabilizers and switches elsewhere. Outside of Zeal's offerings, Kailh's BOX Black switches are probably the smoothest unmodded linears on the market, and you can get 70 for $21 from NovelKeys.


They also sell Cherry screw-in stabilizers for $2~3 each, if you don't mind them not being gold-plated. I've never tried Zeal's stabilizers, but imho, clipping, lubing, and bandaid-modding Cherry ones will probably make them feel just as good to your fingers as any more expensive kind would. The only thing you'd probably need to get is dielectric grease, which you'd only need a few drops of per stabilizer.

If you end up with a lesser expensive connector, you can also squeeze a glob of dielectric grease into both sides before connecting. It goes a long way to keeping out moisture and keeping the contacts from developing corrosion or any kind of resistive film.
i.e., https://www.amazon.ca/Permatex-81150-Dielectric-Tune-Up-Grease-33-Ounce/dp/B000AL2RI2/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1543000581&sr=1-1&keywords=dielectric+grease

Sorry for the potato quality, but this was my very first build and it was an enjoyable experience! Although lubing the switches was painful without a special tool and I had to use a small flat head screw driver, I would rate the experience as a 5/7 would build again.

The build:

Case: TOFU acrylic frosted 60% case

Plate: CNC'D ALUMINUM PLATE - blue color

PCB: 1UP RGB 60% (Hot Swap Edition)

Stabilizers: PCB stabilizers black color - 2U*4 6.25U*1 (lubed with Permatex 81150 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease)

Switches: *68 - gateron black (lubed with Krytox 205)

Keycaps: Black 108 Key Cherry Profile PBT Double Shot Side-lit

I am very pleased with how it turned out and already thinking about what to build next lol

Baking soda + water are great for clean dirty car battery terminals.

Disconnect the negative battery cable, then disconnect the positive cable.

Make a slightly watery mixture of baking soda and water (filtered or distilled is recommend), and carefully pour the mixture onto the battery terminals; Be careful not to let the water touch both terminals.

Using an old toothbrush or wire brush, scrub the corrosion off the terminals, then rinse with filtered or distilled water.

With your terminals nice and clean, repeat the process on your battery cable connectors (it might be easier to soak the connectors in a baking soda solution instead of trying to pour it).

apply either battery terminal protector, Dielectric Grease, or a thin layer of [protroleum jelly] (http://www.amazon.com/Vaseline-100%25-Petroleum-Jelly-Ounce/dp/B007E62538/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1374477009&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=petroleum+jelly) to the terminals of the battery.

Reconnect your positive terminal, then reconnect your negative terminal and you're all set!

Would recommend getting a GK61 from banggood, either with a plastic or aluminium case: https://www.banggood.com/Geek-Customized-GK61-Hot-Swappable-60-RGB-Keyboard-Customized-Kit-PCB-Mounting-Plate-Case-p-1389481.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN (plastic ver.)

You could probably use any MX stem keycaps, but if you don't have any laying at home, I'd personally buy these: https://www.banggood.com/61-Key-ANSI-Layout-OEM-Profile-PBT-Thick-Keycaps-for-GH60-60-Mechanical-Keyboard-p-1163283.html?rmmds=detail-top-buytogether-auto&cur_warehouse=UK

Then a switch of your choice; for your budget, I'd recommend these switches:

For tactile, MX Browns

For linear, MX Reds, MX Blacks

For clicky: MX Blues, Kailh Box Navy, Jade

Now, to get the best bang for your buck and a great typing experience from your keyboard, I'd recommend lubing your switches and clipping and lubing your stabs.

If you want to know how to lube your switches and mod your stabilizers, I'd recommend watching these videos from a guy named TaehaTypes, an experienced custom keyboard builder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD5Zj-ZgMLA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSgPKPoFo2k

If you would want to lube your switches and mod your stabs, you'd probably want to buy lube, dielectric grease and teflon grease.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AL2RI2/ref=twister_B06ZXR55WD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

There are many lube options, but I recommend this one for a beginner like you: https://switchmod.net/products/tribosys-3204, or if you believe you are able to apply lube consistently and are using linear switches, you could buy this one: https://switchmod.net/products/krytox-gpl-205-grade-0

I think that's about all, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me!

Ah yea, it's one of those things you know they won't notice but you want to get right anyway. Kinda like how you can spend dozens of hours and multiple failed attempts perfecting that one aspect of your signature roast chicken and the girl you cooked it for just says "hmm I like the chicken."

feelsbadman but at least I can fully appreciate it.

But yea, lubing is definitely crucial for after a nice homecooked dinner date making a nice custom board. If you think 3oz is too much, you can always buy the smaller one. Not too sure about shelf life but it still works the same for me after a year.

I lubed my stabs with this, super cheap and it pretty much made my stabs silent.

EDIT: Ripster tested it in his guide so it must be good

Thanks for taking your time and writing down some quick tips! I didn't really realize about the sidebar. I'll have a browse through it again!

I think these tips will be super helpful. For my keyboard stabilizers would [this] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000AL2RI2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A3W0W1W3AIWFOT&psc=1) lube do? The one you linked wasn't available in the UK.

I've not done lots of soldering before so I'll definitely practice before actually trying it on for the keyboard. I've got some hardware for another project I was working on that needs some soldering done but haven't got the time yet to start that.

This turned out more expensive than I expected because of the tools. Can somebody confirm that I'm buying the right stuff for the job? Am I forgetting anything?
Doesn't have to be Amazon, it's just convenient. 1994 Miata.

• Permatex 81150 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease, .33 oz Tube
  
• TEKTON 24325 3/8-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench, 120-960-Inch/Pound
  
• Permatex 81343 Anti-Seize Lubricant, 1 oz. Tube
  
• NGK (9160) ZE21 Premium Spark Plug Wire Set
  
• GearWrench 80546 5/8-Inch x 6-Inch Swivel Spark Plug Socket
  
• NGK (6953) BKR5E-11 V-Power Spark Plug, Pack of 1

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B000AL2RI2/

The small rubber of dielectric grease, €6 and change

Questions about liner material and lube...

For liner material, what acoustic differences am I going to find between: neoprene, sorborthane, and rather generic looking "foam" rolls? They're all pretty much the same thickness, about 2-3 mm.

For lube, I'm looking at: Permatex dielectric grease, krytox 205 grade 2, trybosis 3204 and trybosis 3203. What would be good for stabs, what would be good for linears, and what would be good for tactiles? And if possible, is there anything that's a good "all-arounder"? Aka, something that could easily work for both stabs and switches.

I used Permatex's Dielectric Grease (Amazon link). That's way more than I'll need (smaller amount here).

Here's /u/ripster55 's [guide on Keyboard Lubes] (http://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1dzvs9/keyboard_lube_science/) if you have any questions. I used this when I first lubed mine.

(English isn't my first language so i'm sorry if there are some errors)
I just bough a poker 3 and the spacebar is squeaky as hell, so I was about to buy this, but I've read that it will crumble in a month or so and my only other option is this one, but I don't know if it can be used on stabilizers,so which one should i buy?

I wish people knew what that was for.
Noalox is for aluminum. That is what the "al" stands for. No - aluminum - oxidation.
It will do very little for your copper mod.
Please use some dielectric grease. It is nonconductive and will provide extremely great protection and thread things nicely.
Any auto parts store will have it, or you can just get a small tube online, like so:
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81150-Dielectric-Tune-Up-Grease/dp/B000AL2RI2/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1409019211&sr=1-2&keywords=dielectric+grease

Would something like this work?

Also what about dielectric silicone grease?

I can't find Super Lube easily in my area, so I am wondering if this one might be used instead:

https://www.amazon.fr/Tri-Flow-TF23004-Clear-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000C15MUU/ref=sr_1_1?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1518365758&sr=8-1&keywords=synthetic+grease

edit: Maybe this one would be good too? https://www.amazon.fr/Finish-Line-Extreme-Fluoro-Huile/dp/B002L5UL92/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518366940&sr=8-1&keywords=finish+line+extreme

edit 2: Or this one? https://www.amazon.fr/Permatex-81150-Dielectric-Tune-Up-Grease/dp/B000AL2RI2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1518366744&sr=8-8&keywords=permatex

Argh. I am lost in sea of information about mech keyboards (aka, /r/mechanicalkeyboards Wiki ;)

Just use https://www.amazon.fr/Permatex-81150-Dielectric-Tune-Up-Grease/dp/B000AL2RI2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1518366744&sr=8-8&keywords=permatex

I use permatex on my stabs, works like a charm

Extreme Fluoro used to be recommended, but people found out that it's shit and dries after a few weeks