What is a lube switch? Notes to know when lube switching

For those who are passionate about mechanical keys, lube switches are certainly not too strange. Lube switches make keyboard movement smoother and provide a smoother feel. So, what is a lube switch? Join TipsMake to learn more in the article below.

What is a lube switch?

Lube switch is a way to lubricate the keyboard, giving users a smoother and lighter touch. Lube switch helps the parts inside the switch operate more smoothly and flexibly, thereby improving the typing experience and reducing hand fatigue when operating for long periods of time. Lube switch is often performed to maintain the computer keyboard after a long period of use.

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What are the benefits of mechanical keyboard lube switches?

Normally, before being released to users, switches are lubricated during the manufacturing process. The switch is lubricated with a very small amount of lubricant and is gradually absorbed into the position around the stem. The reason why all manufacturers do this is to help the details operate smoothly while still ensuring the basic properties and characteristics of each type of switch.

Lubing a mechanical keyboard switch brings many different benefits, specifically:

1. Supports the stem and the entire system from housing, stem, and spring to move inside the switch more easily and smoothly. This helps reduce hand pressure, limiting hand fatigue when used for long periods of time.
2. Contributes to reducing switch noise when performing key presses, especially clicky switches.
3. Limit vibration, increase stability and longevity of components inside the switch.
4. Opportunity to experience a new clicking feeling like a customizable spring on non-customizable switches with different levels of movement points.

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In what cases should lube switches not be used?

Whether the lube switch is performed depends on many factors. Below are cases where lube switches should not be used:

1. If you are using a mechanical keyboard and are very satisfied and do not need to press softer keys, you should not lube.
2. Lube switches cost a lot of money when brought to stores, but if you do it yourself at home, it takes a lot of time. Therefore, if you want to save time and money, you may not need to lube.
3. For tacticle or clicky switches, if you enjoy the feeling of pressing a notched key, it's best not to lube. Because the switch after being lube will be very smooth, reducing the experience of clicking and the accompanying sound.
4. If your mechanical keyboard is still under warranty, you should not lube it because it will cause you to lose the warranty period.

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What types of lubricants are commonly used for lube switches?

Currently, on the market there are many different types of line lubricants used for lube switches. However, these types are divided into two large groups: Oil and Grease. The common point of these two types is that they are both used to help materials become greasy, but their viscosity will be different. The higher the viscosity, the less lubricant you will need to use during the lube process

Most users believe that Oil is much more flexible than Grease. Oil can be used to brush the housing and stem or can also be used when lubing the spring in the switch. Grease is easier to brush on the housing and stem than Oil, but it is quite difficult and takes more time to lubricate the spring. You will need to meticulously apply a little Grease to each spring. In short, which type of lubricant to use depends on each person's preferences.

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When lube switching you need to remember the following principles:

1. If the lubricant has a low viscosity, it is best to use it to lube tactical switches. This is to ensure a tactile feel for the keyboard even after lubrication has just been completed.
2. You should use a lubricant with high viscosity to lube the linear switch. This will help ensure gentle smoothness, no squeaks, no sounds.

Below are some of the most commonly used switch lubricants today:

1. Use for the housing and stem of the switch: Oil or Grease with indexes 3203 and 203 should be used for tactical switches; 205 and 106 for linear switches.

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1. Use for the spring part: It is best to choose an oil with a slightly higher viscosity index than the stem and housing to better minimize sounds and material weaknesses.

Tools included when lube switch mechanical keyboard

To lube mechanical keyboard switches, specialized tools are required. Below are the 2 most commonly used tools when lube switches on mechanical keyboards:

Brush lubbing

This is the activity of using a good brush with a reasonable size and moderate softness (00 brush) to apply lubricant to the switch parts. This will help you control the thickness of the lubricant on each component. And of course, it is also the most time-consuming and labor-intensive method.

Note that if you brush too much lubricant on the stem, it will reduce the tactile feel of the tacticle switch. Therefore, to be safest, practice brushing with other types of switches (such as linear) first for the most effective operation.

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Bag lubbing

This is how lube is recommended for the spring part of the switch. The method is extremely simple, you just need to remove all switch components that need lube. Then put everything in a sealed bag, add a generous amount of lubricant and shake well until everything is covered with lubricant.

The reason this method is only recommended for the spring part is because if you put all the parts in the bag and shake it, it will use a lot of lubricant, causing waste. At the same time, lubricating all the details like this will make everything shiny and make it difficult to assemble and clean after lubricating.

In general, you should combine both methods above: brush lubbing for the stem and housing and bag lubbing for the spring. This will help the lube achieve the best results and the cleaning process will also be less time-consuming.

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Notes you need to know before lube switch 

Lube switching is not too complicated, but before lube switching, you need to understand the following notes to not affect the keyboard quality:

1. If you are satisfied with your current mechanical keyboard and do not need to change anything, you definitely should not do lube.
2. If you don't have the patience to learn lube switches yourself or don't have too much time to do it, you shouldn't lube.
3. Mechanical keyboards that use tacticle or clicky switches should be considered when applying lube.
4. It's best that you still have someone with computer expertise perform the lube switch. This will help prevent your keyboard from experiencing some serious errors.

Epilogue

In this article, TipsMake has provided detailed information about lube switches. Hopefully the above sharing can help you perform this process yourself at home or take it to a reputable maintenance center when necessary. If you have any other problems with the switch or mechanical keyboard, you can leave a comment below the article to get the fastest advice from the TipsMake team.

Kareem Winters

Update 04 October 2023