How to clean up a white keyboard?

On 15/09/2020 04.10, T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop.Â* The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

KH7, if they sell it your way.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop.Â* The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.


Black keyboards ;-)


--
Take care,

Jonathan
-------------------
LITTLE WORKS STUDIO
http://www.LittleWorksStudio.com

On 9/15/2020 12:50 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
T wrote:

I wonder if retrobrite would work on my car's
headlight covers?

The only fix for cloudy lenses I see is progressively finer
sanding/polishing and then re-coating with a UV filter



Or for many people, cataract surgery.


--
Ken

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:43:00 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop.* The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

If the plastic is oxidized then the only way to get it white again is to
remove the oxide layer. It's usually not worth the hassle of sandpaper,
acetone, and sealer.
But if it's just dirty then take it completely apart and soak the keys
in a bowl of detergent and water for a few hours, then tooth brush and
rinse clean. Clean the touch surface with iso alcohol. Clean the front
and back plastic with detergent then dry all the parts off with your air
compressor. I do that with my fav keyboard every few years. It must be
near 20 years old now and still works and looks great.

That's exactly how I clean the keycaps of my IBM Model M keyboards.

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 01:28:40 -0700, T wrote:

On 2020-09-15 00:50, Andy Burns wrote:
T wrote:

I wonder if retrobrite would work on my car's
headlight covers?

The only fix for cloudy lenses I see is progressively finer
sanding/polishing and then re-coating with a UV filter

I was afraid of that

Don't be afraid. Buy the kit for about $20, which contains everything you
need. It takes about 10-15 minutes per light and they come out looking
brand new.

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.

On 9/14/2020 10:10 PM, T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop.Â* The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T
My method has not been mentioned. I have used it to clean up some
pretty disgusting keyboard.

I simply use the Cleaner 409 and a paper towel.
https://www.formula409.com/products/...rface-cleaner/

I carefully spray the 409 cleaner on the keyboard, wait a couple of
seconds and wipe it off with a paper towel. If there is a real
stubborn spot I will repeat the process.

I would not use the formulation with beach on a plastic keyboard.

I am not quite as fond of 409 as the Greek father in "My Big Fat Greek
Wedding" was of alcohol, but use cleaner 409 for many projects around
the computer, home, shop, and the car.

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.


--
Ken

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away. Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.
Maybe I shouldn't have dropped 6 of them off at Goodwill last year.

Char Jackson wrote:

Ken Blake wrote:
Char Jackson wrote:
Paul wrote:
T wrote:

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in my shop. The
keys are starting to look a bit nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and nothing seems to
clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart at the
membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned the cover of
stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed pretty innocuous (I
wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And that caused
enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant
to pop off for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times
over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic
dishwasher? I've never done that, but I know quite a few people
who did. That was back in the 80s/90s, so probably not good
advice now.

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If
my keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a
new one. They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy
expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do
regarding that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1
each from a office supply recycler about 20 years ago and those
things are too good to throw away. Not to mention that I see
they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.

Got a link?
Not holding my breath.

Maybe I shouldn't have dropped 6 of them off at Goodwill last
year.

You can get a lot of money for an ancient IBM keyboard. Please let
us know how your sales turn out, seriously. Post the link! Nobody
will complain.

On 9/15/2020 10:23 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away.


If you say so. I remember IBM keyboards, but don't remember their model
numbers (if I ever knew them).

If they're better than $11 keyboards, that extra quality would be wasted
on me. Perhaps because I'm not a touch typist, I doubt if I could tell
the difference. Even if I could tell the difference, I doubt if I'd care
about it.

Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.


I would never consider spending $200 on a keyboard, not even $100. Not
even $50...



--
Ken

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:45:48 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 10:23 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away.


If you say so. I remember IBM keyboards, but don't remember their model
numbers (if I ever knew them).

If they're better than $11 keyboards, that extra quality would be wasted
on me. Perhaps because I'm not a touch typist, I doubt if I could tell
the difference. Even if I could tell the difference, I doubt if I'd care
about it.

I'm sure you could tell the difference, but probably not in ways that you'd
like. They are way heavier than modern cheap keyboards, built extremely
sturdy. They are also quite noisy, with a loud click on every key press.
Neither of things are necessarily a good thing, I suppose.

Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.


I would never consider spending $200 on a keyboard, not even $100. Not
even $50...

You and I aren't far apart on that, but I figured for $1 each I'd take a
dozen so I'd have spare parts. I thought maybe half would actually work,
but they all worked fine.

On 9/15/2020 10:45 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
On 9/15/2020 10:23 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away.


If you say so. I remember IBM keyboards, but don't remember their model
numbers (if I ever knew them).

If they're better than $11 keyboards, that extra quality would be wasted
on me. Perhaps because I'm not a touch typist, I doubt if I could tell
the difference. Even if I could tell the difference, I doubt if I'd care
about it.

Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.


I would never consider spending $200 on a keyboard, not even $100. Not
even $50...



I just googled ibm m keyboard and found pictures of them. They basically
look the same as modern Windows keyboards, except that they don't have a
Windows key.

A Windows key isn't absolutely necessary, but it's a convenience, and I
wouldn't want a keyboard without one. So lower the price of the IBM to
$11, and I still wouldn't want it. I don't care if it's clickier.

Changing the subject slightly, Dell computers come with special Dell
keyboards. They are almost the same as standard Windows keyboards, but
for some reason they are missing the PrtSCrn, ScrLk, and Pause|Break
keys; why, I don't know. My wife has a Dell, and every now and the I
have to go to her computer to do something for her. I don't always need
to use one of those keys, but every now and then I do and I hate using
her keyboard. I've offered to buy her a better keyboard several times,
but she always turns me down and I've given up trying.

I use a fancy Microsoft keyboard. It costs only a little more than a
standard keyboard, and I spent the extra few dollars because of the
several extra keys it has. It was a waste. I use only the volume
adjustment extra keys and ignore the rest.

I also used one of the so-called "ergonomic" split keyboards for a
while. I hated it. Probably because I'm not a touch typist, I had
trouble finding the key I wanted and it slowed me down and increased the
number of errors I made. Never again.


--
Ken

On 9/15/2020 11:47 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:45:48 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 10:23 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away.


If you say so. I remember IBM keyboards, but don't remember their model
numbers (if I ever knew them).

If they're better than $11 keyboards, that extra quality would be wasted
on me. Perhaps because I'm not a touch typist, I doubt if I could tell
the difference. Even if I could tell the difference, I doubt if I'd care
about it.

I'm sure you could tell the difference, but probably not in ways that you'd
like. They are way heavier than modern cheap keyboards, built extremely
sturdy. They are also quite noisy, with a loud click on every key press.
Neither of things are necessarily a good thing, I suppose.


Perhaps to some people. Not to me.


Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.


I would never consider spending $200 on a keyboard, not even $100. Not
even $50...

You and I aren't far apart on that, but I figured for $1 each I'd take a
dozen so I'd have spare parts. I thought maybe half would actually work,
but they all worked fine.


For $1 each, I might have bought a dozen too, just to have extra around
in case one died.


--
Ken

Ken Blake wrote:
[...]

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)

(Yes, I know I could attach an external keyboard, but that makes it
quite akward. But if push comes to shove, I might have to do that. One
key (escape) already broken (and remapped), another (which can - for all
intents and purposes - not be remapped) getting flaky. Knocking on wood
with fingers crossed.)


--
Ken