Just realized I was using way too much lube on my switches

Someone on here told me my board sounded 'muddy' and asked if I drowned the switches. I was putting a thick coat on every single part, stems, springs, the works. After that, I tried just a tiny bit on the stem legs and a drop on the spring ends, like they said. The difference after a week of typing is crazy, way more crisp. Has anyone else had to completely re-learn their lubing method after getting called out?

3 comments

3 Comments

camerona791mo ago

My old Corsair board with the thickest lube job still sounds better than any dry switch.

dylanwilliams1mo ago

You're onto something, @camerona79. A thick lube job on those old boards just gives a deep, smooth sound that's hard to beat. My buddy's old K70 had that same muffled, almost creamy thock. New switches feel scratchy and loud in comparison. It's like comparing a well-tuned engine to a bunch of rattling parts.

the_piper1mo ago

Wait but is there a middle ground here? I mean yeah, on older boards a thick coat can give you that warm, cushioned sound that people chase after. But I think the problem is once you get used to that thick sound, you start losing all the little details in the keypress. Like the tactile bump gets all mushed out, and the return feels slower because the lube is dragging everything down. I went through the same thing where I was putting a heavy coat on everything thinking it made it sound 'smooth' but really it was just killing the character of the switch. After I wiped it all off and did just a tiny bit on the contact points, the board sounded way more alive. Maybe it depends on the switch type too, like linears can handle more lube than tactiles.