Half a bottle of mineral oil onto mechanical keyboard.

I'm aware that mineral oil does not conduct electicity and the keyboard will still work. The problem is oil isn't exactly comfortable, and possible issues of viscosity on the switches, and what to clean it with.

Put it in the dishwasher then let dry? Clean with IPA, damp towel, dry towel, water, soapy water?

Thanks.

ps - i know mineral oil doesnt conduct electricity. this isn't water.

Marcus420

Canada1923 Posts

December 18 2012 00:25 GMT

http://imgur.com/a/9sHx7

and

http://imgur.com/a/AqhIZ#0

ripsters cleaning guide

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 18 2012 00:39 GMT

~~I believe that guide is aimed at non-mechanical keyboards, water-based liquid spills and general cleaning, not mineral oil on mechanical keyboards.~~

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 18 2012 03:03 GMT

still not exactly sure what to do here. so much oil...

magicmUnky

Australia280 Posts

December 18 2012 04:12 GMT

well you'll be deconstructing the board, cleaning it with a soap then reassembling... have fun.

that first guide covers it all

haduken

Australia8267 Posts

December 18 2012 05:16 GMT

This thread looks promising:

http://www.overclock.net/t/774841/how-to-remove-mineral-oil-from-system-parts-safely/40

1. Soak in pure alcohol,
2. air dry.

Never tried it myself, but in principle it looks doable, as long as you let the keyboard dry completely before connecting to power.

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 18 2012 09:06 GMT

ripster told me to use mineral spirits as a solvent for the mineral oil, and clean it using that.

Medrea

10003 Posts

December 18 2012 21:27 GMT

Isopropyl alcohol is your best bet.

Soak the whole keyboard in it. And push all of the keys a lot, like maybe a couple hundreds presses per key.

Tanukki

Finland579 Posts

December 19 2012 11:21 GMT

Agreed with the soak method, use some pure alcohol. Normally I'd just take off the keycaps and wash them with any detergent while carefully wiping the board, but you can't really clean the switches that way...

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 19 2012 13:05 GMT

#10

well i dont think i have to worry too much about minerla oil in the switches, it would just lubricate them. Im going to put rubbing alcohol + water in a bowl with the keycaps, then let them dry out, and then take apart the keyboard and jut wipe it downwith rubbing alcohol.

ripster

United States64 Posts

December 19 2012 21:43 GMT

#11

Wow, you posted this EVERYwhere!

http://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/150w3p/spilled_mineral_oil_onto_mechanical_keyboard/

Good luck. Post at /r/MechanicalKeyboards the results.

ProTip: First do a solvent test by pouring half mineral oil and half Isopropyl 70% and shake!

Iksf

United Kingdom444 Posts

December 19 2012 22:38 GMT

#12

Surgical spirit (rubbing alcohol for you americans) is great for cleaning the contacts, very cheap too just make sure its a good 90%+ to stop conduction and ensure its completely dry before reconnecting it.

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 19 2012 23:19 GMT

#13

I just have 70%, but I'll make sure to give it a while to dry out, obviously. I'm going to pull all the keycaps into watered down isopropyl (just a big bowl, no sense in using pure or 70% iso for that...), let them dry while I iso rub the keyboard as I take it apart (the pcb, etc). The switches I'll leave intact, I was actually using the mineral oil to lube up some GPU fans (which is when i caused the spill).

Medrea

10003 Posts

December 20 2012 00:13 GMT

#14

You can just put it in the refrigerator to speed up the drying process then.

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 20 2012 23:04 GMT

#15

Dont you mean like the oven or toaster oven or something? Am I missing something, ie IPA evaporates quicker in cold air? Even if that were true, I have 70% IPA, not lab grade (its antiseptic, so no additives), so there's water in there (which I know evaporates quicker warm vs cold).

I took apart my keyboard. Also, check out my switches. Maybe it's just wayyy too much mineral oil in them and just needs to be rubbed. Maybe shit is just fucked up. Maybe I have to clear out the switches with IPA/solvent and then relube them with specialized lube.

aethereality

Canada62 Posts

December 20 2012 23:12 GMT

#16

On December 20 2012 09:13 Medrea wrote:
You can just put it in the refrigerator to speed up the drying process then.

What?

Isn't drying the process of evaporation?

Doesn't lowering the temperature move a liquid further away from the boiling point, thus making evaporation slower?

And wouldn't taking it out of the fridge cause condensation to form because of the higher ambient temperature outside of the fridge?

The answer to all 3 of these questions is yes. I'm not sure what your train of thought was with that one, bro.

Medrea

10003 Posts

December 20 2012 23:42 GMT

#17

On December 21 2012 08:12 aethereality wrote:

Show nested quote +

This is why you cover pasta before putting it in the fridge. Ever leave a plate of pasta in the open in the fridge? Its as hard as rock in hours.

Why does meat get freezer burned? The cold rips the water out.

You can use the refrigerator to rip out moisture quickly from everything.

Why? Because unless you have an ancient fridge that has a freezer that slowly gets smaller and smaller as ice builds up, they are all equipped with dehumidifiers that remove moisture from the contents within. Which is again why we cover everything we want to keep moist.

That is why we have been putting electronics in refrigerators since the, I dunno, the 70's? About?

FranzP

France270 Posts

December 20 2012 23:43 GMT

#18

Evaporation depends on temperature and humidity (in fact it's the vapor pressure that depends on the temperature). Refrigerator are usually really dry and so evaporation can occurs faster than in ambient temperature with ambient humidity.

You must beware about condensation but I don't think it would be a big problem just be sure to take it out and put it in a rather dry room. If it's really moist in your house be careful though.

Edit: After thinking about it, depending on the solvent you use it may be not a good idea to put it in the refrigerator with food :p

Belial88

United States5217 Posts

December 20 2012 23:50 GMT

#19

well i can clear out the freezer, but im not really in a hurry to use my mechanical keyboard. id prefer it fixed right than fixed quickly.

Medrea

10003 Posts

December 20 2012 23:51 GMT

#20

I wouldnt use the freezer.

Freezer will bring parts that have capacitance values too low.

You can also use rice. Dry uncooked rice also help bring the moisture out of things.

I always put things in the fridge when they get wet because sometimes water can get inside of things, and then it takes a really really long time, like weeks, to air out if its an almost perfect box (enclosed area). Inside a fridge you have a machine built for ripping out water.

Oh also about the freezer, you could end up freezing the water between two places, and make cracks. That will break the keyboard.

EDIT: And finally, its not risky, its not underground, its something that we have been doing for decades now. Its a life saver for cellphones that have been dropped into water or something.