I’m new in lubing (never doing that). I’m going to have a new hot-swap board and I want to use some old vintage Mx Brown I have since a while (they are from an old Cherry keyboard).
Before placing them on the board I’m asking myself if lubing them is not an option, but I have absolutely no idea what to use for lubing them.
I like these switches because they are smooth with a bump, what will lubing bring them? Since years I use Mx switches (Black and Brown) without lubing them and I never felt the rough side except on new switches that require one or two weeks of use to become smooth.
You could try lubing one switch to see if there’s a noticable difference.
Just make sure not to go over the tactile legs of the Browns or the tactile leaf, at this point I’ll assume the original factory lubrication has already worn off the contact leaf so getting lube on the contact points that creats the tactility will change the feel significantly.
Lube will give even broken switches a slippery or buttery feel compared to stock IME. It will also deepen up the sound of the switch a little bit. If you are used to just broken in switches I would do like @Cloud983 said, lube a few & try them out in your hands before committing to lubing the whole batch. You never know, you may not like the feel of a fully lubed switch. Especially with a switch like MX browns where the tactility can be heavily affected by lube. One thing I would suggest to do however you feel about lubed switches is lube the springs. I find lubed springs make a huge difference in sound even if that is the only part in the switches being lubed.
Also, since you’ve never lubed switches before, I would recommend trying something first. Rub some lube between your pointer finger and thumb and see what it feels like. This is an excellent way to determine the level of viscosity you are going to apply to the plastic. Notice how some lubes will make it slippery, but also add in friction, making it slightly harder to run your fingers together.
Next, lightly wipe the lube off, leaving just a thin coating behind. Notice you still feel the lube? This will help you to understand how little it takes to make a difference in the switch.
I rarely find that lubrication makes a switch noticeably less scratchy. It mostly evens up the sound from switch to switch (eliminating small plastic rattles here and there) and lowers as well as quiets the sound.
