Kind of makes sense, chyros seems to be completely opposed to any type of modification to keyboards. I've never seen him say anything that's not negative about the custom scene and I don't think he's lubed an mx switch ever because he's philosophically against having to do work to a keyboard.
I think the main point is to understand how wax and water work together. They do not mix even when boiled. But it will melt, creating a thin layer at the top as oil does. I feel like the best way to wax mod alps consistently is to boil a pot of water, mix in a set amount of wax, and then in small groups, just barely dunk sliders in repeatedly with a wire mesh strainer. After a few dips, add a bit more wax, and keep on going. That'll get the actual wax layer on to the slider.
The point is to cover the sliders in a very thin coat of wax. If you watched the video, he explains that the wax creates a very fine suspension in the water when he shakes it vigorously. Dunking sliders through puddles of wax floating on top of the water will not have the same result.
First time watching because I’ve finally obtained some Alps boards. Was interested in modding and heard about dry lubing and this mod. Seems like there’s a divide as it’s a very hit or miss modification.
I’ve tried this 3 times with skcc talk creams and have had no luck. First two were with kuritakey’s method and then I just tried with this method and not only have I not had any luck in making them smoother, but the switch feel has been wildly varied. Following these steps I did a batch of 4 stems and one of them feels amazing but then another one is literally binding worse than before. Meanwhile the other 2 don’t feel any different. Any ideas? Do I need to clean them better? More wax? Less wax? Should I do more than 4? I’m not expecting you have the perfect answer but just thought I’d ask for your opinion. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback. May I ask what wax specifically you are using, as this greatly effects the results. for the amount of wax I personally try to get a thin yet noticeable layer of wax maybe like half the thickness of a sheet of printer paper for example. you can also try just rubbing a bit of wax on the sliders friction points if it feels like it needs more if the wax is soft enough. And personally my favorite type of wax to use is the pure paraffin wax found on Amazon in 1 pound blocks. But I’ve heard sasol 5203 tea light wax works just as good if not better. and I’m not sure how you cleaned them, but what I usually do since I don’t have an ultra sonic cleaner is use a hot mixture of simple green, soap and water and let them soak for a few mins and them stir and mix them vigorously for a few mins then boil them in just water for about 10-20 mins and then repeat the soap mixing step one more time only if they are very bad condition to begin with.
@@jezzuz8595 Sorry it took so long to get back I have been revising for exams but I was able to attempt this again and had the worst results so far. The candles I used are the MontoPack Unscented White Tealight Candles from Amazon. This is what I did step-by-step for a batch of 4 switches: (1) Disassembled switches (2) Put stems and top housings in a jar with warm water and soap and let sit there for 2 minutes, then shook vigorously for a minute. After that I washed off all the soap bubbles under the sink (3) Put the stems and housings in a pot at a rolling boil and boiled them for 15 minutes (4) I then put them back into a jar with warm soapy water and shook for another minute (5) Then I put the stems in a separate jar with an amount of wax equal to an entire pinky fingernail, and poured hot water in it (6) I then shook for 2 minutes, then let them sit for another minute (7) lastly I let them dry over night and the next day when I reassembled them they were incredibly scratchy and binding. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it the wax? Too much? Did I mess up a step? Does it just not work with SKCC for some reason?
@@DontGetHit648 it seems like you are doing everything correct. What is the consistency of the wax used in the candles you have. And when you feel the stems how much wax does it feel like it has on it. It also might be dirt lodged in the crevices of the top housings.
@@jezzuz8595 typically they will feel noticeably waxy. Like when I’m putting them back together I definitely can feel it in my fingers. And I tried to start fresh with switches a few weeks ago and gently scraped a knife against them and was getting rolls of wax coming off. So there’s no doubt the wax is getting on. It’s just not making much of a difference. And the inconsistency is also so bizarre. As for the top housings that could be true. I mean I’ve been eying an ultrasonic cleaner for a while anyways so maybe that would work?
Wax does NOT work. Don't listen to this guy. It simply does not stick to the plastics, it gets wiped away. And also this jezzuz dude is using it on SKCM whites, which are made of a totally different material than your SKCC.
I don't want to be a bother, but I've been having trouble with the wax distributing evenly over the slider when drying. It seems to run off too easily. How do you usually let them dry? Also. how many do you do at a time? If it matters, this is for SKCM Cream Damped.
@@onkelearn yes I always recommend if you over wax just throw the sliders back in some clean boiling water and it will remove the excess and leave the perfect amount
The controversy about greasing the stem with paraffin (yes, not bees wax, but the other "wax" ) was built around explaining how and why not actually performing the procedure right. (looking at you chriosran22) Here I just see it done properly: 1. The paraffin is merely brought to a softer state (by grit and warm water) 2. The stems are brought in contact with it by mixing in the suspension for a while (physical contact and rubbing) 3. once dried the stems are to be cleaned on one side to prevent the click leaf sticking (done so not to lose the click) TL;DR: paraffin is long since industry wide renowned lubricant for many synthetic materials
This keyboard wasn’t retro brighter but normally what I do is put the keycaps in a bag with hydrogen peroxide and leave it in the sun for the case I usually use gelled hydrogen peroxide and coat the case then wrap in plastic wrap and leave it in the sun it usually takes some moving around and re wrapping to get an even retro bright
does anyone have any idea how long the wax would last? i usually just use ultrasonic and call it a day, but this one keyboard got the other day is so stubborn & utterly hopeless. i wanted to try this method. but if i got to wax them once every 2 minutes, i recon i might as well work harder and get a raise so i can afford to buy NOS Whites lmao 😂
I did notice my tactiles seem to click on the upstroke after this method. Is there a way to fix that without paper modding? Other than that, it works great, and it definitely improves switches a great deal.
@@winteralfs the boiling shouldn’t effect that at all. You might need to swap around the housings and stuff sometimes they will click just from being moved to a different housing. But if all else fails paper mod will fix
I like how so many people were disappointed with Chyros, an actual chemist, saying candle wax isn't the same as a lube formula that they actively searched for people who know far less about chemicals to give their copium. keen to see all the scratchy at best and maybe even broken boards in a year or two lmao
Are you saying lube does not work? Why would lube not work, its literally a non reactive sustance you can use. It will work way better than wax which seems to be a terriable way to apply to switches
@@tombaker2510 that is deadass the exact opposite of what my comment was saying I have no idea how you came to that conclusion lmao that being said, I was wrong. Jezzuz, consider this a formal apology. I was a fool comrade, blind to the truth, blind to wax supremacy. But I see it now, I see the light and it is glorious. but yeh actually wax does work lol I've yet to give any really long term tests but my waxed Salmon board has held up for a month now and still feels excellent. I'm eventually gonna do some comparisons with nektar and dupont dry lube though
Hey man. Whatever happened to the BoIlInG WiLL ClEaN tHe SwItChEs ThOroUgHlY? Did it not? No! I am shocked. Green soap cleans better? No! I am double-shocked, who would have thought of that. Oh, yeah, I did. Well, then, you know, I told you so. Please carry on, eventually someday, you will admit that Wax does not work.
cringe lmfao, this is just showing the wax mod without the boiling cleaning technique; maybe stop listening to a dutch dude who **got the procedure wrong** and start listening to the many keyboard enthusiasts who did it right and had good results? or maybe not and continue being cringe
Thank you so much man, I did this with my Salmon Alps and they got super smooth. Zero binding, before this mod switches were almost unusable.
I'm excited for this after the disappointment that was Chyros' video...
Kind of makes sense, chyros seems to be completely opposed to any type of modification to keyboards. I've never seen him say anything that's not negative about the custom scene and I don't think he's lubed an mx switch ever because he's philosophically against having to do work to a keyboard.
oh boy, today was a good day for keyboard excellence
yem8, will be pointing to this one in my next video seeing as I'm not bothering with a tutorial this time
🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯
Because your emperor wears no clothes!
@@bobweiram6321 who is the emperor? go on, i'm waiting.
the jar just exploded in my hand, but the switches came out beautyful!!!
I think the main point is to understand how wax and water work together. They do not mix even when boiled. But it will melt, creating a thin layer at the top as oil does. I feel like the best way to wax mod alps consistently is to boil a pot of water, mix in a set amount of wax, and then in small groups, just barely dunk sliders in repeatedly with a wire mesh strainer. After a few dips, add a bit more wax, and keep on going. That'll get the actual wax layer on to the slider.
The point is to cover the sliders in a very thin coat of wax. If you watched the video, he explains that the wax creates a very fine suspension in the water when he shakes it vigorously. Dunking sliders through puddles of wax floating on top of the water will not have the same result.
Boil 'em, wax 'em, stick 'em in a keeb.
Thanks a lot for this video. I'll try this on my alps oa2 clones keyboard, and see if they get good.
First time watching because I’ve finally obtained some Alps boards. Was interested in modding and heard about dry lubing and this mod.
Seems like there’s a divide as it’s a very hit or miss modification.
i would recommend trying all the methods u are interested in on just a few switches first and test out which ones u prefer side by side
Hello do you wash the top housings and stems with the leaf or without the leaf?
Thank you for posting this!
No problem 👍
Amazing video!
I’ve tried this 3 times with skcc talk creams and have had no luck. First two were with kuritakey’s method and then I just tried with this method and not only have I not had any luck in making them smoother, but the switch feel has been wildly varied. Following these steps I did a batch of 4 stems and one of them feels amazing but then another one is literally binding worse than before. Meanwhile the other 2 don’t feel any different. Any ideas? Do I need to clean them better? More wax? Less wax? Should I do more than 4? I’m not expecting you have the perfect answer but just thought I’d ask for your opinion. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback. May I ask what wax specifically you are using, as this greatly effects the results. for the amount of wax I personally try to get a thin yet noticeable layer of wax maybe like half the thickness of a sheet of printer paper for example. you can also try just rubbing a bit of wax on the sliders friction points if it feels like it needs more if the wax is soft enough. And personally my favorite type of wax to use is the pure paraffin wax found on Amazon in 1 pound blocks. But I’ve heard sasol 5203 tea light wax works just as good if not better. and I’m not sure how you cleaned them, but what I usually do since I don’t have an ultra sonic cleaner is use a hot mixture of simple green, soap and water and let them soak for a few mins and them stir and mix them vigorously for a few mins then boil them in just water for about 10-20 mins and then repeat the soap mixing step one more time only if they are very bad condition to begin with.
@@jezzuz8595 Sorry it took so long to get back I have been revising for exams but I was able to attempt this again and had the worst results so far. The candles I used are the MontoPack Unscented White Tealight Candles from Amazon. This is what I did step-by-step for a batch of 4 switches:
(1) Disassembled switches (2) Put stems and top housings in a jar with warm water and soap and let sit there for 2 minutes, then shook vigorously for a minute. After that I washed off all the soap bubbles under the sink (3) Put the stems and housings in a pot at a rolling boil and boiled them for 15 minutes (4) I then put them back into a jar with warm soapy water and shook for another minute (5) Then I put the stems in a separate jar with an amount of wax equal to an entire pinky fingernail, and poured hot water in it (6) I then shook for 2 minutes, then let them sit for another minute (7) lastly I let them dry over night and the next day when I reassembled them they were incredibly scratchy and binding. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it the wax? Too much? Did I mess up a step? Does it just not work with SKCC for some reason?
@@DontGetHit648 it seems like you are doing everything correct. What is the consistency of the wax used in the candles you have. And when you feel the stems how much wax does it feel like it has on it. It also might be dirt lodged in the crevices of the top housings.
@@jezzuz8595 typically they will feel noticeably waxy. Like when I’m putting them back together I definitely can feel it in my fingers. And I tried to start fresh with switches a few weeks ago and gently scraped a knife against them and was getting rolls of wax coming off. So there’s no doubt the wax is getting on. It’s just not making much of a difference. And the inconsistency is also so bizarre. As for the top housings that could be true. I mean I’ve been eying an ultrasonic cleaner for a while anyways so maybe that would work?
Wax does NOT work. Don't listen to this guy. It simply does not stick to the plastics, it gets wiped away. And also this jezzuz dude is using it on SKCM whites, which are made of a totally different material than your SKCC.
that sounds so beautiful
I don't want to be a bother, but I've been having trouble with the wax distributing evenly over the slider when drying. It seems to run off too easily. How do you usually let them dry? Also. how many do you do at a time? If it matters, this is for SKCM Cream Damped.
Great tutorial! How do they feel after long time of use?
The wax stays on very well and i haven’t noticed any change in feel across any of my keyboards that have been waxed so far.
@@jezzuz8595 nice tried it rn. Works very fast I just used way to much wax so I’m trying to reboil to remove some
@@onkelearn yes I always recommend if you over wax just throw the sliders back in some clean boiling water and it will remove the excess and leave the perfect amount
Nice
Hi! Great vid! I’d like to ask, how did you take the switches apart? Did you desolder them from the board?
No need to removed the top casing of the switch to disassemble
The controversy about greasing the stem with paraffin (yes, not bees wax, but the other "wax" ) was built around explaining how and why not actually performing the procedure right. (looking at you chriosran22)
Here I just see it done properly:
1. The paraffin is merely brought to a softer state (by grit and warm water)
2. The stems are brought in contact with it by mixing in the suspension for a while (physical contact and rubbing)
3. once dried the stems are to be cleaned on one side to prevent the click leaf sticking (done so not to lose the click)
TL;DR:
paraffin is long since industry wide renowned lubricant for many synthetic materials
Hm, ur method of retrobright is interesting. Foam spray?
This keyboard wasn’t retro brighter but normally what I do is put the keycaps in a bag with hydrogen peroxide and leave it in the sun for the case I usually use gelled hydrogen peroxide and coat the case then wrap in plastic wrap and leave it in the sun it usually takes some moving around and re wrapping to get an even retro bright
thumbnail was a keyboard ritual
Very nice video 😄
so satisfying love it
I feel bad. There like 145 switches on that sucker and they take significantally longer to open than a regular switch. Oof
My life is pain
@@jezzuz8595 Sadge 🔫
I like how quiet it is 🤫
thanks for tutorial !
does anyone have any idea how long the wax would last? i usually just use ultrasonic and call it a day, but this one keyboard got the other day is so stubborn & utterly hopeless. i wanted to try this method. but if i got to wax them once every 2 minutes, i recon i might as well work harder and get a raise so i can afford to buy NOS Whites lmao 😂
My waxed boards all have zero change in feel after the first waxing
I did notice my tactiles seem to click on the upstroke after this method. Is there a way to fix that without paper modding? Other than that, it works great, and it definitely improves switches a great deal.
You must wipe all the wax off the side that the click or tactile leaf is on
@@jezzuz8595 does the boiling introduce tactile clicking? I am trying to get all the wax off of the slider on the side of the tactile leaf.
@@winteralfs the boiling shouldn’t effect that at all. You might need to swap around the housings and stuff sometimes they will click just from being moved to a different housing. But if all else fails paper mod will fix
Paper mod. It has nothing to do with the wax, it's bc you have taken appart the switches, and mixed up the switchparts and leaves.
I like how so many people were disappointed with Chyros, an actual chemist, saying candle wax isn't the same as a lube formula that they actively searched for people who know far less about chemicals to give their copium.
keen to see all the scratchy at best and maybe even broken boards in a year or two lmao
Are you saying lube does not work? Why would lube not work, its literally a non reactive sustance you can use. It will work way better than wax which seems to be a terriable way to apply to switches
@@tombaker2510 that is deadass the exact opposite of what my comment was saying I have no idea how you came to that conclusion lmao
that being said, I was wrong. Jezzuz, consider this a formal apology. I was a fool comrade, blind to the truth, blind to wax supremacy. But I see it now, I see the light and it is glorious.
but yeh actually wax does work lol I've yet to give any really long term tests but my waxed Salmon board has held up for a month now and still feels excellent. I'm eventually gonna do some comparisons with nektar and dupont dry lube though
Show these fools how it's done boah
Tried this one on board with simplified clone alps. Killed PCB in consequence.
oof
Can I uh,
Fiddle some outemu blues with this mod?
Probs not lmao
Hey man. Whatever happened to the BoIlInG WiLL ClEaN tHe SwItChEs ThOroUgHlY? Did it not? No! I am shocked. Green soap cleans better? No! I am double-shocked, who would have thought of that. Oh, yeah, I did. Well, then, you know, I told you so. Please carry on, eventually someday, you will admit that Wax does not work.
cringe lmfao, this is just showing the wax mod without the boiling cleaning technique; maybe stop listening to a dutch dude who **got the procedure wrong** and start listening to the many keyboard enthusiasts who did it right and had good results? or maybe not and continue being cringe