Thanks that makes me feel a bit better lol
Wasn’t sure if this looks better with the accent keys, or just too many colors
No pics yet because it’s still in the oven (literally), today I’m applying some dark blue engine enamel onto the case of a Drop Shift V2 for my dad’s birthday. I’ve had some success with enamel before using just the color spray on its own, but this time I decided to do more surface prep and use a paired primer.
I’m also using a different brand this time, as the one I’m used to has a weird situation with the color I wanted… they used to make it, and apparently it’s so sought-after that cans are going on eBay for literal hundreds to thousands of dollars. Presumably because a.) it’s quite good and b.) the color name started with “Ford” and wasn’t licensed by Ford so is now all gone from stores. 
In lieu of the VHT, I decided to give DupliColor a try - I’ll let you know how it goes!
Only noticed the price tag as I was navigating away.
Ouch! Hella special paint there.
Still some finishing touches to apply, but the enamel finish for my dad’s keyboard (a modded Drop Shift V2) is done:
I like the dark blue he picked
He also picked some of my favorite switches, TTC Silent Bluish Whites
If you don’t look too close, I think it looks great
Leaning-in for details reveals why professionals use paint-booths, but my dad doesn’t mind
While I’m talking about the rough bits, I had toothpicks in these holes to make sure they didn’t fill, and removing them flaked the finish. I evened it out a little bit using a sharp tool but it’s still a little scraggly - I might find a different way to preserve small openings next time
I think the stock grey caps go really well with the dark blue; almost a naval theme. These caps are much nicer than the ones that came with Massdrop V1 boards
Indoor lighting
Shiny
I kind of like the mirror effect with the back lighting
Top-centered (North-facing) per-key RGB was a deciding feature for my dad in choosing this board
Another look at how the gloss and RGB do
Angle with feet, which I left the stock anodized grey
Bad photo but there’s the feet; they match the caps and tie-into that navy-ish theme
Back edge with one of the two ports
Still to do: custom silver decals on the back with each of our monograms, stab tuning
The DupliColor seems comparable with the VHT; the finish is smooth and shiny, resistant to oils, but brittle to sharp impacts or scratches. I cured it at 300 degrees Fahrenheit this time based on a forum post instead of the 200 recommended for the VHT
Built my tree80 with NK Dream switches today.
Very fun board that sounds and feels perfect. A few small things I have to fuss with, but definitely worth the price.
Now I just need to track down the JSON file for via 
Oh… also have to give it a few years to see if it warps or shrinks to the point of no longer being usable.
By the way, I’m going to highly recommend that anyone with the materials try out a space bar setup with TypePlus stabilizers and roller linear switches. It’s very special. 
Tree80 now with roller linear on the space bar 
Turns out they’re both similar but lighter. Pacific is more a blueish grey, Cojiro is more icey blue. Cojiro has a twinge of lavender, but in direct light looks blue (maybe too blue). Pacific looks more muted but may be too gray. I have Indigo on the way, but hopes aren’t high lol
Ya’ll think Cojiro or Pacific?
Would stick to the Kabuchi spacebar actually. Imho both of them stand out even more (and too much)
You’re not wrong. It might be the (terrible) pictures in that post but in person I think I’m leaning Cojiro. With sunlight it’s almost close to the hammerhead light blue.
How do you like these stabs in general? I am on the hunt for some stabs. Its a shame that whenever I need some, stock across all the vendors seems to always be low 
I really wanted to try the new TX stabs with the clip-in pin on the top side.
My experience with 4 different builds using them:
They feel different than any other traditional stabilizer on the market. Especially noticeable on the space bar, the stabilizer almost disappears from the feel of the keypress. The feel is absolutely what every stabilizer manufacturer should be going for.
Even though the feel of a stabilizer disappears, the sound does not. It’s not any kind of terrible rattle, but it does make a sound. Now I haven’t dug into much more than my normal process of 205g0 on stems and Nyogel on the wires, so there may be a better solution.
Still not perfect, but good. Better than TX for push feel but maybe slightly worse for sound??
Oh, and they do get easier to tune and assemble with practice 
Today I built my classic TKL from Novelkeys. Hey @mgsickler you made a nice thing!
I used the WS Stupid stabilizers for this one. Mike had cautioned that this first plate was tight on stabilizers and these appeared quite slim. It was a good fit:
Notes on the stabilizers:
Overall, on this board they are on par with TX stabilizers. Maybe even better. The added rubber material on the wire clip in and the stem hole make them easier and almost foolproof to tune. I used my regular 205g0 on the stems and Nyogel on the wires.
The way the wire goes in from the bottom is a nice quality of life improvement. It’s very easy to install the wires without accidentally missing a hole and losing lubrication. 
There’s no way in hell I could get the shims into the clip in backs of the stabilizers. I’m not sure if it would differ on other PCBs. So they’re in there without the shims. I pulled hard and they didn’t budge.
They feel cheap. Everything feels a bit thin and cheap. But it didn’t seem to affect the results.
Small review on the Classic-TKL
The keyboard is very nice and well worth the price. Super easy to build.
Things I like:
The plastic is firm and the texture is pleasing. It looks premium
Everything comes assembled so you get the keyboard in a box without 20 extra baggies of parts. There is one baggie with extras.
The plate is precise. Switches clip in perfectly and easily.
These gaskets.
(Let’s just have everyone using these now. It’s so much easier and faster than having to put adhesive backed gaskets on.)
These plate screws
Finally. Plate screws that aren’t shitty 2mm dinky pieces that always work loose.
Case tolerances. All edges line up beautifully. And the space around the keycaps is perfectly uniform all over without any effort.
Only 2 issues:
One very minor issue is that the box is lovely and vintage looking but almost impossible to open without damaging. It’s glued down on the main flap like a USPS priority box. I managed to almost get it cleanly open by going very slowly with heat and a pry tool.
I figured it out! There is an option! See below update
The other issue is that the led accent shares lighting with the per key LEDs. And this is built with opaque black switches.
So no stealthy looks with a sinister red led accent. I usually turn off backlighting, but I love LED accent lights. Hmm 
I built with snow crash linears and all of the included foams.
Maybe not the perfect setup but it’s going to be very easy to swap switches. They feel nice and stable and snappy, but a big point of these particular switches is that they impact firmly and sound unique. But I’ve got it all foamed up so that feature doesn’t really stand out like it should.
TLDR:
WS Stupid Stabilizers are surprisingly good.
Classic-TKL is nearly perfect and easy to recommend for novices or experienced collectors.
Instagram post here
MAKE MORE POLYCARBONATE UNITS PLEASE also… WKL option?
Cherry MX Browns primed with three coats of RO-59 then lubed with 3203 and spring swapped with 60g single-stage 22mm Geon Spring after testing all the long springs I have.
IMO 60g offers the best balance to bring out the mid-bump just enough to feel like linear when typing fast but can feel the bump clearly when typing slower. 62.5g versions (both single and multi-stage) were too top heavy, leaving the switch feeling closer to Halo like tactility. I wanted tactility in the middle, not the top, for this switch.
I have often wondered about dry lube because it seems like, in theory, it would achieve optimal results.
I remember a decade ago when I first started trying out switches. I liked the bouncy, lively feel of stock cherry switches, but I didn’t like the way they just sounded “off.” This started a very long journey of trying different lubrication in different areas. The main problem I had was the any lubrication I added helped the switch to sound more “clean,” but it also had the unintended side effect of making it feel slightly heavier or sluggish.
Did you ever try the new Snow Crash switches? I’m blown away by how fun they feel to type on.
It’s an unlubed switch that sounds and feels so clean. It’s completely unique to me. Perhaps the only other switch that feels similar is the roller linear. They added 205g0 on the leaf springs and dry lube on the springs. But everything else is dry, and so frigging smooth and stable. I’m thinking about ordering a lot of these. I still need to try them in a more traditional top mount board to see if any case reverberation sounds bring out something I’m not hearing right now.
I guess I need to buy more switches again. Only just noticed they’re designed by Keebscape. I’m still eagerly waiting for Solaris lol.
Sadly, mine never made it to a full board. Flawed initial batch is really smooth and feels good but sounds awful to me. I even sliced open half of the pole bottom in the switch housing to see what’s going on. Nothing out of ordinary. Half-open bottom did improved the sound in the tester but not in a case.
Very weird. Weird enough to be a collectable maybe? lol
Yup. Only downside is Hairy Keyboard Syndrome.
LOL need to pluck the ones poking out from the seams.
Small update on the Classic-TKL.
One bummer for me was that the RGB per key backlight shared the same options as the led accent above the arrow keys.
I was typing today an realized that the LED accent was, indeed, individually addressable. I noticed that it turned yellow with caps lock on. Even with the backlighting still doing it’s own thing.
I thought… hmm, let’s look at the qmk code
Yep, rgb_matrix_indicatiors_advanced_user
but wait! What’s this “retro_rgb” mentioned later???
I thought I remembered seeing it earlier in VIA:
It’s a keycode! This turns off the per key RGB and only uses the accent section. It’s perfect! Now I can have a sweet led animation on that accent instead of the entire keyboard.
Board looks great! We love using just the lightbar on these (default is just right function + spacebar) to toggle that on/off.
WKL tops coming soon.
