Ultrasonic keycap cleaning

[andrewjoy]

My alps cleaning results where also impressive. I took the opportunity to take out the tactile leaf and throw it away.

I am slowly resembling the switches as i do not have the patience to sit there and do them all in one go, ( i took them apart with a custom aluminium alps tool so that was super fast.)

The sliders have been soaking in PTFE lube for about 3 weeks now , the resembled switches are silky smooth

[Menuhin]

Reading this thread makes me want an Ultrasound cleaner...
Something nobody will understand in my real life.

[Khers]

Go for it, Menuhin, dare to be different!

[Wodan]

Reading this thread makes me want an Ultrasound cleaner...
Something nobody will understand in my real life.

The Ultrasound cleaner was a MAJOR step up in my modding/restoration game! the 2L Model i got easily fits in any cabinet and got all jobs done I needed it for. Some space bars are too long, i will just but them in half way and turn them after a few minutes heheh

Absolutely no regret with that purchase, and no complaints by my wife since it's actually pretty small.

Considering getting a larger one so I can sink large baskets with separstors for switch components into the cleaner but that's just for convenience.

[elecplus]

What do you guys use for cleaner? I have tried dental tablets and dish soap, but no luck. They still look terrible.
On the other hand, I am beginning to get the hang of Retr0bright. Nasty banana yellow Wyse caps turn a beautiful shade a light grey again!

[XMIT]

Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner? If not, this is the one that I have:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172454727480

I find that with dish soap, denture tabs, and heated water, I need to run two 480-second cycles to really get things clean.

Retr0bright is a different topic but I've had the best luck with controlled conditions: indoors, UV lamp, clear wrap over the parts to keep them wet.

[scottc]

I got a nice small Ultrasonic cleaner in Lidl for €25. Great little thing, and I can just about fit a full-sized keyboard worth of keycaps in it (though it's quite a tight fit so I tend to go for 2 batches). I just bought 5L of deionised water today and am hoping to give it a go later.

What do you guys use for cleaning fluid?

[gogusrl]

scottc, do you have a pic of what you're using ? We got Lidl around here and 25 eur sounds like a great deal

[elecplus]

I do have a new ultrasonic cleaner. Not much luck with it though. Do you mix the dish soap and the denture tabs? How mauch of each for a 2L model?

[Wodan]

I got a specialized ultrasound cleaning concentrate. It's highly concentrated, i mix it 1:50 with distilled water.

To remove all the residue from the process, I also put the keycaps in the ultrasound cleaner after sandblasting. For this i only use a drop of concentrate in a whole tank,

This stuff looks remotely similair:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Gemoro-Supe ... SwUdlWcJy8

[scottc]

It's just a little box that says "ULTRASONIC CLEANER", gogusurl. Something like this but slightly different, same brand though:


It was one of their seasonal things, I found it when I was at home in Ireland over Christmas.

Thanks for the link Wodan, I think I must've been looking up the wrong keywords or something. This looks like it'll do the job: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultrasonic-Cle ... g+solution

Though it does say it's for metals and to use with tap water only...

[snuci]

I'm waiting for my ultrasonic cleaner to come in but I've read you are supposed to use "Simple Green".

[gogusrl]

All my google searches for ultrasonic cleaners in Romania point to dental stuff at stupid prices. I guess it has some weird romanian translation that I'm missing at the moment. Will keep looking or grab of those from ebay.

[elecplus]

I'm waiting for my ultrasonic cleaner to come in but I've read you are supposed to use "Simple Green".

I will try that! At least it is inexpensive
There is some purple stuff they sell by the gallon in auto parts stores. It specifically says "DO NOT USE ON PLASTIC" but the guys who used to refurb Wyse keyboards used it exclusively!

[XMIT]

I just use a tablespoon of dishwasher detergent (Seventh Generation brand, no dyes or perfumes) and two denture tabs. I also use either reverse osmosis or distilled water, and let the cleaner heat the water to temperature. Works great!

[Engicoder]

I use a squirt of Dawn. The detergent is important as a surfactant, i.e. it lowers the surface tension of the water to prevent tiny bubbles of air from being trapped in the small pockets of the parts being cleaned.

As a note, I am using the iSonic P4810 (Amazon $80: http://a.co/fnWQfF9) It is similar to the model XMIT uses, but has a few differences.

• It has a smaller tank than the P4820, but the tank is square so that all areas of the tank should (theoretically) clean equally.
• This unit also has a degas function which is supposed to help cleaning by eliminating dissolved gases, but I find it also helps mix the detergent into the water. You can do the same by running cleaner for a while before adding items to clean.
• Lastly, the timer is in increments of 1 to 30 minutes. I find this convenient as it seems 15 minutes is a good cleaning time.

[Wodan]

All German users ... at least the ones in Aldi Süd territory: The time has come! A 20€ ultraSONIC (got it now...) cleaner

https://www.aldi-sued.de/de/angebote/an ... -20170116/

[Menuhin]

ALDI in the south sells these things also?
ALDI in the north is quite different - the stores sell basically just groceries.

[Wodan]

ALDI in the south sells these things also?
ALDI in the north is quite different - the stores sell basically just groceries.

Pretty sure you just need to be patient...

[Wodan]

Okayif anyone is interested I can proxy these things ...

Shipping will be cheapest DHL option, someting around 9€ to most EU countries. I will just whack a postage sticker on the box and ship it AS IS. Post here when interested.

[Wodan]

I have seen several people ask about the cleaning additive I use for my results.

The stuff seems to be VERY highly concentrated for industrial application like oily machine parts. I kept pouring out a perfectly soapy but totally dirty cleaning solution because the way I use the cleaner is not requiring much of the cleaning additive. I am estimating that I mix the stuff with distilled water in a ration from 1:50 - 1:100 and still get the same great results - I can just swap the cleaning solution more frequently without feeling bad for wasting so much additive.

Gave me the idea to sell some of the stuff i got in smaller portions. I have been using the ultrasonic cleaner INTENSIVELY for a while now ... thousands of keycaps and switch parts were cleaned and I still used less than 1l of the concentrate.

Most normal users could probably last for a few years with 200ml of that stuff.

Let me know if you're interested, I have yet to find a good solution for repacking the stuff

[Chyros]

So is this a kind of concentrated soap you're using in the cleaner then?

[Wodan]

So is this a kind of concentrated soap you're using in the cleaner then?

It's a special concentrate for ultrasonic cleaners:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HD-Spezialreini ... SwLEtYmrtd

[andrewjoy]

I have seen several people ask about the cleaning additive I use for my results.

The stuff seems to be VERY highly concentrated for industrial application like oily machine parts. I kept pouring out a perfectly soapy but totally dirty cleaning solution because the way I use the cleaner is not requiring much of the cleaning additive. I am estimating that I mix the stuff with distilled water in a ration from 1:50 - 1:100 and still get the same great results - I can just swap the cleaning solution more frequently without feeling bad for wasting so much additive.

Gave me the idea to sell some of the stuff i got in smaller portions. I have been using the ultrasonic cleaner INTENSIVELY for a while now ... thousands of keycaps and switch parts were cleaned and I still used less than 1l of the concentrate.

Most normal users could probably last for a few years with 200ml of that stuff.

Let me know if you're interested, I have yet to find a good solution for repacking the stuff

I would be up for that , i have just been using boiled ( but cooled down ) and filterd water with a little window cleaner

[Wodan]

Got a great idea for another alternative keycap cleaning additive from Half-Saint:

For plastics in general I highly recommend Mellerud: https://www.mellerud.de/shop/de/kunstst ... 0-5-l.html

Currently trying this on some really nasty HAU caps and will be posting results soon.

[tameone]

Has anyone successfully used an ultrasonic cleaner on mx style switches? Slightly worried about damaging the contact leafs while cleaning the housings. I have a batch of invyr panda switches with various amount of factory applied lube that I want to strip, and also a batch of 'vintage' cherry black switches desoldered from a wyse board that could use a cleaning.

[Wodan]

Got a great idea for another alternative keycap cleaning additive from Half-Saint:

For plastics in general I highly recommend Mellerud: https://www.mellerud.de/shop/de/kunstst ... 0-5-l.html

Currently trying this on some really nasty HAU caps and will be posting results soon.

This cleaner did not work well at all. The original ultrasonic cleaning solution is so much better.

Has anyone successfully used an ultrasonic cleaner on mx style switches? Slightly worried about damaging the contact leafs while cleaning the housings. I have a batch of invyr panda switches with various amount of factory applied lube that I want to strip, and also a batch of 'vintage' cherry black switches desoldered from a wyse board that could use a cleaning.

Ultrasonic cleaning of disassembled MX switches (minus the springs!) are part of my general switch modding procedure

[tameone]

Thanks, and obviously you've had no issues with damage to contact leafs?

[Wodan]

No but i use distilled water only and rinse them well after cleaning, then drain excess water in a salad spinner and put them up to dry

[tameone]

Anyone run into issues cleaning alps/mx switch components with denture tabs and dish detergent.. so long as it's rinsed well after?