I realize that this may be blasphemous since most people here lube switches by hand and spray lubing has been known to damage boards so please be warned.
I recently bought this Super Lube Pen and I have used it to lube my switches without desoldering.
I understand that the Korean brand of Super Lube lacks a certain component that leads to shorting or it creates a problem with the switch contacts. I still wanted to try this out because desoldering sucks.
That being said I just removed my keycaps and lubed the slide walls on the switches on the bottom side of the stem near the LED hole. I use approximately two quick squirts, clean the switch of any excess lube on the stem or housing then accuate the switch a couple of times to make sure that it spreads the lube a bit more.
I have used my keyboards like this for about a month now with no ill effects. I test the keyboards every morning before I log into work and so far both of them are fully functional.
Just wanted to let you guys know and see if anyone else has tried this tech out.
Desoldering does suck sometimes. I do enjoy doing it, but when a pin gets stuck on the side of a hole, especially when desoldering LEDs, it’s pretty time consuming/frustrating to get out. I’ll have to invest in those desoldering guns. Anyway, if the pen is faster than desoldering and bag lubing the stems, then I’ll have to try it out with Superlube Oil + syringe.
Give it a shot with something that is fairly easy to replace just encase.
I really want to know what more people in the community think, or if the true keyboard scientists could give us a break down of whether or not this is a good idea.
As long as you are not getting that lube by or on the contacts & keep it to a very light application you should be golden. Granted it won’t perform as well as a properly lubed switch, but using this method shouldn’t raise any issues IMO.
I tried this as one of first newbie dabbles into the hobby on a stock Ducky keyboard with some intense spring ping. It worked to get rid of the spring ping and a little bit of scratchiness.
I personally wouldn’t do it again. On the outside everything is very clean but inside it makes a mess that gets on the keycap stems and on the PCB. As I got deeper into the hobby and started moving things around the super lube traces would get over whatever I was working on (this was especially annoying when moving from one board to another). The only way I could remove it was with an ultra sonic cleaner. Of course I probably definately used a bit too much that didn’t help the situation.
IMO if it is an OEM keyboard that is NOT hotswap and don’t plan on doing real lubing on the switches then I would recommend it. Wish Cherry would factory lube their springs so they didn’t need lube right away for most people.
This was the video I followed a while back (video isn’t great but helps explain where to add the lube):
I did the same thing with my first mech as well. Dripped SuperLube oil into MX Browns, which did help with the glide and making the sound a bit fuller (IIRC). However I treated it as an experiment… Which ended up kicking me into the rabbit hole.
After desoldering that board, I learned not to lube that way again for proper builts. Like Dave said, it’s a mess. And i remember the switches getting slightly sticky over time. Maybe it’s not the oil itself, just dust attached to it. Regardless it didn’t seem like good practice.
