deskthority

A few days ago, I dyed a set of key caps which were extracted from G80-11800 keyboard with microwave oven at home.

They actually look pretty cool. Are they lasered or dye sublimated?

How will these look after a few months of use?

keyboardlover wrote:They actually look pretty cool. Are they lasered or dye sublimated?

They are laser-engraved key caps.

Parabellum wrote:How will these look after a few months of use?

Well...
I can't expect the results yet but I'll try to post the results again a few months later.

Ok, I've just mounted those key caps on my G80-11900.

Those blue keys would look really good on a white/beige keyboard.

That looks great. How do you dye them without also doing the lettering? They don't look like double-shot keys. (where I assume it would be possible to remove the outer cap and only dye it)

NewGuy wrote:That looks great. How do you dye them without also doing the lettering? They don't look like double-shot keys. (where I assume it would be possible to remove the outer cap and only dye it)

Nope, thats physically impossible since double shot keys are made under heat. The plastic forms a permanent connection.

I see. So how do you go about dying the keys then? Is it just that the lasered area doesn't pick up the dye?

NewGuy wrote:I see. So how do you go about dying the keys then? Is it just that the lasered area doesn't pick up the dye?

Right, laser burns out some of the plastic, which then creates the contrast.

keyboardlover wrote:They actually look pretty cool. Are they lasered or dye sublimated?

Somebody recently collected 200 US Credits for a set of USED dye-sublimation Cherry key-caps on eBay !
It would be like tagging on the Declaration of Independence ...

Lol...I bet Moogle won them, using his top secret USA eBay agent (MissleMike).

It was Moogle selling them as far as I know.

sixty wrote:

NewGuy wrote:I see. So how do you go about dying the keys then? Is it just that the lasered area doesn't pick up the dye?

Right, laser burns out some of the plastic, which then creates the contrast.

Yeah, this is the right answer!
All those are laser-etched keys of G80-11800 and I've dyed them three colors, olive green, jungle green and kingfisher.

I just noticed that some of the keycaps are thin PBT. I didn't know 11800 existed still with thin keycaps. All I had ever seen was the thick version.

sixty wrote:I just noticed that some of the keycaps are thin PBT. I didn't know 11800 existed still with thin keycaps. All I had ever seen was the thick version.

Right, most of them are thin PBT keycaps.