Lubing Cream switches

I noticed that the cream switches have some spring ping, but I read that the lube doesn’t last long on the switches, due to the smoother plastic. Are they worth lubing?

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The stem material is the same as almost any other switch, and lubing the springs doesn’t have much to do the the housing material.

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People were having problems with lube sticking well to the housings of creams cause they are made out of POM just like the sliders. Not sure what the issue could really be since like @Nebulant said stems for almost all MX switches have always been made from POM. I can’t see having the housing made from POM also causing lube to not stick, but I have yet to try to lube one. Anyways sorry for the rant, lubing the springs should be fine & hold up just as long as in any other switch that had it’s springs lubed. As far as the slider & housings go I’ve heard people have gotten good results using ultrafine PTFE powder on the stem & housings. Although a dry lube would interfere with a wet spring lube & I can’t say if PTFE powder will do anything for the springs. So it seems either dry lube all the parts or just lube the springs.

Our very own @Walkerstop, keyboard scientist man extraordinaire (patent pending), was the first one to try PTFE powder. From what I’ve gathered from his experiments, it looks like using powder lube has great results, but the lacking springs might need to be replaced in the first place. Don’t be afraid to experiment with switch extras!

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I just ordered another batch of creams. I will test powder for sure but also a product candykeys calls “magic lube” which doubles as swich lube and stab grease. I also will lube some inks with it but thats for another thread.

Hm. Interesting. Wonder what it is - some sort of Krytox 20whateverG0? Or perhaps some Christo-Lube stuff?

Do you mean Super Lube instead of magic lube by any chance? Super lube is the only lubes I see available on their site right now. While it is great for lubing stabilizers, I’d highly suggest against using it to lube switches. It’s almost more viscous than 205G0, unless it is applied very lightly & precisely, i.e. just put on the contact spots (not the whole housings & stems), it is very easy to overlube with it. Which ends up with rubbish feeling slowly rebounding switches. For the switches you’d be much better off with Tribosys 3203/4 or a Krytox mix for the switches.

Yes precisely. Thanks (though i do use quite heavy springs which imo pair well with higher viscosity lubes - im at 78g over 4mm and 68 over 3,4mm )
Will most likely just try it anyway because im stubborn like that :laughing:

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Don’t expect much more than gunked up feeling switches.

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Just remember to put it on the housings & stems very lightly & only on the points that make contact with other parts & you should be fine. Worst case you can wash it off & start over with a different lube, not a fun process by any means, but it’s not like you can destroy your switches using Superlube to lube them.

So I should just lube the springs? What lube should I use?

Superlube oil, GPL 105, victorinox oil

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I can tell you from a few months use, PTFE powder will work wonders. I used that in all my Cream switches and it made a big difference!
I lubed the bottom and top housing as well as the spring and stem. I used a smaller brush and applied it to all the parts. Popped it together and have been using 4+ months of daily use. The only issue I noticed was that I had a couple switches stop working momentarily, which I think was caused from the powder getting between the leaf contacts. I pressed the switch a few times and it was good to go.

Edit: forgot to mention, I did replace the stock springs with gold 45g springs from 1upkeyboards.

Krytox GPL 105?
https://www.tmcindustries.com/Krytox-GPL-105-Oil-05-oz-bottle_p_273.html

yeppers!

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This was the method I used, with Krytox 3204 and I’m really happy with the result.
I oiled the springs and they don’t produce a ping I’ve noticed thus far.
Go for it IMO.

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How should I apply the Krytox 105 oil, and how much should I use? Can the springs be bag lubed, or do they have to be lubed individually?

I used the method Brian from Topclack uses, get a little plastic container and put in a few drops of oil and shake it about.

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Is there a guide for that method? I’ve never lubed switches before, so I’m a little nervous about potentially using the wrong amount of oil.

I think he explains it somewhere in this video.