Ask any keyboard enthusiast for one mod and they will say the same thing: lube your switches. But it is fiddly work, so is the payoff real?
What lubing does
A thin coat of lubricant on the switch stem and housing removes the faint scratchy texture you feel when a switch slides, and it quiets the higher-pitched rattle. A well-lubed linear switch feels noticeably smoother; a tactile switch keeps its bump but loses the grittiness around it.
The cost
- Time: roughly 60–90 minutes for a full board, the first time.
- Tools: a switch opener, a fine brush, and a pot of 205g0 or similar lube.
- Risk: over-lubing a tactile switch mutes the bump. Less is more.
Our take
On a hot-swap board with cheaper stock switches, lubing is the single biggest improvement per lari you can make. On a board that already ships with factory-lubed switches, the gain is smaller — spend your time on the stabilisers instead.
Not into DIY?
We lube switches in-store. Drop the board off, pick it up smoother.