sage52•13d ago

Back in 2018, I thought hand-lubing switches was a total waste of time.

I finally gave it a shot on some old Gateron Browns last weekend, and the sound went from scratchy to a deep, quiet thock that surprised me. It made me think about how much the focus has shifted from just picking parts to these tiny finishing details. Anyone else have a simple mod that completely changed a build's feel?

3 comments

3 Comments

gibson.sean13d ago

Honestly, hand lubing Gateron Browns? That's the last switch I'd expect to sound good. Tbh I always thought they were a lost cause no matter what you did to them.

nathan85113d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy picked up a cheap board with those switches and went all in on lubing them. He spent a whole Saturday on it, even hitting the spring and stem legs. The result was a quiet, smooth bump that totally changed the switch. It went from scratchy to almost creamy, @gibson.sean. He said it felt like a completely different keyboard.

taylor.mary9d ago

Disagree completely with the idea that lubing cheap switches is a good use of time. Spending hours on Gateron Browns, like gibson.sean pointed out, feels like putting fancy paint on a rusty car. The result might be a bit better, but you still have a bad foundation. That deep thock you heard probably comes more from the board and keycaps than the lubed switch. I would rather put that effort into saving for a better switch that feels good right out of the box.