RO-59 - Topre and MX

Learning and discussion Key switches
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Hi all,

I recently picked up a few vials of R0-59 from Ringer Keys after reading JasonATXBS’s fantastic write up on how to apply it to Topre sliders (shared on the Conical Keyboards Discord).

I should have a few vials left over after I use a few to lube up the Densus x KLC sliders (not yet delivered). I was wondering if anyone had any experience applying it to MX switches?

I have some ultraglide cherry browns coming in and I feel like it would be a great combo - I remember some post about people applying it to stems via bag lube? And then by brush to slider rails, but I’m a bit afraid of messing up/wasting the R0-59.

If anyone has any thoughts or recommendations, please let me know!

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AFAIK the way to use R0-59 is to use a small paint brush to apply a thin layer (basically just get it wet as R0-59 has almost no viscosity) to the parts you want it on. Then let it dry & repeat the process a few times. Most find 2 applications to be sufficient, but since it is so thin I prefer to do 3 or 4 to get a smoother, less stock feeling result.

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Thanks for the tips! I see, its quite a different experience applying such a non-viscous layer on. I’ll put try putting on 4 and will report back in a few days!

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While hand-brushing is best for RO-59, I think bag lubing + heat is also decent.

  • Applied RO-59 appears to bloat like water-soaked skin before hardening.
  • After bag lubing, RO-59 applied surface looks uneven with splotches.
  • After bloating, surface looks more even but matte. Touching the surface leaves fingerprint behind.
  • After hardening, surface is hard and gleaming.

So what I do now is (because hand-brushing is too tiring even for me) is wait for a sunny day to cure the stems under the sun after bag lubing.

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Update: I decided to hand-brush the R0-59 onto the Browns, keeping each switch separate so their ‘mated’ parts can continue to reap the benefits of being broken-in (although this could be copium given that the R0-59 will inevitably add onto/fill in the grooves in the plastic created by the break-in process? But anyways…)

First go, spilt the vial onto my desk. Not great.
Second try I found a dog chew toy holder which can hold the vial and prevent spillage. Wish I found this earlier.

Brushing on the R0-59 on the lower stem rails was quite an easy and enjoyable process. Moving onto the stems, I see what you mean by it bloating - the viscosity makes it quite difficult to gauge how much has been applied, so bag-lubing is actually a pretty attractive option as you can somewhat ensure saturation.

As an aside, I wonder how efficient it would be to use a stem holder and dunk the stem into the vial of R0-59, then shake off the residue and dry… I may revisit this with some MX Blacks.

I went with two coats on the stem, all sides, and two on the housing rails. Will try filming ten of the Browns with TX films and slap in some 60g XL springs to see how enjoyable they are. I’m quite tempted to apply another two layers of coating, but let’s see!

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Quick update: after getting springs in the mail, I was finally able to finish making the Browns, which I feel turned out great! I ended up going with .15 TX films and 55g 22mm Geon springs which feel very snappy. Currently have them in my Merisi Dodici on a CF plate - which I guess allows the Browns to truly shine in all their slightly sandy, not quite tactile yet not quite linear glory, haha.

I saw that KLC has shipped out the fixed EC parts, so I’ll be bag lubing those sliders and reporting back after a few sunny days! Fingers crossed that they feel like proper cup rubber.

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I saw that KLC has shipped out the fixed EC parts, so I’ll be bag lubing those sliders and reporting back after a few sunny days! Fingers crossed that they feel like proper cup rubber.

Would appreciate any news about this. especially spacebar and their dome offerings