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The Ghetto guide for painting Cherry MX Keycaps [BIG PICTURES WARNING]

megadarkwood
By megadarkwood
in Guides and Tutorials
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Have you ever wanted to make your Mechanical Keyboard look awesome? You've always wanted to get a new keycap set or some speciality keys that would accent your stock keys and really make your keyboard unique but just couldn't afford it? Then look no further! Because today I will be showing you how to take your stock keys and make them look cool! On a budget!

 

So, where do we start? Well, heres the part list:

  • Spray paint, preferably for plastic. 
  • Keycaps, either extras you have lying around or if you are feeling risky, the ones off your keyboard.
  • OPTIONAL BUT PREFERRED: Sandpaper, I didn't use it but it would help a little.

 

Step one:

First we will begin with the keycaps themselves. If you have sandpaper, sand them down just a bit to make the surface easier for the paint to stick to. If not, place them on something like cardboard in your garage or somewhere well ventilated.

 

After painting, let it dry for 1-3 hours.

 

yMI7ppp.jpgI Used these crappy pink ones I had lying around :P

FajOSM3.jpg

 

I6YzJzQ.jpg

 

After the first coat, I moved them to cardboard so it doesn't get stuck to the plastic bin

 

6gtCkvH.jpg

 

How about a gif?

vEeTSo.gif

Step 2:

Do a few coats, at least 2. The more coats you add the keycap will get thicker and might not fit perfectly anymore. Let it dry overnight.

 

Step 3: 

When you are done all your coats, if you have a clear coat, add it now. Follow the instructions on the bottle for how many coats you need. When thats dry, you're done!

 

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/230813-the-ghetto-guide-for-painting-cherry-mx-keycaps-big-pictures-warning/?p=3161838

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What if you wanted to colour LED keycaps? 

Our Grace. The Feathered One. He shows us the way. His bob is majestic and shows us the path. Follow unto his guidance and His example. He knows the one true path. Our Saviour. Our Grace. Our Father Birb has taught us with His humble heart and gentle wing the way of the bob. Let us show Him our reverence and follow in His example. The True Path of the Feathered One. ~ Dimboble-dubabob III

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What if you wanted to colour LED keycaps? 

too bad! Always a critic somewhere lol. 

muh specs 

Gaming and HTPC (reparations)- ASUS 1080, MSI X99A SLI Plus, 5820k- 4.5GHz @ 1.25v, asetek based 360mm AIO, RM 1000x, 16GB memory, 750D with front USB 2.0 replaced with 3.0  ports, 2 250GB 850 EVOs in Raid 0 (why not, only has games on it), some hard drives

Screens- Acer preditor XB241H (1080p, 144Hz Gsync), LG 1080p ultrawide, (all mounted) directly wired to TV in other room

Stuff- k70 with reds, steel series rival, g13, full desk covering mouse mat

All parts black

Workstation(desk)- 3770k, 970 reference, 16GB of some crucial memory, a motherboard of some kind I don't remember, Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI, CM Storm Trooper (It's got a handle, can you handle that?), 240mm Asetek based AIO, Crucial M550 256GB (upgrade soon), some hard drives, disc drives, and hot swap bays

Screens- 3  ASUS VN248H-P IPS 1080p screens mounted on a stand, some old tv on the wall above it. 

Stuff- Epicgear defiant (solderless swappable switches), g600, moutned mic and other stuff. 

Laptop docking area- 2 1440p korean monitors mounted, one AHVA matte, one samsung PLS gloss (very annoying, yes). Trashy Razer blackwidow chroma...I mean like the J key doesn't click anymore. I got a model M i use on it to, but its time for a new keyboard. Some edgy Utechsmart mouse similar to g600. Hooked to laptop dock for both of my dell precision laptops. (not only docking area)

Shelf- i7-2600 non-k (has vt-d), 380t, some ASUS sandy itx board, intel quad nic. Currently hosts shared files, setting up as pfsense box in VM. Also acts as spare gaming PC with a 580 or whatever someone brings. Hooked into laptop dock area via usb switch

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too bad! Always a critic somewhere lol. 

:(

Our Grace. The Feathered One. He shows us the way. His bob is majestic and shows us the path. Follow unto his guidance and His example. He knows the one true path. Our Saviour. Our Grace. Our Father Birb has taught us with His humble heart and gentle wing the way of the bob. Let us show Him our reverence and follow in His example. The True Path of the Feathered One. ~ Dimboble-dubabob III

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I have a feeling you are going to have silver fingers later down the road. Spray paint isn't the best at adhesion especially without sanding it down. Even worse with hand oils.

 

 

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I have a feeling you are going to have silver fingers later down the road. Spray paint isn't the best at adhesion especially without sanding it down. Even worse with hand oils.

Thats why it's the ghetto guide.

Main Rig: -FX8150 -32gb Kingston HyperX BLUE -120gb Kingston HyperX SSD -1TB WD Black -ASUS R9 270 DCUII OC -Corsair 300r -Full specs on Profile


Other Devices: -One Plus One 64gb Sandstone Black -Canon T5 -Moto G -Pebble Smartwatch -Nintendo 2DS -G27 Racing Wheel


#PlugYourStuff - 720penis - 1080penis - #KilledMyWife - #LinusButtPlug - #HashtagsAreALifestyle - CAR BOUGHT: 2010 Corolla

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Thats why it's the ghetto guide.

Smoke weed everyday

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Final product:

KJyCFU5.jpg

 

 

hfURI8e.jpg

 

 

 

 

dpbQwun.jpg

Main Rig: -FX8150 -32gb Kingston HyperX BLUE -120gb Kingston HyperX SSD -1TB WD Black -ASUS R9 270 DCUII OC -Corsair 300r -Full specs on Profile


Other Devices: -One Plus One 64gb Sandstone Black -Canon T5 -Moto G -Pebble Smartwatch -Nintendo 2DS -G27 Racing Wheel


#PlugYourStuff - 720penis - 1080penis - #KilledMyWife - #LinusButtPlug - #HashtagsAreALifestyle - CAR BOUGHT: 2010 Corolla

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